Page 39 of You Were Always Mine
The cinema is dark, the air heavy with buttered popcorn and stale soda — the low murmur of trailers buzzing around us. Tyler sits beside me, close, his arm brushing mine every time he shifts.
I dressed up for this. Tight jeans, a low-cut top, makeup sharp enough to make me feel like I could be anyone else for a night. Not Kai’s stepsister. Not the girl who cried herself to sleep. Just… normal.
But nothing feels normal.
Tyler leans in, his breath brushing my ear. ‘You look so hot tonight, Scarlett.’
I stiffen, a nervous laugh catching in my throat. ‘Thanks.’
His hand finds my thigh in the dark, fingers drumming, inching higher. I push it back — light, playful. He chuckles, but it doesn’t sound like the boy who used to help me with homework or walk me home from school. It’s lower. Rougher.
‘I can’t stop staring at your tits,’ he whispers, his handcreeping back up. ‘You know I’ve wanted to fuck you for years, right?’
My stomach lurches. The words are too sharp, too sudden. I glance at him, startled. ‘Tyler—what the hell?’
He smirks, eyes glinting in the flickering light of the screen. ‘What? Don’t tell me you don’t enjoy hearing it. You dressed like this for me.’
Heat rushes up my neck — not the good kind. Not the kind Kai drags out of me no matter how much I hate it. This is different. Ugly.
I shift away, my chest tight, the movie blurring in front of me because Tyler isn’t who I thought he was, and I don’t like who he’s turning into.
The movie flickers on — voices low and distant — but all I can feel is Tyler’s hand creeping higher on my thigh.
‘Tyler,’ I hiss, shoving at his wrist. ‘Stop.’
He just grins, leaning closer, his breath hot against my cheek. ‘C’mon, Scarlett. Don’t play innocent with me. You’ve been teasing me for years.’
My stomach twists. ‘That’s not true.’
His hand drags higher, brushing the inside of my thigh. ‘Wearing that top, sitting here all pretty next to me — you wanted this. You wanted me to finally make a move.’
I jerk my legs closed, but he wedges his hand between them anyway, his palm pressing firm against the heat of my jeans. ‘Fuck, you’re warm already,’ he whispers, teeth grazing my ear. ‘Bet you’re soaked for me, huh? Bet you’ve thought about me fucking you in this exact seat.’
Rage spikes white-hot. Shame floods through me. My pulse pounds in my throat. For a second, I freeze — stunned by the ugliness of his words, the way his fingers squeeze like he’s got a right to me.
And then I snap.
‘Get your fucking hands off me!’ I hiss, shoving him hard in the chest. The seat rocks back, the people in the row behind us hissing complaints, but I don’t care. My whole body is shaking, my breath ragged, fury burning hotter than my shame.
Tyler stares at me, stunned for a beat, then his smirk twists back into place. ‘Feisty. I like it.’
I glare, teeth clenched, my voice a razor. ‘Touch me again and I’ll scream.’
For the first time, his grin falters.
And I know I mean it.
Tyler chuckles low, the sound curling ugly in the dark. ‘Scream all you want, babe. Bet you’ll moan louder before the credits roll.’
His hand shoots back between my thighs before I can stop him — rough this time — his fingers pressing hard against the seam of my jeans. I jerk, gasping, but he clamps down, leaning close enough for his words to scrape my ear.
‘Fuck, Scarlett, I knew it. You’re wet already. Don’t lie. You’ve been dying for me to do this.’
I shove at his chest — hard — but he only laughs and digs his fingers in deeper, grinding against me like he owns me. ‘Can’t wait to feel you without the denim. Bet your pussy’s sweet as fuck. I’ll make you beg for it.’
Rage tears through me, hot and blinding. ‘Stop it, Tyler!’
He smirks, teeth glinting. ‘Not until I taste what you’ve been hiding from me.’
