‘Then you’re already one step ahead of them, congratulations.’
She’s wearing a different shirt to the one she had on earlier, the stripes swapped out for a fuzzy blue sweater the same colour as her eyes. Her skirt is the same, but the giant black boots are gone, she has nothing on her feet. Bare feet with bright pink painted toenails. Her fingernails are always painted but the sight of those toes, the neon tips, makes my throat tighten and I have to cough to clear it. It’s so intimate, like she trusts me somehow. Unless maybe I’m a feet guy and I didn’t know it until now.
‘So, what movie are we watching?’
Tearing my eyes away, I usher her to a long bookshelf, double-lined with DVDs and Blu-rays. For someone who has only been collecting for a couple of weeks, it’s an impressive selection. Everything from the Marvel must-haves I grew up on, to the old movies the guy in the store insisted were essentials.
‘I don’t know.’ Mia squints at the tiny printed titles. ‘You choose.’
‘No way, birthday girl gets to pick. Go for it, nothing on this shelf I won’t want to watch.’
A reluctant smile slowly spreads on her face as she starts checking through each film. ‘You really have all the Star Wars movies?’
‘And if you want me to, I can quote each and every one from beginning to end.’
‘So maybe we give those a miss,’ she says with a wry look before pulling out a light grey case to read the back. ‘Chinatown?’
‘A total classic, one of the best films ever made. Plus, Jack Nicholson was a stud. I figure if people are still talking about a movie made fifty years ago, it has to be good.’
‘Looks interesting but maybe we go for something lighter,’ she suggests, reaching for another movie. ‘What’s this one about?’
‘Temple of Doom?’ I stare at her in total shock. ‘You’ve never seenIndiana Jones and the Temple of Doom?’
‘It came out twenty years before I was born,’ she points out, scanning the back of the Blu-ray case. ‘They’ve made a lot of movies between now and then.’
‘Yeah, but nothing like Indiana Jones.’ I grab the case from her hands and toss it on my desk, then snatch up its neighbour and thrust it into her hands. ‘These movies are essential cinema. We have to start withRaiders of the Lost Ark, even thoughTemple of Doomis technically a prequel. You know what? I’m making it too complicated. Sit your ass on the bed and get ready, I’m about to change your life.’
‘For the better?’
‘Look, my dad and I don’t see eye to eye on many things in this world but if that man did one good thing on this planet, it was introducing me to these movies. The first three Indiana Jones movies are the pinnacle of the adventure genre. The new ones are total ass, but the first three?’ I bring my fingers to my lips for a chef’s kiss. ‘Never been bettered. Why are you looking at me like that?’
Mia sits cross-legged on my bed, her lips pressed together like she’s holding in a laugh. ‘Did you just use the word “pinnacle”?’
‘What about it?’
‘So much for the dumb jock persona,’ she smirks. ‘What scoredidyou get on your SATs out of interest?’
‘Yeah, yeah, whatever.’
I scoff but I’m grinning like crazy when I turn around to cue up the movie. Mia is in my room, on my bed, making fun of my vocabulary. Man, fucking up those first two batches of biscuits was beyond worth it. Which reminds me …
‘Stay right there,’ I say, pointing at her with both pointer fingers. ‘I’ll be right back.’
I fly into the kitchen to take a couple of biscuits out of the storage container I bought specially, place them on a plate, then fish around in a grocery bag for one last thing. Honey butter and strawberry jelly on the plate, knife and napkins stuffed in my back pocket, I back out of the kitchen and slowly open my bedroom door, knocking off the light switch as I enter.
‘Happy birthday, Mia,’ I say, the only light in the room coming from the candle stuck in one of the biscuits. ‘Do you have any noise-cancelling headphones? Because I’m about to sing.’
‘Please don’t,’ she begs when I open my mouth. ‘The others already sang once at the picnic and it’s a miracle I lived to tell the tale. This is more than enough. How do you have birthday candles?’
‘It’s the craziest story,’ I tell her, handing over the plate. ‘I went to this huge building and it was full of things you can bring home with you in exchange for money. You might’ve heard of it, they call it a store.’
‘Very funny.’
The room is dark but glowing, and I think about how old this place is, how years ago, this room would have only ever been lit by candlelight. Did everyone look as beautiful as Mia does now? Thewarmth of the tiny light makes her blue eyes sparkle, the ocean on a sunny day, and her shadow dances on the wall behind my bed.
‘Make a wish,’ I tell her. ‘And make it a good one.’
She’s sucking on that luscious bottom lip, taking her birthday duties seriously. If it were me, the candle would’ve been out already, plate on the floor, and Mia on top of me, legs wrapped around my waist and grinding on my— She inhales sharply and the light in the room dims again, helpful as I reach for a pillow to place over my erection. This girl is going to be the death of me.
