Seven

David

I knew this was a mistake.

The second I’d heard Sutton’s voice on the phone, I had known that she was going to cancel. That the thought of us alone in a darkened movie theater was going to undo her. Even though we’d never made it seem like it was a date, the implication was there. And, when she’d realized, she’d done a complete one-eighty.

I was honestly surprised that she’d even decided to go through with it. It hadn’t sounded like she wanted to. And, like the sucker I was, I didn’t back out. I probably should have. It would have been easier for both of us.

Then, I wouldn’t be sitting outside of her house in my parked Ferrari, trying to decide how to make this non-date not feel like a date.

Still, I stepped out of the car, made my way up the path to the front door, and knocked. I waited with my hands in my pockets. No flowers in sight. No expectations. That was what I’d promised. I could do this. The last thing I wanted was for Sutton to have a breakdown. She’d been through enough. I wasn’t going to add more to her plate.

The click of the lock made me straighten my spine. Sutton peered out the door as if she didn’t know it would be me standing there. Her bright eyes were round and rimmed with coal, her lashes long. Her lips were coated in a neutral pink color that did nothing but draw my attention to them.

“You made it,” she said by way of a welcome. She dragged the door open wider.

“I did.”

I got my first glimpse at the gauzy cerulean dress that matched her eyes and the way it made her pale skin almost glow in the low lighting. With her hair down and light makeup, she looked like a goddess straight out of Greek mythology. I gawked. I couldn’t help it.

Thank God she wasn’t looking at me.

“Jenny, we’re about to leave. Do you need anything from me?” Sutton asked.

“Nope. I’m good.” She turned to me. “Hey, David.”

“Appreciate you helping your friend tonight, Jen.”

“Anytime.” She ruffled Jason’s hair. “Say good-bye to your mom.”

“Bye, Mom,” he said, flapping his hands. Then, he ran and wrapped his arms around her legs.

She kissed the top of his head. “Love you. Pay attention to Jenny, and I’ll see you later. Can you say bye to David?”

Jason smiled up at me. The kid was too cute. All chubby cheeks and fine, dark hair and all-seeing big eyes. He waved at me, too.

“Night, Jason.”

Jenny pulled him back as Sutton exited the house. They waved us all the way back to my car. I popped open the passenger door for Sutton, who fidgeted with her purse and then sank into the seat. I realized as I closed the door behind her that I’d gone on autopilot and opened her door for her. Just as I would on a date.

I silently chastised myself and vowed to get it together before I jumped into the driver’s side and veered toward the theater.

“The theater on University, right?” I asked just to verify.

Her head popped up. “Oh…no. I, uh, I got tickets to Alamo. I can’t…go into the other movie theater anymore. Too many memories.”

Oh. Maverick. She must have gone to the other theater with him. That made sense. It was the one where most of the college students went since it had the deep reclining seats and better specials.

“Sounds good. Alamo it is. I’ve been meaning to try it anyway.”

She blew out a breath and then nodded. I could see her struggling to come to terms with actually being out with me. I was shocked that we had made it to this point myself. A year of pining after someone utterly unattainable had forced me to realize that this might never happen. It likely never would. No chance. Horrible for me to even consider the possibility.

Sutton Wright was a widow.

I didn’t deserve this spark of hope for us. But I wasn’t going to turn away now.

Our drive to the movie theater was filled with Top 40 radio and idle chitchat. She seemed nervous, and I didn’t want to give her a reason to feel that way. I just wanted to enjoy my time with her. Date or no date.

Alamo Drafthouse wasn’t like other movie theaters. There was no one waiting to check your tickets or a long line for concessions. Instead, there were Star Wars cardboard cutouts and a fully stocked bar. It was smaller than the other theaters in town, but the theater and its clientele liked it that way.

We made our way to our theater and found our seats in the top row. The patterned chairs were red to match the carpet and the walls with a raised table between every pair of seats. A waiter dutifully appeared at our table with a smile once we sat down.

He checked the tickets Sutton had purchased on her phone and then took our order. “If you want anything else, just stick an order card up.”

Sutton nodded. “This place is the best.”

“I already like it.”

“Just wait until you try my root beer float.” She groaned. “To die for.”

“Noted.”

I leaned back and waited for our food to get there as the theater filled to capacity. It was opening weekend for the latest Marvel movie. I was surprised she could get good enough tickets. I’d heard this place filled up. I said as much to her.

She blushed. “Uh…”

“What?” I asked, finding the slight blush on her cheeks irresistible.

“Okay, confession: I might…or might not have purchased these tickets two months ago when they went on sale.”

“Two months ago?” My eyes widened in disbelief.

“Yeah. How the hell would I have gotten these seats at this time otherwise? Are you crazy?”

“Were you supposed to go with someone else?”

“Well…no. I mean…I bought two tickets together because I didn’t want to go alone. But I didn’t ask anyone else. Annie was always my backup.”

“Uh-huh. Annie is the backup? You mean…Annie ditched you, and you invited me?”

“No!” she spat. “That is not what I mean. I’m glad you’re with me. Annie just drools over the hot guys.”

“And you don’t?”

“Of course I do. But I also like the comics and the storytelling and the politics and the romance. I like all of it.”

“Are we really here to stare at a Hemsworth brother?”

She fluttered her eyelashes at me. “Would you blame me?”

“I mean…he is pretty hot,” I conceded.

She scoffed. “They’re all stupid pretty. It’s really not fair to have this many six-packs in one movie.”

“Six-packs are so overrated.”

“Totally,” she said, waving her hand at me. “I mean, God, just look at you. Who wants that much muscle anyway?”

I couldn’t help it; I burst into laughter. “You don’t know I have a six-pack.”

“Don’t you go to the gym every morning?”

“Yeah.”

I wasn’t exactly a gym rat. But I was the kind of person who did my best thinking when my mind was otherwise occupied. I’d been running since I was a kid, and I never really stopped. The weights and toning had come later. I solved so many problems while on the elliptical or doing pull-ups or weighted crunches. It was part of my routine now.

“I’ve been around my brothers long enough to know the type of guys who go to the gym every day,” she said with a smile. Then, she pinched my bicep.

Her touch sent a thrill through my whole body. Our eyes locked as the lights lowered to begin the previews. I knew I should look away. That would be the smart thing. Give her the space she needed. But staring into her blue eyes, I wanted nothing more than to lean into her, to make this more than it was.

I wouldn’t. But I wanted to.

With a breath, I turned back to face the screen. The previews went by in a zip, and the movie began. I’d missed the last couple of movies before this one. But, even if I’d been following it closely, I’d have found it difficult to concentrate with Sutton sitting so close.

When we had sat down, the armrest between our seats was up. I didn’t adjust it, and I waited to see if she would. But it stayed up the entire time. I didn’t know if it was a clue, but fuck, it was hard, sitting here with her like this in a darkened room.

I could feel her presence so acutely next to me. As if we were both reactors with electricity tethered between us. Every time she shifted her body and leaned closer, I felt the zap.

Maybe it was elementary to be this intensely aware of her in a movie theater. To be fair, I’d never gone to the movies on a date before. It wasn’t really something we did where I grew up. So…this was my first non-date movie moment. And I suddenly understood why kids all over the world were sneaking into movie theaters to make out. There was something genuinely tense, charged, and thrilling about this.

I inched a bit closer. She inched a bit closer. Our knees almost touched. I could feel the heat from her arm. My stomach knotted as I forced myself not to move. I wouldn’t make the first move. That could shatter everything like a hammer to a mirror, followed by seven years of bad luck.

Sutton turned her head to look at me. I shifted my eyes to meet her gaze. Her mouth was open slightly, as if she had a question that she couldn’t quite answer. She drew her bottom lip in between her teeth, and I couldn’t help it; I glanced down at her lips.

I swallowed hard at the slight widening in her gaze. Then, I quickly looked away. If I kept watching her…if she kept observing me like that…I was going to kiss her. No doubt.

Then, I felt an even smaller shift, and then her pinkie was touching mine in the space between our bodies. She looped her pinkie over mine, and a shuddering exhale left her body. Something exploded in my chest at that one touch. That one move changed the entire dynamic of us forever.

I’d been wrong when I said I hadn’t been aware there was an us.

There was definitely an us.