Bastiana has a loving family, two amazing best friends, and a secret.
Over summer vacation, Bastiana and her besties do their best to focus on their bucket list in order to distract them from all the secrets they're keeping from one another. When a...
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Just like every movie night, I'm acutely aware of Tiana's proximity to me.
Throughout the first movie, every time she reaches for something on the coffee table or adjusts her legs, her bare arm brushes against the exposed skin of my own.
Near the end of the first movie, I notice her shifting around like she's uncomfortable, so I take the pillow from behind my back and offer it to her. She smiles at me gratefully and takes it like I just gave her a precious gift, as she tucks it behind her, settling back into her spot. I smile like an idiot and try to find a comfortable way to sit.
We take a short break after the first movie so everyone can use the bathroom or refill their snacks and drinks. So, I get up to grab another pillow and Tiana disappears into the kitchen for a few minutes.
When she comes back, she's got a little bowl of sliced strawberries, mini marshmallows, and some pieces of dark chocolate. She sits down next to me, but this time she's just a little bit closer and her side is pressed up against mine. I smile down at her beside me. She pops a tiny marshmallow and a piece of strawberry into her mouth then adds a piece of chocolate and looks up at me.
When she sees me looking at her, she smiles and offers the bowl to me. I look down at it and shrug, picking up one of each and popping them into my mouth. She watches my face and raises her eyebrow in question.
It's good, right? Her eyes seem to say.
I nod. It's pretty good.
She smiles triumphantly at our silent conversation and gets settled for the second movie.
Halfway through the second movie, she seems to decide she's done snacking and settles down further into her spot. She leans against me and rests her head on my shoulder. Given our height difference, I'm sure it's not as comfortable a position as she wants it to be.
I raise my arm up, draping it over her shoulders and motioning with my head for her to scoot in and get comfortable. This appears to make her very happy as she gives me a wide smile and quickly scoots into my side. She pulls her knees up to her chest and curls into me, resting her head against my chest.
I sigh deeply and let the warmth of her small body relax me. I love having her this close to me. I'm not good at reading when to initiate physical contact, so when she does it makes things easier.
She adjusts her head a few minutes later and a loose curl of her long, dark hair falls into her face. She moves her hand up to brush it back behind her ear that's against my chest and decides to leave her hand there. I can feel her palm pressed to my chest over my heart and I wonder if she can feel how fast it's beating.
I don't move a muscle for the rest of the second movie.
Just as the end credits start, my phone lights up with a text from Ash.
