Silver Lining | Grooms #3

V. Movie Night

Nikhil chucked his tie off in the back seat along with his coat, and untucked his shirt getting out of the car so he looked less like he was going to walk into a meeting and more like going to watch a movie, though it did little to help his case.

Esha looked at herself, and there wasn't too much she could do. She was in a semi-formal business dress, paired with heels and that was it. Just when he was about to throw his coat inside as well, she caught it. He questioned through his eyes.

"Movie theaters get cold and I'm wearing a dress." She gave her reason, and he let her borrow it. As she hung it over her folded arm, he smiled to himself.

He did not know what he was doing. This evening was not pre-planned. But he was enjoying it - just seeing it unfold. He liked that she was vocal and did not shy away from taking things she wanted. He especially did not mind when she took his things without falling into politeness and mannerisms. It just told him how real she was. She wasn't hiding her true self. With two people, it takes time to reach a level of comfort before you let your guards down. And sure, she did have her walls up when it came to discussing relationships and such, but in all other aspects, she was an open book.

And he knew. It was going to be a book he was going to enjoy reading.

He shut the door and locked the car, then the two started walking to the ticket counter. She stood with him in the line, though he didn't ask what movie she wanted to watch. She wasn't particular about that so she didn't bring it up either. She just looked around.

There were couples in lines, families, older couples, teenagers, and a few groups of friends. Some were dressed, while others were in everyday clothes. She caught a few people looking in their direction, but it didn't matter to her. She'd just look away towards someone else. This wasn't how she had anticipated her Friday evening would be.

Just as she looked ahead, back towards Nikhil, someone bumped into her. She turned around to see the group of teenagers behind them goofing off. "My bad." The guy answered, and shoved another guy. Esha assumed the other guy was the one who had pushed.

"It's fine." She muttered, facing away from them. When it happened again, and she heard them snickering, she was ready to yell some sense into them. Before she could, Nikhil put his arm around her, nudging her to stand in front of him.

To the guys, he warned, "Cut it off, kids."

Esha had to hide a smile from them, knowing they wouldn't have appreciated being called 'kids'.

They moved ahead in line, but his arm stayed around her, resting on her back. She hadn't thought much about it, until his action seeped in. His thumb was brushing back and forth again, the same way he had when they had first shaken hands in the meeting. Again, she got the feeling that this was familiar yet unfamiliar.

She wouldn't have done anything about it, if he hadn't started to unintentionally do that. She arched slightly away from his touch, bringing it to his attention. She didn't look at him, so she couldn't have seen the look on his face as he dropped his hand to his side.

"Isn't that a horror movie?" Esha asked once he had asked for two tickets from the girl working at the counter on their turn.

As he was taking out his wallet from his back pocket, he answered, "Yeah, it is. No way are you going to sleep through this movie."

"Just FYI, they don't scare me." She let it be known, making him double guess himself. Just maybe, there was still a possibility of her falling asleep somewhere in the middle.

After receiving their ticket, signing the receipt, and his card being returned to him, they made their way inside the building. "So what's your favorite genre?"