“Come on,” I cajoled. “My treat.”
“You can’t keep paying for everything. It’s not fair,” she protested.
“Look, a couple of cinema tickets aren’t going to break the bank, and this is an unscheduled date, so it’s only right I pay. In fact, you’d actually be saving me money. If I had to try and entertain myself on my own, I’d probably end up going to some fancy restaurant and spending a fortune on a meal for one.”
“Well, when you put it like that. Let’s go.”
She linked her arm through mine, and as we headed for the door, I felt like I’d won the lottery.
Chapter Eleven
Lauren
Jensen Caldwell was a force of nature. When he wanted something, he found a way to get it. I loved that he managed to do it without running roughshod all over me. He had money, and he wanted to shower it on me, but I didn’t want to be a charity case or a sponge. I might not have much, but I had my pride, and it was hard to be on an equal footing with someone when money always seemed to tip the balance of the scales. After getting our tickets, he bought a giant soda with two straws, a huge bag of candy, and a ridiculously large bucket of popcorn.
“What’s this?” he asked in confusion as we stood before the topping machine.
“Butter,” I replied.
“For what?”
“For the popcorn,” I explained. His answering expression was half horror, half awe.
“You don’t have topping for your popcorn in England?”
“No, you either buy sweet or salted. There’s none of this kind of witchcraft and wizardry.”
“Buddy, you’re missing out,” I said, and taking the bucket from his hand, I drowned it in deliciousness.
He stole a piece and popped it into his mouth.
“Man, that is so good. I need to get one of these things for my house,” he answered on a groan as he helped himself to another piece.
“I’d re-think that decision if I were you. Too many buckets of this stuff, and you can kiss those awesome abs good-bye.”
“So you’ve been checking out my abs then. Good to know,” he teased, and throwing an arm around my shoulders, he led me into the theater. I desperately wanted to make some witty comeback, but he had shocked me into silence.
The theater was empty, so I followed Jensen to the middle of the back row. He put the soda in the armrest between us and dropped the candy onto my lap next to the popcorn.
“Help yourself,” he said, nodding toward the huge bounty. He draped an arm over my shoulders once again and dipped his hand back into the bucket of popcorn. As the room darkened and the screen lit up, I was still dumbstruck. I’d snuck into cinemas without paying many times, but never had I sat in the back row with a guy who bought a ticket for me. As the magic of the movie washed over me, I leaned against Jensen’s shoulder, enjoying the fact that nothing had ever felt so right.
“So what did you think?” he asked, slipping his hand into mine as we walked along the sidewalk.
“It was amazing. I can’t believe I haven’t seen it before.”
“Ah, the things that I could show you.” He chuckled, dropping a kiss on the top of my head like it was the most natural thing in the world.
The snow that had been lazily drifting down around us was falling heavily when I spotted Gabriel across the road.
“Hey,” I shouted over to him, and waved as I got his attention. Pulling Jensen along with me, I crossed the street to greet him.
“Well, hello. If it isn’t my favorite person in the world to dine with,” Gabe said, sporting a toothy grin.
“I came looking for you the other evening, but your bed was gone. I was afraid something bad had happened to you.”
“Bless you, child. But don’t be worrying about me. I just get itchy feet, that’s all. Now who is this fine young man?” he asked, looking Jensen up and down.
“Gabe, this is my friend Jensen. Jensen, this is Gabe,” I said.