Page 100 of Secondhand Smoke
He helped her into the back of the van, making sure she was comfortable in the nest before he kicked off his boots and settled in next to her.
She was overly aware of his body’s heat warming the chilly autumn air around them. One might be worried about freezing when the temperatures dropped, but she never had to worry about that next to him.
Her own blood heated to abnormal degrees when he scooted closer and wrapped his arm around her, holding her close to his side.
She leaned into his shoulder and watched as the movie began.
Not for long, though.
Five minutes in, she was burying her face into Barrett’s shoulder, hiding from the ugly, horrific creature on the screen.
“Is this a scary movie?”
Barrett chuckled. “Itiscalled aScare-a-thon.” He shifted under her, probably to look at her. There was a pause, then he sat up straight, and she was forced to move with him. His mouth was open in surprise. “Wait, do you not like horror?”
Nell winced as something jumped out on the screen from the corner of her eye and turned her face further away. “Why would anyone want to scare themselves on purpose?”
Barrett stared, puzzled.
Then he cracked a smile and ran a hand through his hair. “I guess I didn’t think this one through.” He laughed.
She wasn’t staring so much at him as she was at the pillow behind him. She did not want to chance seeing again whatever that thing on the screen was.
He grasped her cheeks and pulled her closer until she had no choice but to meet his crinkled, amused eyes. He planted another fleeting kiss on her lips. “How about we get out of here?”
Nell smiled sheepishly. “Are you sure? You wanted to come here.”
“No, I wanted to come here withyou. To create good memories in a car. Not scare the shit out of you and make it worse.” He kissed her cheek, then her nose. “Let’s go. I know somewhere much better.”
* * *
That “somewhere much better” turned out to be their usual spot at the quarry.
The entire drive was much easier than the one to the drive-in. No, it wasn’t perfect. Better, but not great.
She clung to his hand too tightly to be comfortable, but it was Barrett, and he understood.
He distracted her as they drove, bringing up new topics anytime she closed her eyes or inhaled sharply or squeezed his fingers. And it worked.
Her breaths didn’t have to be so deep to actually connect her lungs to her body. She didn’t feel like she might faint if she looked out the window.
When she did get the sudden gruesome image flashing in the back of her mind, which was inevitable, she just had to look at Barrett for it to fade away.
He parked the van so the trunk faced the quarry’s edge.
She’d doubted when he said it was much better. They’d been there dozens of times with the guys. How could it be better?
She doubted . . . until he opened the trunk doors.
Somehow, this familiar view had taken on a new life because of how he’d parked right against the edge of where the quarry fell.
It really wasmuch better.
Instead of a movie screen, they peered out over the dark quarry and the twinkling sky of stars its darkness enhanced so well. They reflected off the still water, creating the illusion that they were sitting on the edge of the galaxy.
This late in the year, the usual crickets and frogs in the area had long left to die off or hibernate, leaving them adrift in the silence of space.
It was just them.
