We reached Staten Island and walked off the ferry, hand-in-hand. Bea was keeping her white beret in place with her free hand, the wind desperate to take it from her, and I wouldn't have minded at all if the wind took the rest of her clothes along with it.
"So what's the plan now?" I asked, swinging her hand absentmindedly, and she smiled, kissing me on the cheek.
"We could grab a movie if you wanted? St. George Theater is absolutely gorgeous, it's my favorite theater to go to because if the movie isn't worth watching, the architecture and décor is worth looking at."
"We could always take a movie back to your place and maybe watch some other things," I teased, running my hand up her side, getting a little close to her breast, and she snorted with laughter, slapping my hand away.
"Behave yourself, you pig, we're in public!" she said, before shooting me a sly smile. "But we could always watch some other things in private."
"I'd like that," I purred, kissing her on the lips and cheek and trailing down her neck, and she let out a very soft moan, just loud enough for me to hear, before she tilted her head back and kissed me back, straightening up.
"I want to watch a movie in a theater though. St. George's is a gorgeous location, it's perfect for a date, it's romantic and I want a romantic night with you," she said, giving me a look out of the corner of her eye, silently begging me to be a little bit more than the skirt chaser I was well known as.
I wasn't a romantic at all, Paul had been absolutely right to say that, but I wanted to be one for her. I wanted to be anything and everything Bea wanted me to.
With a soft smile, I kissed her gently on the forehead. "I'll buy the tickets, you pick the movie."
Her face absolutely lit up, eyes sparkling, and she threw her arms around me with a giggle, kissing me. I slipped my arms around her waist, spinning her around before setting her back on her feet, absolutely giddy on a rush of love.
"Thank you," she said, picking my hand up again and squeezing it.
I lifted her hand to my lips, giving it a kiss and a squeeze. "Of course. Your wish is my command."
Another sweet giggle escaped her as she rolled her coffee-colored downturned eyes. "You're hopeless," she said with an overdramatic sigh.
"A hopeless romantic?" I asked, letting her lead me down the street to the theater, and she scoffed.
"Hardly. Just hopeless," she said with a wink, and I pouted.
"I can be a romantic, just you wait," I grumbled, and she kissed me again before tugging me toward the rather plain building.
"I'm on the edge of my seat," she said with a raised eyebrow.
"Hope you don't end up falling," I teased, and she smiled.
"For you? It might be too late, I think I already have."
I blinked, stunned by her flippant confession, but before I even had a chance to process what she had said we were at the ticket counter.
"Oh, let's watch A Star is Born!" she said eagerly. "I'm in the mood for a romance, and the showing is in ten minutes so that works out perfectly."
"A Star is Born it is," I said, pulling out my wallet.
I bought us two tickets before getting us a bag of popcorn to share, walking into the theater with her. She was absolutely right, the interior was gorgeous. It was illuminated by chandeliers, with ornamentation and embellishment covering the walls and ceiling.
"Oh, wow," I breathed, drawing to a halt in the theater in favor of just staring at everything, trying to take it all in at once, even though that was impossible.
A kiss on the cheek snapped me back to reality and I looked at Bea with a smile. "You were right, this is a very good place for a date."
"I'm glad you agreed to come here. I knew you'd like it," she said, cheeks flushed a warm pink, giving my hand a squeeze. "Maybe I can make a romantic out of you after all."
"I have full confidence in you, my dear," I said, kissing her on the forehead before walking to our seats with her.
The movie was good, even though romance movies weren't usually my genre of choice. It was gripping, but not to the extent that I wasn't able to tear my gaze from the screen in favor of glancing at Bea. She was staring at the screen with wide eyes, hanging onto every word of dialogue, so engaged her lips were parted slightly. The movie cast strange lights across her face, shifting and changing with every shot, almost making it seem like her features were swimming in and out of focus.
John Howard, the lead character, reminded me of some rather close friends of mine, and I felt a little uneasy watching as he sped off with a beer in hand, already fairly certain where he was going to end up. And sure enough, it didn't take long for the scene to shift to his wife sobbing over his dead body, just a few feet from his wrecked car.
"Cripes, that'll be Jeanette if he doesn't get his shit together," Bea whispered to herself, eyes glued to the screen, and I noted her comment with mild bemusement.
It was funny how we both knew someone married to a woman named Jeanette who had a history of wrecking his car while driving drunk. I could only hope that Ace would wise up before he wound up dead and it was his wife left to mourn him.
The movie finished and we walked out of the theater in a subdued silence. Bea was hugging my arm tighter than usual, neither of us speaking, before she cleared her throat, breaking the silence.
"Sorry. I didn't know the ending was going to be like that," she mumbled. "If I had known it would be such a downer, I'd have picked a different film."
I chuckled, giving her a fond squeeze. "Hey, it was a good movie, just a sad ending. That's life though, you know?"
"I suppose," she murmured, staring off into space, mind starting to wander.
"If you'd like, we can head back to my place and make the end of our night a happy one," I said with a wink, and she smiled, eyes brightening up.
"I'd like that."
