Total pages in book: 142
Estimated words: 135522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 135522 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 678(@200wpm)___ 542(@250wpm)___ 452(@300wpm)
“I should’ve realized that even if some people don’t read the paper, they still talk,” I point out, clutching my drink and gnawing on the end of the straw anxiously. “I doubt those teenagers even read the paper. Let alone read at all.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you and I can deal with a few benign glances now and then, can’t we?” He throws his arm around the back of my seat unexpectedly. “I think I’m gonna have a tough time paying attention to the movie, though …”
I take a breath. Maybe Cole’s right. “I won’t.” I scoop a handful of popcorn into my mouth. The lights are already dimming for the previews. “I’ve seen so many commercials for this movie since last year. They’ve been advertising this forever.”
His arm slips slyly from the back of the seat to my shoulders. “Is that so? Lucky you, then, finally getting to see it.”
“What’re you doing?”
“Being cuddly.”
“People can see us.”
“No one’s watching.” He leans over the armrest and places a kiss on my cheek, grinning. “Do you even know how happy I am that I’ve got you to myself tonight?”
“I’m happy, too, but—”
“The movie hasn’t started yet. It’s just the previews. No one cares about the next superhero flick. They’re all the same.”
My eyes keep dancing around in the darkness. Theses glasses of mine sure don’t make it any easier. “I care … a little.”
“Don’t you want me to kiss you?”
“Of course, but—”
“But what?”
“After the movie.”
“Can I steal, like, maybe one or two kisses in the middle of the movie, too? Just during the slow parts.”
“There won’t be slow parts. Every scene is going to be rich, nuanced, and ripe with character development.”
“Noah, it’s over two hours long.”
“Two hours of character development.”
His mouth is right against my ear. “Are you sure I can’t just kiss you a couple of times? Look at them as a sweet replacement for the candy we didn’t get from the concession stand.”
Before I can protest, he dives into my neck with an assault of kisses. I can’t help but let out a giggle of surprise before my body—annoyingly—reacts in its very human way of being turned on by the electricity spell Cole casts on me. I fight him off for all of half a measly second before I give in with an embarrassing moan.
The moan feels as if it shakes the auditorium with its volume.
I slap a hand to my mouth, mortified.
Cole pulls away as if nothing happened. “Alright, I will behave now,” he decides, then scoops a mighty handful of popcorn into his mouth and obediently faces the screen. He even pulls his arm out from behind my back at once, respecting my demands.
In an instant, we’re just two buddies at the movies sharing a bucket of popcorn.
And by the time the previews end and the movie starts, I find myself wishing he hadn’t been so respectful.
Now all I can think about is Cole devouring me in this dark theater. This movie I’ve been looking forward to seeing is at once secondary. No one’s watching us. No one’s sitting behind us at all. As the opening credits start, bringing in the grand sweeping music of the soundtrack and a beautiful view of a castle surrounded by a dark, enchanted forest, I find myself dreaming of when during the movie he might surprise me with a kiss.
And where he might put his hands.
Or his mouth.
“I’ve changed my mind,” I whisper in the dark.
He flinches, barely hearing me over the music. “Hmm?”
“You can kiss me during the slow parts.”
“Oh, yeah? Hmm … alright.” I see him smirk proudly, like he just won a prize.
I bite my lip as my heart dances, happy anticipation chasing its way through me, as I settle into my seat and pay attention to the movie—or as much attention as I can possibly muster.
As it turns out, much to my surprise, the movie has very few, if any, slow parts, and I do not sense any surprise kisses coming.
It’s half an hour in, the plot of the young and dashing demon sorcerer is underway, and Cole is still respecting me. No kisses.
An hour in, Cole and I both are completely engrossed in the movie, our eyes wide and popcorn bucket clutched. The sorcerer is in a pickle. He has been captured by a clever trap set by the brave and handsome broadsword-wielding paladin. Now the paladin is ready to complete his plan of slaying the sorcerer once and for all, of course ignoring all of the sexual tension that has been brewing to unforgivable heights between them.
Much like the sexual tension brewing between me and Cole.
Doesn’t the bullheaded paladin realize his power-hungry king he serves is manipulating him? Can’t he see the demon sorcerer isn’t evil, that his powers come from a curse laid upon his family by a demon that his parents foolishly betrayed? When will the two of them realize they were meant to save each other?