He pulls me up to the register, asks for a bucket of popcorn and two large Icees, and then has me pick out the candy. I go with Peanut M&Ms and Red Vines. He praises my choice, and then we head on over to fill up our Icees and popcorn.
“What if I mixed the cherry Icee with the Coke-flavored one?” I ask.
He pauses and slowly turns toward me. “Pips, I don’t think I’ve ever heard of a better idea. We must.”
Chuckling, we take turns mixing our drinks, passing the cups back and forth as we layer up the flavors. Then we cap off our drinks, grab our napkins, and head to the theater with all our goodies. Of course we’re about twenty minutes early, so when we find our seats, the theater is pretty empty.
“Okay, let me see the popcorn,” Wilder says.
I hand him the popcorn, and he starts pouring it into the nacho trays he asked for—which confused me at first, but now I see why he wanted them. He opens the M&Ms and sprinkles them over the popcorn, then places some Red Vines on the side.
When he’s done, he hands me a tray and says, “When you need a refill, let me know. Also, try eating an M&M along with some popcorn. Pure magic in your mouth.”
“Okay, let me test this out.” I pop a piece of popcorn and an M&M in my mouth and let the salty and sweet combination mix on my tongue. After I swallow, I look Wilder in the eyes and I say, “Umm, that’s really good.”
He smirks. “I know.” Then he pops some in his mouth as well. “Follow it up with some Icee—that’s the real treat.”
“You act like you do this all the time.”
“Well, for a guy who doesn’t really do much, I’m not shy about attending a matinee.”
“I can see that.” I turn toward him as ads play on the screen. “Not to bring down the mood, but I feel like we need to talk about what happened at camp.”
“Sure,” he says. “What do you want to talk about?”
“Can I ask what made you change your answer?”
“I had a conversation with Mika,” he says, growing serious. “We talked about our mom and his mental health. I explained to him the roadblock I’ve had with moving on with my life. He told me that he was going to be okay and promised he wouldn’t go to that dark place again, and if he felt like he was going to, he would tell me. So”—his Adam’s apple bobs—“with that behind me, I felt confident that I could move forward in my life too. Sanders actually helped me comprehend that I’d possibly inserted myself into Mika’s life as a crutch and that Mika might not need his brother in that capacity anymore. So we talked that through, and here I am.”
“But do you really think you’re ready for it?” I ask. “Because I don’t want you jumping into something that you’re not fully ready for.”
His lips turn up. “I knew you were going to say that. And I have a response for you. Yes, I am ready, and I’m going to have a lot of fun proving that to you.”
“What do you mean?” I ask.
He boops me on the nose. “Let me figure that out, and you just sit back and enjoy the ride.”
“What does that mean?”
“That means”—he leans forward, cupping my chin—“you relax and enjoy.” He kisses my lips softly and then leans back and tosses more popcorn in his mouth.
“I really wasn’t expecting that twist at the end,” Wilder says as he walks me up to my door.
I pause and turn to him. “Seriously?”
“Seriously. Wait, were you expecting it?”
“Wilder, the entire time, they alluded to it.”
“No, they didn’t,” he says playfully.
“Uh, yes, they did. It was so obvious. Honestly, one of the worst twists ever executed.”
His eyes widen. “You’re kidding. Please tell me you’re kidding.”
“No, I’m not kidding,” I say. “Seriously, one of the worst.”
He shakes his head and grips my hips, the playful man that I knew at Camp Haven taking over. “Wow, I’m going to need to remember this. She’s hard to impress, folks.”
