Chapter 3
Allison
Joshua’s hand was firm on my lower back, as if protecting me from the crush of people pushing toward the doors, waiting to see the newly released movie. It was the most hyped-up sequel of the season, and with the promise of a full-frontal nudity scene with the lead actor, the public was flocking to the theaters.
Although I didn’t like the press of people around us, I didn’t mind too much. All the more people to see me and Joshua together. There was no more secrecy or hiding. We were a couple, and even though the new knowledge didn’t really seem to rock the world in general, it rocked my world.
I still hadn’t talked to him about meeting Jess and Jeremy, though. It would be easier now that we weren’t hiding our relationship anymore. “So,” I leaned into him. “Jess wants to meet you.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. Obviously she’s been hearing about you for months.” I laughed. “Okay, years, since I started crushing on you immediately after I started working at Scintilla. So I was hoping we could go out to dinner with her and Jeremy. They’ll be back next week.” The words were coming out in a nervous rush. “She’s been wanting to try that new Thai bistro nearby.”
He rubbed his stubbly chin. “I don’t know…I mean, I definitely want to meet Jess.”
“But?” I prompted. I could hear it in his voice.
“But I don’t know about the whole dinner thing, and meeting her boyfriend, too. I’m not always comfortable in groups like that, when I’m meeting people for the first time. Maybe we could just do coffee, and just with Jess at first?”
I shrugged. “Yeah, I guess so. Jess will be disappointed, though.”
We got to the front of the line, halting the discussion.
“Sky Power 2?” the bored ticket seller asked. Since everyone else wanted to watch it, he assumed that we did, too. And this movie had been our plan. The crowds, however, were not. I felt like everyone was in our space.
Joshua wasn’t a huge fan of large groups, either. Maybe that had something to do with not wanting to go out to dinner with Jess and Jeremy. At the moment, his hand wasn’t on my lower back only to protect me; he was probably trying to ground himself.
“Actually, Joshua, do you mind?” I asked. “I’d rather see something else.”
“Yeah, good idea. Do you want to pick something?” he asked.
Something not crowded. On a night when the entire city had their hormones and adrenaline up for a sexy super hero movie, who would want to watch a historical romance? I turned to the ticket seller. “How about All’s Fair in Love?”
Joshua nodded, and handed over his card. He grabbed the tickets and followed me inside.
“You bought the tickets, so I’m buying snacks,” I said. There was barely any room to turn in a circle without touching someone else. I touched Joshua’s hand. “What do you want?”
He grinned and pushed his face into my neck. I heard him mumble quietly, “I don’t think it’s on the menu.”
I giggled, feeling like a teenager. “Share some popcorn with me?”
He surreptitiously spanked my ass as I turned toward the concession line. I could feel his eyes burning through my clothes. Hmm, I mused. Maybe we should skip the movie.
When we got into the darkened theater, snacks in hand, it looked like nearly all of Philadelphia had decided to skip this movie. There were only three other couples, each spaced out throughout the room.
The trailers began, so I dug into my popcorn.
“What are you doing?” Joshua asked. “The movie hasn’t started yet.”
“Trailers count,” I said, sticking my tongue out at him. Then I tossed a handful of popcorn into my mouth. It was extra salty and buttery. Just the way I liked it.
Joshua laughed. “Trailers do not count.”
“Do too.” I held up a kernel for Joshua, and he opened his mouth obligingly. Before I could pull away, he grabbed my wrist and licked the butter from my fingers. It did things to my insides that made me squirm in my seat. He laughed quietly.
“I’m surprised at the lack of people,” he said. “I heard this one will be up for an Oscar.”
“Yeah,” I said, “that’s why it’s so empty. It’s the Oscar movies that make me fall asleep.”
His grin shone in the illumination from the trailers playing across the screen. “Me, too.”
The movie was slow. I yawned through the opening scene, and when I sneaked glances over at Joshua, he looked even less entranced than I was.
“I wish we were seeing some full frontal action,” I whispered in his ear, referencing the selling point of the other flick.
Instead of smiling, he looked regretful. “I’m sorry—I’d wondered if we should wait until next weekend to see it—”
“No, it’s totally okay,” I said. “I’m really, really glad we’re here. But I think I need to liven this movie up.”
He stared at me in question until I set down the popcorn and moved my hand over to his crotch. He narrowed his eyes at me. “Allison…”
“Shh,” I said, feeling a naughty grin on my face. He was already getting hard for me, the outline of him growing beneath my hand. “No talking during the movie.”
I massaged his growing hard-on, and felt it straining against the denim of his jeans. With a quick look around to make sure no one was watching us, I unbuttoned his pants and set him free.
“What are you doing?” he whispered.
“Hmm,” I said. “It looks like I’m going to get my way.”
He gave me a confused look, so I took his hard-on in my hand and stroked it once.
“I want that double date with Jess and Jeremy,” I whispered. “And you’re going to give it to me.” I played and shot him a seductive, yet playful smile.