Total pages in book: 105
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 104151 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 521(@200wpm)___ 417(@250wpm)___ 347(@300wpm)
He was proud to have me on his arm.
His lady in red.
We caught plenty of looks being so overdressed for a movie, but it didn’t matter because his gaze was the only one that mattered to me.
“Butter?” he asked, ordering our popcorn.
I nodded, finding it impossible to control my grin, and he gave me an extended glance as if my excitement was contagious.
“Come on, gorgeous.” He handed me the popcorn while he stuck the candy boxes in his jacket pocket and carried our drinks.
No one had ever called me gorgeous.
When we found seats in the middle of the theater, an older couple behind us smiled as we sat down.
“Your dress is beautiful,” the lady said.
“Thank you.” I smiled.
She glanced at Kyle. “You’re a lucky man.”
It was too much for my young heart. We were secret lovers in Devil’s Head, but at the movie theater in Filmore we were a couple. I never wanted to go home.
“Thank you,” Kyle said. “I agree.” As soon as we sat in our seats, he leaned toward me, lips at my ear. “The luckiest,” he whispered.
We ate our popcorn and candy and watched the movie. Had I not met Kyle Collins, I would have envied Frances Houseman’s character. I would have watched the movie with Erin, and we would have left with our hearts stolen by Johnny Castle.
The movie was good.
My love story was better.
The man who set our popcorn bucket and candy boxes on the floor midway through the movie so he could hold my hand was a million times better than any man I had seen on the big screen.
And that was a tall order because Top Gun released the previous year, and Tom Cruise had starred in most of my dreams.
“I knew it was my story. Older man. Forbidden love,” I said on the way back to Devil’s Head.
Kyle laughed. “But I teach math instead of dance.”
“Exactly.” I looked at my watch.
“Are you going to miss your curfew?”
“Depends.”
“On?” He shot me a sideways glance.
“If I go straight home when we get back to my car.”
“Then that’s what you’ll do.”
“What? No.” I unfastened my seat belt to scoot across the bench seat next to him, angling my body to kiss his neck. “You can’t take me to a romantic movie and not give me some romance before I go home.”
“I’ll kiss you good night.” He grinned.
I loosened his tie and undid the top buttons of his shirt so I could kiss his chest.
“Eve,” he warned.
“I don’t want just a kiss good night.” I kissed along his collarbone and slid my hand up his leg until I felt the hard bulge in his pants. “Even though I love the way you kiss me like you do.”
“Eve,” his warning came out a little harsher, a little more desperate as he pulled into the parking lot at the lake. “How do I kiss you?”
“Like you want me to know that no other man will ever kiss me again.”
A tiny smirk pulled at his lips.
“By the way, I have nothing on under this dress,” I whispered in his ear.
“What’s your punishment for being late?” His question thrilled me because it meant he was considering it.
“I’m grounded for a week from going out with friends.”
He shoved it into Park and unbuckled. “Good thing we’re not friends.” His fingers dove into my hair and he paused—of course he paused—a breath away from my lips.
“Then what are we?” I asked.
“You know what we are.” He grinned.
“We’re lovers.”
“Lovers,” he echoed as our lips touched.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CYNDI LAUPER, “TIME AFTER TIME”
Eve
“You’re late,” my mom said, startling me as I turned on the light in my room a little before one in the morning.
She was sitting on my bed, hugging my pillow.
“Sorry,” I said quietly, easing my bag to the floor, hoping she didn’t question what was in it.
The dress.
The heels.
The makeup.
Memories from the best night of my life.
“Where were you?”
“I went to a movie.” I kept my head bowed as I pulled a nightshirt from my dresser drawer.
“Look at me,” she said.
I gave her a quick glance before heading to the bathroom. She followed me, closing the door behind us. With a firm grip, she grabbed my chin and made me look at her.
“Have you been drinking?”
I shook my head.
“Why do you have so much gaudy makeup on your face?”
I pulled away, turned on the water, and grabbed the bar of soap to remove the gaudy makeup from my face. “Because sometimes I like to wear makeup.”
“You said you were with friends. Which friends?”
“I said I was going out. You assumed it was with friends. I had a date.” I worked the soap along my cheeks with tiny circles.
“With whom?”
“Someone who goes to the community college with Erin.”
“What movie?”
I splashed water onto my face and then dried it before sighing. “Dirty Dancing.”
Her nose wrinkled. “What on earth kind of movie is that?”