Dirty Little Secret

nine

In exactly an hour, we stop at an old building. The outside looks really run down but the sidewalks in this town are lit with a lot of lamp posts, a retro vibe around the whole town. A few people making their way around.

Lance rushes out his door and runs to my side to open it for me. Cute.

"Thanks." I tell him as I get out, he replies with a cheeky smile. He locks the car and holds out his hand for me to take, I take it in mine and we walk down the theatre.

"It doesn't look like much on the outside but the inside is really cozy, you'll love it." He tells me as he looks at me, a smile on his pretty face. He walks over to the lady in the booth and shows her the tickets. The old lady smiles at him and gets out the booth to usher us in the theatre. She walks ahead of us and opens the door. Immediately, the mood changes. The warmth of the place engulfs me and I enter a place that looks like the opposite of its outside interior.

The whole place looks like something from an old 70's movie but cozier. The floor adorned with a fluffy red carpet, the walls decorated with different kinds of classic and new romantic movie posters. The room was lit perfectly, a true setting for romance. Lance notices me being taken aback by the place and nudges me gently.

I look up at him and smile genuinely. "It's beautiful." I tell him. He smiles at me and kisses my forehead which shocks me and I instantly blush, he looks ahead of him again.

"I told you you'd like it." He says smugly. The lady stops in front of another door and we both stop.

"Glad to see you visiting again Lance." The old lady says warmly with a smile.

"Good to be back." He curtly replies. The old lady looks at me and I give her a smile which she returns.

"You guys make a lovely couple, dear." She comments and I instantly blush again. Lance just chuckles and I don't deny either. I think my heart just skipped a beat honestly. "The movie starts in a few minutes, enjoy." The old lady speaks up again as she opens the door for us, the inside is dark and shows an array of plush red chairs and a classic romance song playing inside. Lance lets go of my hand and excuses himself for a second to get something. I just stand there, rooted to my spot and wait for him.

The old lady is looking at me, smiling warmly. "How long have you guys been dating, dear?" She inquires sweetly.

"Uh, just recently. We're still getting to know each other." I reply nervously while scratching the back of my head as I give her a nervous smile. She chuckles at me.

"Oh honey, you shouldn't worry about anything. Lance is one of the nicest kid I have ever met." She tells me, I offer her a warm smile. "And he's gorgeous too." She winks at me and I laugh at her. I didn't get the chance to reply to her because Lance rejoins us, a huge popcorn in his left hand and a huge drink in the other, with two straws.

I think this whole place was made for couples. "Were you guys backstabbing me?" He laughs as he rejoins us, I quickly help him out and take the popcorn. The old lady laughs at us and ushers us inside, Lance lets me go in front of him and I enter the place. The cold air of the air conditioning hits me like an embrace, the theatre was dimly lit and I could see that it wasn't that full, the old lady shows us a seat at the middle, perfect view of the screen. We take our seats and thank her as she goes back out.

"This place is so comfortable." I say as I ease in in the seat. Lance chuckles and sets our drink on the floor. "At least let me pay for the popcorn or something." I say as I start to take out my wallet. Lance stops me and looks me straight in the eyes.

"No. I took you out on this date, it'd be very rude and un-gentlemanly of me if I let my date pay." He tells me and I chuckle at his choice of words, he grins at me and sits back.

"Thank you." I tell him genuinely. Our gazes shift to the screen in front of us.

"My pleasure. The movie should start in a bit." I nod in response even though he didn't catch that. Silence engulfs us and it's not awkward like I pegged it to be. "Sooo.. I actually tried calling you today." He breaks the silence after a while.

I look at him and see him already looking. "Sorry, I left my phone at home." He lets out a heavy sigh and laughs.

"Phew! Thank God. I thought you regretted our intimate moment and was avoiding me." I laugh along with him.

"I don't. Not at all. Not even a bit." I tell him with a chuckle, he just looks at me and smiles.

"Me too." He says quietly, but I heard it.

I don't get the chance to respond because the movie starts playing and we tune in to the movie.

A few minutes into the movie, his hands find mine and we entwine them.

Our hands fitting perfectly together, like we were made for each other.

And for the first time, I didn't feel like I had to hide.