Page 33 of Ice, Ice… Maybe?

“No one is teasing you about it – and we can start fromA Force Awakensand watch all the way through toThe Last Jediif you don’t have to be anywhere anytime soon.”

“I’m completely yours,” she laughed, hugging him tighter.

“Gosh, I hope so,” he said hoarsely, holding her close and resting his cheek against her hair. “I really hope so, Becca.”

CHAPTER 11

TRAVIS

“Hey,”Travis whispered hoarsely, opening his eyes on the large couch in the theater room where he and Becca had obviously fallen asleep watching one of the Star Wars movies. It was so funny to see her reaction to Kylo Ren/Ben Solo because what he thought would be the end of their date was only the beginning.

After six hours of watching movies and snuggling together, she suddenly began frantically patting his arm, pointing at the screen, and hissing, ‘Look! Look!’ just as the two characters kissed… and the dude died.

And this was her favorite scene?

He turned and stared at her in disbelief as her whole expression melted, and the woman sighed openly in bliss. That look on Becca’s face was so soul-shaking that he couldn’t help but share his opinion.

“You know that guy just croaked, right?”

“Don’t ruin it for me,” she retorted distractedly. “Can you rewind it sixty seconds?”

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, there’s an art to this scene.”

So Travis obliged and watched her utterly fascinated as she proceeded to coach him on this mysterious ‘art.’ Obviously, he was about to learn how his girl wanted to get kissed, and there was no bigger student in the universe at that moment. If Becca wanted this moment, he was an apt pupil.

“Look at that expression,” she whispered mindlessly, leaning forward in her seat and staring like she was seeing the miracle of creation for the first time. “Ben is so distraught, so emotional, and he knows that even if he redeems himself – he’s already lost. She’s gone, and without her, he’s nothing anymore; nothing else matters.”

“Really?” he gaped – Becca got all that from Ben Solo rocking a corpse while sitting on the ground? Maybe all the theories were right in the world and women did speak another language because he wouldn’t have guessed any of that.

“Now, see that? It’s finally dawned on Ben that he has the ability to give Rey the biggest gift – life and a piece of his soul. He pours everything into that simple touch, holding her close and praying that he can look at that spark in Rey’s eyes once more…”

Travis stared – mystified – because Becca was getting choked up.The dude killed millions, and she is eating this scene up? Oh my gosh… seriously?

Her hand reached blindly beside her, grabbing his material-encased thigh – and he nearly came out of the recliner with the need to hide what was happening to the rest of him, not a foot away from those digits. She wasn’t trying to turn him on and had no clue what that simple, excited touch did. He didn’t care that her fingernails were digging in his thigh. She was reaching for him, touching and talking to him.

“Look! There! Oh my gosh, Travis, that smile,” she wept passionately, still staring at the screen and pointing with her other hand – and he could not take his eyes from her profile, stunned. “That man knows how much he is losing and can feel himself slipping away, but he doesn’t care. His perfect soulmate, his love, his everything had just found her place, her orbit like they are binary stars destined for each other across the universeand then that trash happens!”

The snarl, combined with the pain in his leg, nearly caused him to yelp as she was now yelling at the movie screen like a hockey fan, spewing allsorts of angry words and her opinion of what seemed like an affront to nature to Becca.

“Look at that garbage! Seriously? That is not how you end a trilogy with this much emotional build-up –and gosh dang it– you should be keelhauled and horsewhipped for doing this to half the population! What’s wrong with you people? Younever,everkill off the hero…”

“Becca…” he began gingerly, trying to lift one of her fingers from his thigh because it was starting to smart as her fingernail pinched his skin.

“And the hero always gets the girl… it’s a rule!”

“Becca, he was the bad guy.”

“HE WAS IN THE MIDDLE OF HIS REDEMPTION ARC!” she snarled, turning to look at him, and he backed away in the recliner, holding back laughter at the sudden change in her. “DON’T YOU SEE THAT?”

“Explain it to me…” he choked out, trying not to howl in delight, realizing that she really did love these things – just like him. His precious girl was a little more engaged, vocal, and opinionated than he was, and it was amazing.

He watched her animated face as she launched into a majestic tirade at the screen, pointing out all the flaws or things that she would have done differently in the last five to ten minutes of the movie. Delighting in her outlook and her outraged behavior, and even admired the way she made him pause the movie to describe a particular scene and what should have happened.

The only artist here was Becca.

She was like a painter complaining that the canvas was badly made. It didn’t stop her love of the art form, but rather, it was enthralling to realize that she just wanted others to understand, appreciate, and put in as much effort as she felt the story deserved. She was passionate, amazing, brilliant, and utterly enchanting as she thoroughly moved the scene forward – frame-by-frame.

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