Jameson relaxed his face, but once he started thinking about how he wasn’t supposed to smile, he smiled again.
Gray laughed. “Close enough. Let’s go!”
He was out the door so fast, Jameson didn’t have any choice but to hurry after. He kept his eyes down on the pavement and let Gray hold the door for him. There was some cheesy song playing over the stereo, and arcade machines were zinging and beeping against the wall. Jameson took a big whiff of the popcorn smell, savoring it while Gray went forward to buy the tickets.
It felt good. Really good, and just like Jameson remembered.
“I got M&Ms and Sour Patch Kids,” Gray said, approaching with a cardboard tray of snacks. “Wasn’t sure which was your style.”
“Sour Patch Kids,” Jameson said, then plucked the bag from the tray. “Thank you.”
Gray winked, sending a little flutter through Jameson, and they took off, winding down the long hallways until they reached the back of the theater. At the door, they paused, and Jameson pretended to look at his phone while a small group passed, with Gray standing casually in the way to block their view. Once they found their seats in a dark corner, Jameson relaxed a little more.
“This one is supposed to be like a horror movie version of the X-Men,” Gray said under his breath.
Jameson laughed softly. “I just hope no pictures of me screaming show up online.”
“Oh no,” Gray laughed. “You don’t like horror movies?”
“I do. I just… startle.”
He turned to Gray, and when their eyes met, they both laughed.
“Good thing you brought your bodyguard along,” Gray joked.
“Yeah, good thing,” Jameson answered.
The second the previews picked up, Jameson was sucked back into the movie experience. He got the thrills of jumping in his seat the same time everyone else did and the fun of watching some of his favorite characters flying across the screen. His hand bumped close to Gray’s a few times, and once, they turned to each other at the same time with big smiles on their faces, then Jameson laughed and turned away, suddenly shy. Sometimes, back at the mansion, it was impossible for Jameson to remember the magic of a good movie, but there in a theater, with Gray smiling next to him, it all came flooding back.
Once the credits started to roll, Jameson pulled his sunglasses back on. He cast his eyes down to the weird movie theater carpet while he and Gray strolled forward, talking about their favorite parts. The fun of it all had Jameson feeling bouncy, but he still managed to keep his cool, his acting training making it all quite easy.
When Gray excused himself to go into the bathroom, Jameson leaned back against the wall. He wanted painfully for the matinee to be a real date, but knowing that was impossible, he still tried to linger in the fantasy while he could.
And somehow, the fantasy really did seem like it was working. From the corner of his eye, Jameson could see the people passing, but none of their stares were probing in his direction. He could have been just anyone, waiting for his boyfriend to get out of the bathroom before they headed home together, just a regular couple on a regular date.
Gray exited the bathroom, then shot a grin at Jameson. “You ready?”
Jameson lifted his hand, then went to push his hair back, one of the moves an acting coach had ingrained in him as a way to demonstrate casual chill. It was the kind of thing you’d want to see your date doing when you walked up in the movie theater, Jameson thought.
Except, of course, that you weren’t supposed to have a hat on when you did that.
And you definitely weren’t supposed to fumble like a clown and knock your hat to the carpet.
“Crap,” he mumbled, then bent down, allowing his sunglasses the perfect opportunity to slide off his face.
Jameson kept his eyes to the carpet and sighed, knowing full well what was next. It wasn’t a second before the commotion started. He heard a young woman’s voice first, a high-pitched squeal followed by an excited declaration.
“It’s Justin Sweet!”
It was like every other time he was spotted in public, like someone flipped a switch, and suddenly the whole lobby of the movie theater was filled with people, pointing and pulling out their phones, all eyes on him. Jameson listened to his name, repeated in so many different voices and whispers, “Justin Sweet! Justin Sweet! Justin Sweet!” And just as quickly, he pulled his standard smile back on his face, swooped up his hat and sunglasses, and prepared to greet his fans.
“Run!”
Gray’s sudden declaration startled Jameson as he shot to full height. “What?”
“Let’s go!” Gray repeated, then looked frantically toward the doors. “We have a clear shot!”
“That’s not really…” Jameson stood still. It felt like little alarms were going off in his head, screaming to do what he always did, but then he caught the flare of excitement in Gray’s eyes.
