The Girl

FOUR: JASEY RAE

"Lights out, I still hear the rain, these images that fill my head, now keep my fingers from making mistakes, tell my voice what it takes, to speak up, speak up, and keep my conscience clean when I wake..."

SONG: JASEY RAE
ARTIST: ALL TIME LOW

Movie theaters had a secret. They could make the entire place smell like buttered popcorn. That smell would then want you to buy popcorn. That's also how I ended up buying a small bucket while I waited for my date--nameless and she probably wouldn't tell me her name.

"Sorry," She was flustered, an annoyed look on her face as she sat in front of me. "My brothers drive me crazy."

"I bet," I told her and pushed my bucket of popcorn toward her. A grateful smile placed itself on her lips as I did the same thing with my cup of soda. "What'd they do?"

"They broke my straightener, hid my curler, and use my favorite pair of jeans as patches for their jean jackets," She grumbled and touched her hair, the unruly and wavy strands covering her face. "So, I'm stuck wearing a dress."

"You look nice," I offered and watched a light blush creep onto her cheeks. "Despite your brothers thwarting your attempts to try and impress me."

She raised an eyebrow at my words. "My brothers were actually trying to make me go natural, which I am right now," I watched as she pushed her hair away from her face with an annoyed look. "They have this thing where if 'a boy doesn't like you the way you are fresh out of bed then he isn't worth it'."

"Fresh out of bed is my favourite look," I assured her and watched the curious smile on her face.

She chewed the popcorn slowly and didn't speak until she swallowed. "Is this you flirting with me?"

"Kind of," I laughed and bit down on my lip, wincing since I had forgotten about my lip ring. "I haven't dated since my mum died."

She frowned at my admission. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. It was inevitable, cancer in her eggs--I think I'm over it," I stared at my reflection through the steel of the napkin dispenser. "It's been three years."

"Luke,"

"I'm fine," I told her and blinked away the tears, then looked at the time. "The movie is starting soon. Do you want to get actual snacks?"

She looked hurt, not because of my tone of voice, but because I avoided her speculation. For some reason, she wanted to take me apart piece by piece and make sure she knew everything about me while I couldn't even get her name.

In the middle of the movie, she pulled my hand over onto her lap and traced soft circles on the top of it. I glanced over at her, my lips parting as she continued to trace and watch the movie. I swallowed and leaned back in my seat, squeezing her thigh gently.

Her head had found my shoulder and soon enough the soda had been moved to the cup holder on my right side, the arm rest pulled up so she was pressed against me. My heart was beating quickly, and I knew she had felt it.

"I'm just another girl," She whispered and placed her hand on the inside of my thigh. "Don't be so nervous."

But you're not just another girl. "Sorry," I mumbled but made no effort to slow my racing heart.

She caressed the inside of my thigh mindlessly, my breathing struggling to stay composed as I tried to watch the movie. There was no way I could concentrate now when I could feel myself getting a boner.

*

She was quiet as I walked her to her car. Silently, she ate the last of the Crunch ice cream mouth bites I had bought her after the movie. Her eyes followed the cracks in the ground, my hands stuck in my pockets.