Page 83 of Knot His Reality

After breakfast, we head into town and spend a few hours at an indoor obstacle course—which shows me just how out of shape I am before heading to a small café for lunch where they’re holding an open mic night—afternoon? We listen to poets and singers sharing their words and voices with us, and it’s altogether an amazing day.

Once we return to the compound, I make a point of spending time with the other suitors, checking in with Brooke first. She seems to be doing much better, back to her usual perky self. I take a few minutes to talk to Daniel but avoid being alone with him.

He’s lucky I let him anywhere near me.

I can tell he regrets his actions, but I’m not sure if that’s enough for me. I’ll have to see how I feel in a few days.

I have a blast on Wednesday’s date with the Ivanov twins, Gracie, and Rhys. I don’t know how Gracie convinced them, but we ended up visiting a variety of psychics and a few metaphysical shops. I’m not sure how much I can believe the things they tell me, but it’s a ton of fun.

Now, it’s Thursday and time for my solo date with Santiago. We set out to Rancho Mirage around lunchtime, and I settle back in my seat to enjoy the ride.

I don’t bother asking what we’re going to be doing since I know he won’t tell me. At least, that’s something I learned from the last three days of dating my suitors. If I ask them to plan the dates, I better be ready to be surprised because they’re all very closed-minded about what they plan.

When we pull up outside of a movie theater, I grin. “We’re watching a movie?”

“Can’t get anything past you, can I?” Santiago chuckles, nodding toward the electronic marquee. “But we’re watching more than one. They’re doing a marathon of old pre-Event movies for us. We can stay for as few or as many as you’d like. I love anything pre-Event, and since so much of that was lost to us, I couldn’t pass up this opportunity.”

“I think I’ve seen one pre-Event movie before. This is exciting,” I tell him once we have the all clear to head inside. “But what about food? I’m already getting hungry and as much as I love candy and popcorn, I’ll need actual food.”

Santiago’s smile only grows as he opens the door and ushers me inside. “This theater has an entire menu available. Once we’re in our seats, we can order anything we want. They’ll leave a tablet for us, so any time you want something, you can order it.”

That makes me smile. “I like the sound of that. We get the full theater experience but food and snacks like we’re at home. This is amazing.”

Twenty minutes later, the first movie is just starting, and I’m already halfway through a basket of hot wings. I wouldn’t have thought to order wings at a movie theater, but they’re damn good.

They have a little bit of everything on their menu, from hamburgers to hot dogs to grilled cheese. Of course there are candies and popcorn, but there are also full meals like a steak and salad with a vegetable side. My plan is to work my way through their appetizer menu slowly and then move onto the other food.

“You know, I always thought they should look different from us,” I admit, leaning close to Santiago. “But we look exactly the same as they did pre-Event.”

He grunts, nodding without taking his eyes off the screen. “We do. Now, shhhh. No talking during the movie.”

I frown, staring at him to see if he’s joking, but he doesn’t seem to be.

Settling back into my seat, I continue eating my wings, but I’m finding it hard to concentrate on the movie.

Did he invite me on a date where he expects me not to talk? How are we supposed to get to know one another if we don’t talk?

Maybe he just really likes this movie?

Rather than making assumptions, I eat and watch the movie in silence.

Once the credits start, he turns to me with a huge smile. “Well? What did you think?”

“It was good. It’s clear they lived very different lives than we do.”

He nods. “It really is. They said they’ll give us fifteen minutes between movies so we can use the bathroom or whatever. I’m going to do that and then come back and order something to eat. Is the food good?”

“Very good. I would’ve shared it with you, but…” I trail off, not wanting to point out that he told me not to talk.

“Oh, that’s no problem. I’m not a big fan of sharing food with others.” He heads for the bathroom, leaving me to stare after him.

Everything about this date feels…weird? I don’t know how to describe it.

I don’t feel uncomfortable or anything, but I’m so confused by why Santiago chose this for our date.

The reason I chose him as the other solo date for the week is I wanted to make sure to give him another chance after his initial blunder. He’s definitely been getting along better with the other suitors, but things still felt a little stilted between us. I was hoping we’d be able to move past that by having some time with just the two of us, but it almost feels like he doesn’t want to talk to me.

Just before the second movie starts, I lean over to ask, “Does the no talking apply to all movies?”

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