I waited a long moment before I brought my arm up and nudged his off the armrest, reclaiming my spot once again.
My smile was set free when my arm fell off a moment later. A rush of adrenaline burst through me like a lightning bolt. It was sudden and thrilling and secretive in a way I’d never felt before. An inside joke between two strangers. It almost made being here with Jason bearable.
We played like that for a few minutes, both of us feigning interest in the halftime show, each giving the other a thirty-second turn on the armrest. I hoped he had a big sloppy grin on his face like I did on mine, but I didn’t look to see. My eyes were trained on the dancers below, but they could have been monkeys climbing trees for all I registered.
“Kiss Me” by Sixpence None the Richer came on in the arena. It was neighbor guy’s turn at the armrest, but since he had cut me short by five whole seconds during my last turn, I was counting extra fast in my head to do the same to him. I became distracted when the kiss cam began to play on the large TV, picking out members of the audience to kiss. It was entertaining watching their surprised faces. Most of them seemed excited, but some were embarrassed to be drawn out like that. They were all good sports, though.
It took a moment to register my face when it showed up on the camera. My neighbor must have recognized his face at the same moment I did mine. We both looked at each other, wide-eyed and with embarrassed laughter, while we waved our hands toward the TV, letting the world know we were not a couple.
The camera kept us in its sights for an uncomfortable amount of time before flipping to another man and woman who were much more willing to play along. I was suddenly grateful my date had been out when the camera turned on us. What if it had been Jason on camera next to me? The thought of kissing him was borderline repulsive. I would much rather kiss Armrest Guy over my actual date. But that was…inappropriate thinking. Right? Goodness, it was hot in here.
“That was a close one,” Neighbor Guy mumbled as he took his spot back on the armrest.
“Hey. It’s my turn.”
He flashed me a cheeky grin. “No, you had your turn just now when you were too busy blushing on camera. Not my problem you were distracted.”
I scoffed, trying to hide my embarrassment. “I wasn’t blushing.”
He met me with a wide grin. “You were SO blushing.”
Good gracious, his smile was incredible. I had seen side glimpses of it, but looking at the full-blown effect straight on, I almost forgot my name.
“Is that guy your boyfriend?” He motioned toward the empty seat next to me.
I shook my head. “No. That’s a dating-app match gone very wrong.”
A smile touched his lips. “Ah. I wondered.”
He wondered. About me? Cute, neighbor-seat guy had been wondering about me?
Suddenly, his eyes widened. He pointed toward the TV. “It’s happening again.”
Sure enough, there I was, looking pale and sick to my stomach. My brown hair looked flat, and my soft curls had begun to come undone. Whose idea were these kiss cams? How did they know who was a couple?
The people in our area began to recognize us and started chanting for us to kiss. The growing attention caused my stomach to clench while my heart began pounding through my chest.
“I don’t think it’s going to leave us alone until we do it,” the low voice next to me said.
Those words brought a rush of heat to my face. Perfect.
A small thrill flashed through my body at his suggestion. I didn’t date much, but even I knew that kissing someone while on a date with someone else was bad form—no matter how much I didn’t want to be on said date.
The camera finally moved on, and I breathed a sigh of relief. I definitely didn’t feel any other emotion. The disappointment swirling around in my belly had to be related to something else. I didn’t know this guy—although we had pretty much been flirting the entire game.
For a moment, we sat transfixed, both of us keeping a wary eye on the TV. How long was this song? This time, the camera focused on a burly man with his exuberant wife, both happy to make out in front of thousands on camera.
“What are your thoughts on giving the people what they want?”
I looked at him. “What?”
He nodded toward the screen. “If it shows us again, I’m thinking about going for it. With your permission, of course.”
He wore a small smile and had a quiet confidence that I couldn’t help being attracted to. The song was on its last verse before the chorus. Surely they would leave us alone. His buddies on the other side of him kept laughing and nudging his elbow. The blond guy sitting next to him leaned toward me, patting my seat neighbor on the chest before saying, “I’m telling you, he’s a stand-up guy. He always puts the seat down. Does dishes like a champ. Very tender and sweet.”
My neighbor was laughing by this point.
I looked at him. “Is that true?”
