Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 23968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 23968 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 120(@200wpm)___ 96(@250wpm)___ 80(@300wpm)
“The movie starts in about thirty minutes, but since it’s opening night I wanted to make sure we’re early. I hope that’s okay,” she says in a small voice.
“No problem. I like the previews, anyway. After you, my lady.”
She giggles, and we head inside the theater and stop at the snack stand.
“What would you like?” I ask Serenity.
The curvy girl looks hesitant for a moment.
“You won’t think I’m greedy if I get popcorn and candy, will you?”
I throw my head back and laugh with amusement.
“No of course not, honey. I love a woman who eats. Go crazy.”
She takes her time looking over the different candy options and decides on something fruity and something chocolatey.
“It’s important to have balance,” she explains. “The best movie experience includes salt, chocolate, and butter. As you can see, I’ve got it down to an exact science,” she adds impishly. “I’m going with the Sour Patch Kids. I know what you’re thinking: it’s not really fruity, but it’s fruity enough,” she says.
I grin. “Yeah, but what do you do for salt?”
She pretends mock horror.
“Popcorn, of course!”
I laugh.
“Ah, of course. So an extra large popcorn, Sour Patch Kids, and what would you like to drink?”
Serenity bites her lip.
“How about a Big Gulp Coke? I have a soft spot for Coke because I always got it when my dad took me to the movies when I was a kid.”
“Coming right up,” I say before placing the order. Meanwhile, Serenity fumbles inside her purse. “I can pay for my snacks…”
I wave her off. “No worries, I’ve got it. This is my treat, Serenity, and I want to spoil you.”
She smiles happily. “Okay thanks, Julian. I really appreciate it. You’re really generous.”
As I take out my wallet, I wonder if my son ever treated Serenity because it seems like she’s not used to a man taking her out. I snort silently. In fact, I know for a fact Stewie asked her to pay most of the time, and whenever he wanted to ‘treat’ Serenity, my son would ask me for cash. I didn’t mind giving it to him, but I wish he’d get a real job instead of mooching non-stop.
But this isn’t the time to think about my son. I grab our snacks and drinks and take the tray back over to Serenity. Together, we make our way into the darkened theater and find seats right in the middle towards the back.
“This is really nice,” Serenity says with a sigh, relaxing into the seat. “It’s been such a long week because I took on a ton of extra shifts at the diner, and now I’m exhausted.”
“I hope you get some time to relax,” I remark.
She smiles.
“Just tomorrow. I have another double on Sunday, so it’s going to be brutal.”
I frown. “Really? There’s no need to work so hard, sweetheart. You’re only twenty, right? You don’t want to burn out too soon.”
She smiles a bit ruefully.
“Well actually, I’m twenty-two, but thanks for the kind words. And I do take time off, don’t worry. I just want to build up my savings so that I have a rainy day fund, which is why I’m working more than usual.”
“That’s understandable,” I nod. “A rainy day fund is very important.”
She’s about to say more but then shakes her head and smiles brightly.
“So, how was your week?” Serenity asks.
I grin. “I had a busy week, too. We’re getting ready to go to trial on a pretty big case, so it’s been a lot of strategizing and planning our approach. But I have a lot of great lawyers working for me, so I’m not alone.”
She nods.
“Wow, that’s a lot more interesting than what I’ve been doing. I’m just filling a lot of coffee cups and dishing out greasy burgers.”
I shake my head, blue eyes serious. “Don’t talk down on your job, sweetheart. What matters is that you’re working, and you’re damn good at what you do. I’m always impressed when I come by Harry’s, did I mention that?”
Serenity blushes. “Thanks, that means a lot, Julian.”
Then, the lights go down and the previews start. The volume’s a little loud, but I give her hand a squeeze and she smiles sideways at me in the darkness. I can’t wait to get her alone over ice cream, because I do want to talk about what happened between us earlier. But so far so good. We’re at the movies, on a real date, and we get along really well. I couldn’t ask for more.
The flick is exactly what I expected. Revenge is a horror film where a woman cheats on her husband, and the husband goes berserk by inventing a crazy scheme where he plans to murder the boyfriend, only to accidentally murder his wife instead. To be honest, this kind of scenario scares me a lot because when the threat comes from within, it’s that much more frightening. But the curvy girl seems to enjoy it, and her hand squeezes mine several times with excitement as we watch. After the movie ends, the lights come on and Serenity turns to me with wide eyes.