Page 85 of Mr. Picture Perfect
I had no idea Cole was planning for us to have a night out on the town. But now that I’m out of the house, I can’t imagine what else I’d be doing. Sitting in my room thinking of him? Lounging on my patio with my work laptop, distracted by thoughts of him? Just staring at a wall daydreaming of me and Cole kissing heatedly?
“I figured after your hard day of work, you’d like to kick back and relax,” says Cole as we turn onto Main Street, “and last night, you mentioned it’s been a long time since you’ve been to a movie, and there happens to be afantasyone that came out last weekend, so I thought, hey, maybe this would be totally your thing.”
I relish the idea of cuddling next to Cole in a movie theater.
But also: “If it’s the one about the demon sorcerer, I’m gonna want to pay attention,” I warn him. “That means we can’t be bad in the theater.”
“Bad? …Bad?” Cole laughs. “What do you think I’m gonna do? Throw popcorn at the people in the front row?”
“I meant …” Suddenly I wonder if it’s presumptuous of me to assume he plans to make out with me like a horny schoolboy in the back of the auditorium. As usual, I’m overthinking it. “Never mind,” I mumble as we pull into the movie theater parking lot.
That’s the last of my inquiries before we’re standing in front of the concession stand and he’s ordering us two sodas and a big bucket of popcorn to share. “Did you know my boss Bobby used to work here years ago?” Cole tells me as we wait on the popcorn to be scooped. “Apparently he was fired after throwing himself overthis verycounter to punch Anthony Myers square in the face.”
“Actually,” says the concession worker, setting the popcorn on the counter, “it wasJimmywho punched Anthony in the face. It was bad. I kept telling Bobby he shouldn’t invite his boyfriend to his workplace. Then again, they weren’t boyfriends yet.” He gives Cole a smirk. “Don’t act like you don’t know who I am, man.”
Cole gasps. “Oh, shit, sorry, Vince! I didn’t recognize you in a fancy shirt and bowtie,” he teases. “How’ve you been?”
“How cool’s this? I’m thesupervisornow,” says Vince with a pinch of pride as he butters our popcorn without even looking, expertly twirling the bucket round and round under the pump. “But Mr. Lemon cut back on weekday staff, so I’m just a glorified everywhere-man in a tie. I’ll probably be the guy cleaning up your theater, too. Hey, cool article I read about you two today.”
Cole and I both appear caught by surprise. “You read it?” asks Cole with a lift of an eyebrow.
“Skimmed, if I’m being honest. Bored earlier, no customers. It was cool to read about two guys from my graduating class, though. And now one of them’s gonna be in a male pageant? That’s wild.” He slides the popcorn and sodas across the counter. Cole pulls out his wallet to pay. “Now, I can seeyoubeing one of the bachelors, but AnthonyMyers…? That a joke? C’mon, who’s therealthird bachelor? Tell me.” He leans across the counter. “I’ll keep it secret, because I sure as shit know it isn’t Anthony. I checked my phone three times today to make sure it wasn’t April Fools.”
Cole chuckles. “It reallyishim, believe it or not. Mrs. Strong’s got a soft spot for the guy.”
Vince shakes his head as he rings us up. “I just might have to attend to watch him strut his stuff on a stage in a tuxedo with a straight face. And what about you, Cole? You sure you can handle it? You always struck me as a guy who keeps to himself.”
Cole glances at me, a hint of a smile on his lips. “I think I can manage,” he decides as he observes me. I feel like I can read all the words he isn’t saying, nestled between the lines, and I smile.
“Well, here’s your practice,” says Vince as he hands Cole his card back, then peers past us. “Seems like you’ve already got some adoring fans.”
After a moment of confusion, we turn. There are two arcade crane games near the front entrance, and it’s right next to them that we spot three teenage girls staring at us. Upon being caught, two of them look away, blushing, while the third, more daring, gives Cole a flirty wave. Cole politely waves back.
“Enjoy your show,” says Vince with due irony.
Cole and I glance at each other uncertainly.
The girls at the crane machine are only the beginning. When we make our way to our movie, a neighboring auditorium lets out, and it feels as if every set of eyes is upon us. Even when we make it to our seats inside our theater, I swear there are people through the dark searching for us, even when there’s no one there.
“I should’ve realized that even if some people don’t read the paper, they still talk,” I point out, clutching my drink and gnawing on the end of the straw anxiously. “I doubt those teenagers even read the paper. Let alone read at all.”
“Hey, don’t worry about it. I’m sure you and I can deal with a fewbenignglances now and then, can’t we?” He throws his arm around the back of my seat unexpectedly. “I think I’m gonna have a tough time paying attention to the movie, though …”
I take a breath. Maybe Cole’s right. “I won’t.” I scoop a handful of popcorn into my mouth. The lights are already dimming for the previews. “I’ve seen so many commercials for this movie since last year. They’ve been advertising this forever.”
His arm slips slyly from the back of the seat to my shoulders. “Is that so? Lucky you, then, finally getting to see it.”
“What’re you doing?”
“Being cuddly.”
“People can see us.”
“No one’s watching.” He leans over the armrest and places a kiss on my cheek, grinning. “Do you even know how happy I am that I’ve got you to myself tonight?”
“I’m happy, too, but—”
“The movie hasn’t started yet. It’s just the previews. No one cares about the next superhero flick. They’re all the same.”
