“That sounds like an eclectic group of movies.”
She shrugged. “Christian Slater must have been her jam back in the day.”
“I’m not sure I’ve ever seenGleaming the Cube.” I racked my memory. “What is it?”
“Oh, it’s the sort of movie you have to see to understand.”
“Meaning?”
“Let’s just say a group of kids on skateboards take down an international smuggling regime.”
“On skateboards?”
“Yes.” She nodded.
“Well … I guess I’ll have to see if I can find it.” The longer I stayed in her cart, the more awkward things were becoming. If this were a date, we’d be making out. It wasn’t a date, though. “So…”
“So,” she agreed.
I dragged my eyes to her. The light was limited—the Landings had decent lighting on the main roads but not the side streets—but her eyes were clear, and her plump lips were pursed. All I wanted to do was lean over so I could see if her lips felt as soft as they looked.
In that moment, when I imagined kissing her, a few other scenes invaded my mind. None of them were sweet Hallmark movie moments. And yes, I had done some research on Hallmark versus Lifetime movies. Bree was exactly right about them. I was more of a Lifetime guy, which meant the kiss I was envisioning was not sweet and nice. No, it was down and dirty. But it wasn’t exactly a Lifetime kiss, either, since those movies so often involved murder.
“I should go,” I blurted at the same time that she said, “I should be getting home.”
I laughed, nervousness fluttering through my stomach. I could tell we were on the same page here. She wasn’t waiting for me to kiss her, no matter how much fun we’d had together, and she recognized that this moment was as awkward for me as it was for her.
I swung out of the cart. Then something occurred to me. “Maybe I should go home with you.”
“What?” she sputtered.
“It’s dark out. It’s late.” I held out my hands. “I can walk home from your house once I know you’re safe inside.”
She did not look keen on that idea. “I’m not too worried about it.” She flashed a flat smile. “It’s the Landings, not Detroit.”
“Crime can happen anywhere.”
“Yes, but I’m literally two minutes from home. I’ll be fine.” She waved off my concern as if swatting at a pesky gnat. “Don’t worry about me. I’m perfectly fine.”
I could have argued—part of me wanted to—but I smiled all the same. “Do me a favor and text when you get there, huh? I won’t be able to sleep otherwise.”
“Because you’ll be imagining a Lifetime movie gone awry?”
That made me laugh. “Now that you mention it, I’ve got a few of them marked on my app to watch. I find just reading the summaries fascinating.”
“Right?” Bree bobbed her head. “Do you know that Lifetime was designed to appeal to women?”
“I believe I did know that.”
“So, what does it say about women that most Lifetime movies involve violence or kidnapped children?”
“Something profound,” I said.
“Or something dark.”
I considered it. “Am I supposed to be taking something from this conversation?” I asked finally, confused.
“No.” She shook her head. “I’m just saying it’s creepy.”
