Page 407 of The First Time
"It's a little silly," I say.
"Same thing you said about your favorite book." He brushes the hair from my eyes. "Why are you embarrassed by the things you love?"
"I'm not embarrassed by them." I play with the zipper of my hoodie. "It's more that it's personal." My cheeks flush. This is really personal. But I want him to know. I want him to know all of me. "The Matrix."
He laughs. "You do realize who you're talking to?"
"Yes, I do realize you own a technology company, and you think you're a nerd. But that isn't what's personal. I don't really care about the movie that much." I finish the last half of my drink. "It was the thing Lizzy and I watched when she got out of the hospital. We must have watched the whole trilogy twenty times. She loves those fucking movies. Any movie where robots try to enslave humanity, she's all over it.Battlestar Galacticais her favorite show by quite a measure."
"What about you?" he asks.
"I root for the robots." I set my glass on the table. Fine. I'll answer the question he was really asking. "It's not my favorite movie, but it's the most comforting thing I can watch. It feels like… like love."
He runs his hand through my hair and rests it on the back of my neck. With the other, he tilts my chin so we're face to face.
His voice is soft. Sweet. "The Matrixis my favorite movie."
"Yeah?"
He nods.
I swallow hard.
I've seenThe Matrixtwenty times. More. It seems like it's a movie about rebels fighting a manufactured dream world.
But it's not.
It's about love.
Love is the thing that saves the day.
Love is the thing that saves the world.
Love is the thing that matters.
