Page 51 of Sunset Catchers

“…that won’t come out for a few months, if not more. One of them wasn’t even a legit one. It was a montage of a guy from a TV show.”

He sounds both appalled and entertained.

“Fine,” I relent. “Let’s find trailers for movies that are already out, then.”

He grabs some popcorn to throw my way. One kernel hits me on the cheek. I offer him my middle finger in return, which has him chuckling.

“How about we watch one of your favorite movies?” he offers.

“You sure, big stud? Most of them are really girly and came out in the early 2000s.” He makes a point of letting his gaze roam down my body, intentionally. I’m wearing my white t-shirt that says I’m literally just a girl in bright pink and my pair of comfy, pink sweatpants with striped, fuzzy socks. I shrug. Fine; I guess it doesn’t take a genius to figure that one out.

“You don’t need to worry about me. My sister always chose some kind of romantic comedy when it was her turn to pick the movie. I’ve grown to appreciate them.”

“Aww, that’s so very man of your time of you.” More popcorn flies straight to my face. I giggle before shoving it all into my mouth.

“Which movie should I choose?” I say while tapping a finger to my bottom lip. Levi tracks the movement.

“Oh, I know! Let’s watch Wild Child. Junie and I loved that movie so much. I should text her.” I shoot her a quick text. I grin widely at her answer that comes in almost immediately. It’s not surprising; Junie is addicted to her phone. Always scrolling away on a dating app, afraid she’ll miss swiping right on the love of her life.

“What did she say?”

I decide to tell him, even if it’s wildly personal. “She, huh, congratulated me on taking another step in reclaiming my girlhood.”

“Is that a general population thing or a Winnie thing?”

The cat purrs.

“A Winnie thing.” I know Levi won’t ask me for more details, but I find myself wanting to share the story behind it with him.

I guess I could share it.

Does he even want to know?

Would he even care??

Junie and I have been friends for so long. There isn’t any room left between the two of us for uncertainty and filtered thoughts. We just spewed every last thing that popped up in our brains, knowing it would be received without judgment.

Analyzing the backlog of conversations I’ve had with Levi so far, I find that not once has he seemed to pass any sort of judgment in my regards.

Okay, so, I’m going to do this.

He’s already looking at me when my head pivot toward him. He sports the same expression he wears most of the time: a sort of genuine yet careful hope mixed with a mildly mystified interest.

“It’s silly,” I tentatively start. Then I get brave. “I’ve just been trying to have a redo of all the things I missed out on when I was younger.”

“It’s not silly,” he counters, softening even more, “The teddy bear on your bed?”

“That’s a part of it. I’ve never had any kind of stuffie when I was a kid, so Junie got me my very first as a gift for my last birthday.”

That’s also the reason almost everything I own is pink.

When I was a child, my mother did not give a single fuck what my favorite color was and would always just choose the color she liked better when she’d buy anything. Now that I am grown and have my own money, it is somewhat healing to finally be able to buy all of the pink things.

To fill my wardrobes with clothes of my liking.

To decorate my room with carefully chosen pieces that scream welcome to Winnie’s little chunk of space on this earth.

It might sound stupid, but hey, we all have different ways of healing.