Service • JDM

Movies

You pulled into the parking lot, taking in a deep breath. You had never met his son before. And you were about to watch a scary movie which wasn't the genre that you preferred. But something told you to go, so you did.

As you locked your car you looked up to find Jeffrey and Gus in line to buy tickets. Once you made it up the them, Jeff was already ordering.

"How many tickets sir?"

"3. 2 adults and one child." Jeff replied. As he pulled his wallet out he looked glanced at you and smiled. He handed the man his money and got the tickets in return. "Gus, can you hold these?"

"Yeah," he said as he reached up for the tickets. He folded them up and put them in his pocket. He looked up at you with his deep brown eyes. They were darker than Jeffrey's so he must've gotten them from his mother. "Hi, I'm Augustus. You must be my dads friend."

"Yep, I sure am. Nice to meet you," you said with a small laugh. Gus ran ahead as you and Jeff began talking. "You didn't have to buy me a ticket you know."

"Well, I said I'd pay for our next meal. And even though this technically isn't a meal, it's still an event that I'm glad to pay for."

"Thank you," you smiled at him. Before Jeff could respond, Gus was yelling for you both to hurry up. You both let out a chuckle and made your way to the concessions line.

"Dad, can I get this," Gus said while pulling a box of candy off of the rack. Jeffrey nodded and took the box from his son. He looked to you and and said, "M&Ms for the lady?"

You were blown away by this. M&Ms were your favorite. "H-how did you know?" You asked him with a smile on your face.

"We talked about it at lunch, remember?" He gives you a smirk when you clearly can't remember. He pays for the candy and Gus races to the theater.

You and Jeffrey make your way through the people to find Gus stopped by the man who takes your tickets. Gus stood with his arms over his chest, a pout on his face.

"Are you all together?" the man asked, annoyance in his voice. He had his eyebrow lazily raised, clearly upset with his job.

"Yes," Jeffrey began as he slung an arm around your shoulders. "Is there a problem?" Jeffrey stood up straighter and pulled you into him.

Out of context you would've melted in his embrace, but you knew that this wasn't the time.

"Well your kid tried to get in with 3 tickets which is right. And the movie is rated PG-13 and he's definitely not old enough to enter without a guardian," the man droned on with a snobby voice. This made your blood boil.

Jeffrey leaned back and bit his lip to hold back. "Gus give me the tickets." Gus unfolded his arms and handed the tickets to his father. Jeffrey held eye contact with the man as he handed a ticket to each person. "Is that better?"

The man rolled his eyes and took the tickets from each person. Jeffrey returned his arm around your shoulder as he pushed Gus infront of you all. You weren't even 5 feet away when you heard the man talk under his breath. "The brat is as bad as his dad." You lost it.

"Excuse you?!" You yelled as you ripped away from Jeffrey's grasp. You spun around and got in his face. "Wanna say that again?"

Jeffrey grabbed you by the waist and pulled you back. You flipped the bird at him before Jeffrey spun you back around. "Damn your feisty," he joked.

"Yeah and that guys an asshole. Did you hear what he said?" You spat out, still trying to glare at the guy.

"Nope. And I don't wanna know." Jeffrey said with a chuckle.

_____

You jumped back with a gasp. A zombie popped out of nowhere and scared you. Gus looked over at you and laughed while Jeffrey just smiled. "I guess you don't like scary movies?" he whispered in your ear. It sent a chill down your spine but you tried to hide it.

Jeffrey sat back and chuckled as he put a hand on yours. Only then did you realize that you grabbed his thigh when you jumped. You looked more petrified now than when the movie scared you. "I'm sorry," you mouthed as you let go of his leg. But Jeffrey just grinned and instead of letting you take your hand back, he wrapped his fingers around yours. You made eye contact once again and held it longer than friends would normally do.

You held hands until the the movie was over and the lights came back on. Jeff let go and turned his attention to Gus. "Did you like it?"

"Yeah! It was awesome!" Gus cheered.

Before Jeff could say anything, Gus took off down the hall. "Gus! Wait up!" Jeffrey yelled.

Jeff looked back you at you. "Was is too scary for you?" He asked with a smirk.

"No, I think it was just the right amount of scary," you responded with an eye roll. You followed him out of the doors until you realized you were missing something. "Oh wait, my purse. Go find Gus. I'll catch up," you tell him. He nods and you turn back around.

You find your purse in the exact spot that you left it in, thankfully. You leave the screening room and find Jeffrey and Gus looking at the gum-ball machines. You couldn't help but stand watch for a moment.

Jeff was down on one knee, pointing at the different items as Gus bounced with excitement. It was such a cute scene. But you couldn't help but think about what it would be like if the mom was with them. And how much of a beautiful family they are together. A family that you could be unintentionally ripping apart.

"Look what I got!" Gus yelled as he ran up to you. You pulled yourself out of your thoughts and saw the toy he got for on the machine.

"Wow, that's pretty cool," you said, putting on a smile.

"Come on, lets go!" He said as he grabbed your hand. His small fingers barely making it around yours.

He's supposed to be holding his mother's hand, not yours, you thought.

Jeffrey had a huge smile on his face when you both came up to him. "I guess that movie really got you wound up," he joked with Gus. He looked up to you and his smile faded. "What's wrong?"

"I'm um," you hesitated, looking for a response. "I'm just a little tired from all of those scary zombies," you said with a small smile.

Jeffrey pursed his lips as he pushed his eyebrows togetherness he knew you weren't being truthful. But he didn't want to push it.

You all left the building and headed for your cars. Before Jeff left your side, he stopped in front of you. "So are we still going to dinner?" He asked, his head tilted down to look at you.

"Yeah. I'd like that," you halfway lied. You really liked him. Really. Like him. But you also thought Gus was adorable and you didn't want to get in the way of the family they have.

"Good," he smiled. "I'll text you," he said with a wink that made your heart flutter.

"Bye dads friend!" Gus yelled from beside the truck.

"See you later," you waved as you made your way to your car.

As you drive by, you and Jeff made eye contact one last time, making your stomach twist with butterflies and guilt.

Ugh there's so many cute parts in this chapter. But then you're reminded that Jeff is indeed married and has a family. Sorry to ruin the moment.