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Chapter Eleven
Now
Nix opens the car door for me and holds his hand out, encouraging me to take it as I try to peek past him to see what surprise he’s put together for me now. Paper lanterns are strung up on strings, hanging from the various trees littered around the park behind him and people are spreading blankets out on the grass. I glance at the blankets in Nix’s hand and arch a brow.
“What are we doing here?”
He grins, stepping toward the truck and grabbing my hand before helping me down. “Well, I figured it was high time I took you out on a proper date.”
“I see,” I say, mashing my lips together to hide my grin as I shut the door and lace my fingers with his. “And what exactly are we doing on this date?”
“It’s movies in the park night.” He points to the large screen that I somehow missed during my first glance. “Plus, I heard from a good source that the movie they’re showing tonight is really good.”
“What movie are they showing?” I ask and he peeks over at me, barely containing his laughter.
“The Bodyguard.”
Laughter bubbles out of me and I shake my head as I peek up at him. “Oh, you’ve got jokes, huh?”
“What can I say?” he asks with a shrug. “I’m a funny guy. Where do you want to sit?”
I scan the park, trying to judge the best spot to watch the movie when I see the perfect patch of grass under an old oak tree that hasn’t been claimed yet.
“There,” I say, pointing to it and he nods in approval.
“Nice choice.”
We walk over to our designated spot and he lays one blanket on the ground while handing me another. “Have a seat and I’ll go get us some refreshments.”
“Oh, extra butter…”
“On the popcorn, I know,” he says, interrupting me and I bite down on my lip as I stare up at him.
“Think you know me so well, huh? What else was I going to say?”
He kneels in front of me, a confident look on his face, and grabs my hand. “Peanut M&M’s and sour gummy worms because you can never decide which one you want and you want the biggest Dr. Pepper I can find.”
He steals the air right out of my lungs with one simple answer and I nod, dumbfounded, as he smirks and stands up again, assuring me that he’ll be right back before heading over to the concession stand. As I watch him walk away, I wonder how the hell I got so lucky. My first attempt at dating after ending things with Ryan could have been disastrous but instead, I meet Nix who is quite possibly the most patient, understanding man I’ve ever met. Talk about divine intervention.
Leaning back against the trunk of the tree, I open the blanket and spread it over my legs as I scan the park and fight back a smile. There was a point, not so long ago, when I doubted if I would ever feel normal again but each day with Nix, I feel more and more like my old self. There are always going to be parts of me that are forever changed but being with him makes those parts easier to bear.
“One massive Dr. Pepper,” Nix says, handing me the biggest cup I’ve ever seen in my life and my eyes widen. “And candy.”
“Good Lord, this is excessive… even for me.”
He chuckles. “Yeah, I thought so, too, but I figured we could share.”
“Oh, you did, did you?”
Smiling, he sits down on the blanket next to me and wedges the popcorn between us.
“Answer something for me,” he prompts and I lift an expectant brow. “Are you my girl, Emma?”
All the air whooshes out of my lungs and I stare up at him, my mind painfully blank. His girl. Is that what I want? “What?”
“Look, I know we’ve been playin’ house for over a month now and we act like we’re together but we’ve never talked about it. I don’t want there to be any confusion ‘cause what I want more than anything is to make you mine.”
I suck in a breath, the exact same words Ryan said to me not so long ago, ringing loudly in my head. “You can’t say those words to me.”
