Page 24 of Always Love You More

“Yeah.”

“Please be safe.”

He nods then turns, shutting the door behind him.

I don’t sleep that night until I hear him get home.

Chapter 7

Jameson

Whenthecreditsofthe movie roll, I push out of my seat. Billy follows as the theater lights come on.

I know a guy who works here, and he lets me in for free, so I come by a lot. Probably more than I should. There’s something about being in a theater. No windows. No clocks. No talking. Nothing but the movie in front of you. You can just disappear. Escape.

If I don’t feel like being alone, I’ll bring Billy along with me, like I did tonight. He’s always so restless when he’s watching a movie, though, so I have to be in the mood to invite him.

He holds open the door for a couple of girls behind us, letting them step out into the night before we do. They both blush, leaning into each other and whispering something before peeking up at him.

“That one was good,” he says, waiting for the road to clear so we can cross the intersection.

I grunt in agreement.

“You’ve seen it before,” he says rather than asks.

“A few times,” I mutter.

The cars finally stop, and we quickly make it to the other side of the road. It’s a Thursday night, so it’s quiet, only a few places still open. The glow of streetlamps light our way as we take our time getting back to the garage.

We get a few blocks before Billy nudges me. “I’ve been waiting all night for you to bring her up.”

“Who?” I ask, playing dumb.

He rolls his eyes. “Don’t give me that bullshit. When I left last night, Marcus said you were stuck in the back room with the new kid’s sister.”

“I don’t know what you want me to say?”

“What’s she like?”

Interesting.

Beautiful.

Sad.

I shrug. “She’s cool.”

He raises an eyebrow. “Really?”

“Yeah, why?” I ask defensively. “She can’t be cool?”

“Is she hot?”

My jaw ticks, and he smiles.

Why the fuck is he smiling?

“What?” I snap.