Page 39 of A Fighting Chance

His smile grows with my excitement as he lines his truck up and backs into a spot.

He motions to the truck bed and I look back, noticing—for the first time—an air mattress. He pulls two pillows and a blanket from behind his seat and motions for me to follow him. I slide across the seat of the truck and out of the driver's side. Gentry’s arms wrap around me to help me down and for a few brief, delicious moments, our bodies press together before my feet hit the ground. He places the pillows on top of the mattress and spreads the blanket out over it as well before grabbing my hand again and threading his fingers with mine.

“Let’s go get some snacks before the movie starts,” he says, motioning to the small building.

“What movie is playing?” I ask.

“It’s actually a double feature. They’re scary movies. Is that okay? I guess I should’ve asked first,” he says, like he’s beginning to doubt his plan.

“No, that’s perfect! I love scary movies,” I rush out, wanting to ease his worries.

He squeezes my hand and then brings it to his mouth, pressing his lips to my knuckles and giving them a gentle but firm kiss.

My eyes and stomach flutter in unison.

This man.

This man does crazy things to my body.

We make our way to the small building and Gentry holds the door open for me. The smell of popcorn arrests my senses and it’s heavenly.

“You want popcorn, right?” he asks as if reading my mind, and I nod vigorously. He steps to the counter and orders a large popcorn and two Cokes.

After surveying the rack of candy next to me, I select a box of Snow Caps and place them on the counter. Gentry looks at the box, and then at me.

“Please?” I say, giving him my best puppy eyes and pouting my lip.

He wraps his arm around me, pulling me closer, and leans down to me. Then he presses his cheek to mine and whispers in my ear, “Baby, you can have anything you want.”

My center tightens and I swallow hard. His hot, sweet breath against the sensitive skin of my neck causes quakes deep within me.

He straightens and pays but keeps me wrapped in his arm. When he’s done, he hands me the candy and popcorn, only letting me go when he needs both hands to carry our drinks.

We walk back to the truck and I stand there, wondering exactly how this will work with both our hands full.

He sits the drinks on the top of the cab and then lowers the tailgate, taking the snacks from me to place there. He helps me onto the back of the truck, careful to keep my modesty intact given the dress I’m wearing. I remove my shoes and crawl onto the mattress.

Then, he wedges the drinks between the mattress and truck bed, and hops up on the truck himself, where he removes his shoes and settles in—snacks in hand.

Overall, I’m pretty impressed with his efficiency with the ordeal.

We prop the pillows against the back of the truck cab and put the snacks in our laps. I look at Gentry, who’s frowning down at our bodies.

I look down, not understanding what’s wrong. “What?” I ask.

“I don’t like this,” he says.

Confused, I look down at us again, searching for what could be wrong.

Gentry picks up the snacks and shimmies his body closer to mine, closing the gap that had just been between us. Now, our hips are pressed against each other’s. He holds his arm up, welcoming me into his embrace and tucking me into him. He tangles one leg over mine and sets the snacks back down.

I evaluate us now—his left arm tucked behind me, his hand resting on my hip—and it feels moreright.

“That’s better,” he says.

From my new spot, I can’t look up and see his full face unless he were to look down. So, when I do try to look at him, all I can see is his beautiful mouth curled up into a wry smile.

“I like this, too,” I say, leaning into him and nuzzling my head against his chest.

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