Chapter Thirty-Four
Daphne
I was waiting when Jace drove up in front of the theater. I’d actually walked over because it was close to my apartment. He was in regular clothes again and my heart did that thing it always does when I first see him. Then I had to go through the whole process of telling myself why I can’t have him…again.
“Hi, there,” he said, taking hold of my hand like we were a couple. I could have pulled mine away, I guess. But, I didn’t want to. His hand was big and warm and strong…and it was attached to him. He led me inside and paid for our tickets. “You want popcorn?”
“Of course,” I said with a grin. He ordered a large and then said, “Please tell me we can drench it in butter. If you say no, I’ll be forced to order my own.”
“I love butter.”
“Great!” He was true to his word, he literally drenched it. Then he took my hand again and led me into the darkened theater. We found a couple of seats in the center and sat down just in time for the previews to start. Jace reached and put the popcorn tub in my lap, taking a handful of it out for himself.
He seemed so relaxed, like we’d known each other for years. I wished that I could get to that point…where I didn’t psycho-analyze every thought, feeling, and word.
I busied myself eating popcorn and pretending to be interested in the previews. Every so often, I could see him look at me out of the corner of my eye. I wanted to look at him — there was almost nothing I’d rather do. But in the dark room and with our close proximity, that look would make me imagine kissing him and once I let my mind go there, I might lose control all over again.
The movie was really intense, and every so often, I would go to put my hand on the arm rest and Jace’s arm would already be there. I squeezed it a few times as I watched the main character, Billy "The Great" Hope get his head bashed in. I cried when his wife left him and took his daughter and again when he fought to get it all back.
Over all, it was a really good movie and the absolute best part was watching Jace’s face out of the corner of my eye during the fight scenes. There was real light in his eyes, and I could tell that in spite of being in a completely passive profession, the fight scenes really appealed to him.
After the movie when I should have gone home, I accepted his invitation for Chinese food at his place. I didn’t want the evening to end and he didn’t seem to want it to, either…but that’s okay because we’re just friends. That’s what I told myself anyways.
“What kind of Chinese food do you like?” he asked me when we got back to his apartment.
“I don’t care,” I said. “I’m not picky.”
“Be picky. What is your favorite, Daphne?”
“I like lemon chicken and steamed rice. And egg-foo-yung. Oh, and won-tons.” He laughed.
“See, your demanding side was right there on the surface.” I felt myself flush and he said, “Have a seat in the living room. I’ll order the food and be right in.”
I went into the living room, but I didn’t sit down. Instead, I walked around the room and looked at the photos of him and his brothers and an older lady I assumed was his grandmother I’d heard him mention. I wondered why he didn’t have any pictures of his parents, but who was I to judge?
“That was in Maine,” he said of the photo I was looking at when he came in the room. “It’s a little place called Lincolnville Beach. My brothers and I rented a cabin up there for two weeks when Max graduated from college. We had a lot of fun.”
“Were you in the priesthood yet?”
“No, I’d just got out of high school that year. I wasn’t sure yet what I wanted to be when I grew up.” He came over next to her and handed me a glass of iced tea.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. Do you want to watch some television?”
“Sure,” I said, taking a seat on the couch. He sat next to me.
As he flipped through the channels, he said, “What do you like to watch?”
“I don’t watch a lot of TV. I like the history channel and the Discovery Channel, though,” I told him. He found the Discovery channel and left it there. It was Shark Week. We watched for a while until the food came, and then Jace spread a blanket on the floor and we sat and ate off the coffee table while we watched.
“How is the chicken?” he asked
“It’s delicious, thank you.”
He smiled at me. “You’re so polite.”
I blushed again and he said, “Don’t be embarrassed, that’s a really good thing. Most people these days forget to say please and thank you. You never forget. I like that. Sometimes, though, you apologize too much.”
With a grin I said, “I’m sorry.”
He laughed.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure.”
“Do your brothers know…about us? I mean that crack Ryan made at lunch last week.”
“Yes, they know,” he said. He didn’t explain how or why. I was torn between being afraid they would tell someone and being flattered that he told someone.
“You’re not worried that they’ll tell someone?”
“No, not at all. My brothers can be all kinds of annoying and sometimes belligerent, but the one thing we always have is each other’s backs. We’ve always only had each other. Ryan and Max would no sooner betray me than I would them.” That made me feel a little better, knowing he was so confident about it.
Then he said, “I’m sorry about Ryan, though. He has no tact and I know that made you uncomfortable. I’ll ask him not to say things like that again next time he sees you.”
“It’s okay. I’m honestly kind of glad you thought enough of it to tell someone about me.”
He smiled and said, “I thought more of it than I should.” We both dropped that touchy subject and finished eating. The food was delicious, and once we’d just about wiped it out, I helped him clean up. It was getting kind of late at that point, and I said, “Maybe I should take off.” I didn’t have my car.
I suppose I could have walked home, or taken the bus, but he said, “Stay just a little longer…please. I’ll take you home in a bit.”
I didn’t hesitate. “Okay.”
We sat down on the couch and began watching an old movie on television. It was in black and white and we had missed the first part so I didn’t know what it was or what was going on. I think James Cagney was in it.
“Have you ever seen this? I asked him.
He looked at the TV; he’d been looking at me. “No, not this one,” he said. “I like old movies, though.”
“Me, too,” I said. “The world seemed like a lot simpler place back then.”
He laughed. “Or harder, depending on how you look at it. We definitely have a lot more luxuries these days.”
“This is true.”
I continued watching and I was about to ask him another question when I looked over and saw his head was extended back and he was sound asleep. He looked beautiful and uncomfortable.
I got up and nudged him over so he would lie down and stretch out. Once he did that, I laid myself down next to him. I don’t know what I was thinking other than he felt damned good and I had no desire to leave him.