AS STRANGE AS IT WAS, the movie was somehow forgettable. Logan spent the first half terrified the door was going to open and the manager was going to bludgeon him to death with the broken lever. He spent the second half having that notion happily distracted by Lacy.
The girl was adorable. There was no better way to say it. Everything she did, everything she said...he was completely smitten.
As it turned out, they had both been completely bluffing about the popcorn. She’d arrogantly bought two large tubs, but they’d both only eaten a few inches before lifting their hands in preemptive defeat. The rest of the film was spent ‘watching’ the screen, while really watching each other. Their hands sneaked ever closer on the armrests. He stretched up his arms about a dozen times, trying to work up the courage to wind one around her shoulders.
By the time the credits rolled around, they were both worked up into such a state, they didn’t noti
ce the theater empty around them, until they were the only ones left in their seats.
“Shit—we should go.” Logan looked around in alarm, his fear of discovery rising up all over again. “Before that guy comes back with...another problem for me to fix.”
Lacy nodded and pushed to her feet, only to clap a hand over her stomach with a laugh.
“Okay—truth? I never eat movie theater popcorn. It’s so buttery, it makes me sick!”
Logan stopped looking around for the attendant, and chuckled under his breath.
“I’m exactly the same way. Why couldn’t you have made the competition about coffee or something like that? I’d be sure to win.”
She smiled briefly, then turned around suddenly to face him.
“Well how about we do that next time?”
He froze where he stood, staring intently into her eyes.
“Well why don’t we make ‘next time’ tonight? My place? Seven o’clock?”
She considered for a moment, then flashed him a bright smile.
“Sounds perfect.”
Yeah, it does.
They left the theater behind them and headed out onto the sidewalk, squinting up at the bright sun. While both seemed incredibly reluctant to leave the other, it was inevitable.
“This is me.” Lacy cocked her head one way.
Logan grinned, watching her hair blow back and forth in the breeze.
“This is me.” He cocked his head the other. They stared at each other for a moment, before he leaned in suddenly and kissed her on the cheek. “See you at seven?”
“Yeah...” She backed away with a wide grin, blushing to high heaven. “See you then.”
The two of them headed off in opposite directions. Both with the same fluttering heart-beat. Both with the same dreamy smile.
Something was happening here. Something was just getting started.
And it was something that neither one of them could possibly expect...
Chapter 20
“Back you beast of hell! Back!”
It was five minutes to seven, and Logan was lying on top of the refrigerator. The same place he’d been for the last three hours. On the way home from the theater, he’d had the brilliant idea that he would bring a peace offering to Spartacus. A slab of raw meat to ease tensions and allow him to sleep the next two weeks without keeping one eye open.
A brilliant plan—in theory. But apparently, the dog’s integrity didn’t have a price.
The meat was in a bloody pile on the floor. Logan had the bite on his hand to prove it. And as if just seeing it lying there wasn’t enough, Spartacus made sure to step on it every time he paced around the kitchen—circling like a shark.