I promised you. | Austin Butler

Part 18

We pull up to the theatre some 45 minutes later, after finishing off our coffees and heading into a small little village supermarket for some champagne for when we got back to the cottage, and then finding the nearest theatre that would be playing the movie in the first place. The car park was busy, for a Saturday afternoon I had expected it to be anyway, and Austin pulled up his hood the minute that he turned off the engine. In my own foolish selfishness, I didn't even realise how this would probably feel for him. Would he want to watch it? Would he feel embarrassed? He had always been pretty low on self esteem and would always groan whenever I requested to watch any of his older stuff. Was he currently terrified of being noticed? All these things I hadn't thought about before now and I suddenly feel a sense of regret. He unclips his seatbelt and then places his hand on the steering wheel, tapping his thumb along it. 

"Babe," I begin, and he turns around with a smile, the hood of his hoodie covering half of his face. I smile back softly and move the hoodie so that I can see him but he shifts his head quickly so he catches my hand with a kiss. I giggle like a school girl and then look out to the theatre in front of us. 

"Was this a bad idea?" I finally ask, and he laughs at the side of me but I can tell he's faced the theatre now too instead of looking at me. 

"If there's a self service ticket office we will be fine. I'll have to nip to the toilet whilst you get snacks. Is that okay?"

Now I laugh. "Of course. Austin." and I turn to him again but he's still facing the front. "Austin we don't have to go in. I can ask Danielle to come with me or-" he turns around quickly, because even he knows I was about to say Andrew. 

"I want to be with you-" he begins, and my heart beats slightly at the almost slip up. "I want to watch you watching it. I want to see you laugh, because I know you will. I want to take you to bed after and have you smelling of popcorn."

"Austin." I say, rolling my heads and hitting his arm in the process, which only makes him chuckle. The serious moment being broken by his words. He smiles softly though, and looks me deep in the eyes. 

"For real though. I do want to be with you for this. This one changed everything for me, Leanne. All the hard work and all the years apart. It'll make sense."

I smile, because he's saying all the words I was thinking. I have this feeling in my chest that when we walk out of the theatre in the next few hours, my head and my heart may have some clarity, and he knows that too. I smile though quickly, because I don't want him to relish on the thought and despite it all, I want to have fun. Theres something about sneaking in there, for many reasons, that feels exciting. And I hadn't been on a date like this in so long. I love a glass of champagne, I love a fancy dinner, but theres something about wearing our sweats and sitting for the next few hours eating snacks and trying not to get noticed that feels so ... us?

I pull my hood up now too and open the passenger side door, and take one last look at Austin. Theres a look on his face that says a thousand words but I try to push it away as I smile at hime excitedly, and it makes him laugh. He pulls his hood further down his face and steps out the car, and even though I've already opened the car door and am stepping out myself, he still comes around to the passenger side and offers me a hand. When I take it, I don't let him go as I intwine our fingers and give his hand a squeeze. 

"Put your hood down." he says, his voice quiet. 

"You sure?" I ask.

"Yeah. Just act normal." 

I do as he tells me and realise suddenly that two people walking into a packed out theatre with their hoods up was probably worse than holding a sign over Austin's head saying "here's Elvis."