Don met me outside.
“Hey,” I said. “Is something going on up here? Where are all the people?”
“Follow me.”
“Follow you where?”
“Stop asking all of these questions and come on.”
He was acting weird, which then mademeact weird. “Don, what’s going on? You called me here, so I assumed you wanted to talk or something. I mean…I’m not sure how we’re going to do that in the movies, but—”
Stopping, he turned around and planted a kiss on my lips, which shut me up instantly.
Damn, I missed the feel of him…the taste of his tongue…everything.
When he finally released me, I took in a deep breath. “So…I’m assuming that’s your way of telling me to be quiet.”
Giving me a smirk, he shook his head, grabbed my hand, and led me inside. As soon as we stepped through the double doors, someone greeted me by name and handed me a tray with all of my favorite snacks. My eyes lit up immediately.
“Oh, wow…what’s all of this?”
“Just keep walking, baby,” Don replied, still leading the way.
I did as I was told, trying not to get too excited about the buttery scent that flooded my nostrils. Popcorn was my weakness.
“You think you’re slick,” I whispered.
“What do you mean?”
He said it with a chuckle, so I knew he knew exactly what I meant.
“Right this way,” one of the young men said as he pointed us in the direction of movie theater one.
I still couldn’t tell what movie we were going to see, but at this point, it didn’t matter. I was ready to dive into the popcorn and the large mixed ICEE that was on my tray.Coke and Cherry...damn he did know me.
“You know exactly what I mean,” I replied as he held the door open for me. “You’re trying to butter me up after what you said the other day. It’s okay though, I’m going to eat your little popcorn, drink your little ICEE and eat all your snacks. Then, I’m going to—”
My mouth flew open.
The inside of the theater stopped me dead in my tracks. It didn’t look the way that I was used to seeing it. It almost didn’t look like a movie theater at all. The recliner chairs and big screen were still present. But the entire room, from top to bottom, was covered in red and pink balloons. Romantic music played in the background, and near the front, there were another set of balloons. But these spelled out something.
“I’m sorry. Please forgive me,” I read aloud.
Then, out of nowhere, the movie screen lit up and a picture of the two of us appeared before me. In fact, there were several. It was a slideshow.
My hand covered my mouth. “Oh my God. This is so sweet.”
“I’m glad you like it.”
“Like it?I love it. It’s so simple, but well thought out just for me.” I hurried to put down my snacks and then jumped into his arms. “Thank you. This means a lot.”
Smiling, he lowered his face to mine and kissed my cheek softly. “Nova, I truly apologize for the things I said to you. I should’ve been more sensitive and understanding of what you were going through. I guess I just let a lot of things get in my head. Specifically, your cousin.”
I nodded slowly. “Trust me, I get it. I didn’t get it at the time, but I do now. It took me a minute to realize that I had some shit that I needed to deal with, and that meant I had to have a conversation with Jayson. So, you were right about a few things. Not about me still having feelings for him though.”
“Well, if there’s anything I’m glad to be wrong about, it’s that.”
“Don, I could never go back to that after being with you. You’re my person. I’m happy with you in ways that I never knew were possible. I don’t want to lose that. I don’t want to lose you.”
