“Didn’t mean to scare you.” Walker’s voice was soft in the quiet car.
“You didn’t.” Keira met his eyes. The usual spark was still absent, but beneath his worry was an irresistible heat. “I’m not that easy to scare.” She leaned closer to him, so intent on the unusually serious set of his full lips that the night itself seemed to darken around them. She looked up long enough to see Walker’s eyes slide half-shut as his head tilted a bit to one side.
The impatient beep of Susan’s car horn shattered the moment and Keira’s stomach lurched. The streetlights brightened and the hum of the car engine rumbled through her in a sickening flash. Keira reached out a hand and caught hold of the dashboard, steadying herself against the strange vertigo.
“You okay?” Walker frowned.
Keira leaned back against the seat. “Fine,” she said. “Sorry. I just had a weird dizzy flash—maybe I didn’t have enough to eat.”
“Well, let’s get you to the concession stand, then.” Walker pulled into the multiplex parking lot and the neon signs above the theater eased the spinning in Keira’s head.
“That sounds good,” she said.
As they got out of the car and headed for the ticket window, Keira’s vertigo faded. But Walker’s frown, she noticed, hadn’t washed away at all.
Chapter Nineteen
SUSAN RUSHED UP TO the two of them in the parking lot. “Keira? Can we . . . um . . . ” She glanced up at Walker. “Keira and I need to go to the bathroom.”
Walker raised an eyebrow, but his amused grin came back beneath it, and Keira found herself smiling in response. “Go ahead. I’ll grab the tickets and meet you inside.”
“Oh. Wait.” Keira dug in her pocket for her cash. Susan danced next to her, scanning the arriving cars anxiously.
Walker waved his hand. “I’ve got it.”
“But I want to—”
“You can get the snacks or something. Go, before Susan explodes.” He laughed.
Susan grabbed her arm and hauled Keira toward the doors. “Thanks, Walker!” Susan called over her shoulder.
The second the bathroom door swung shut, Susan spun to face Keira.
“You have to give me a ponytail holder and a breath mint.” She ordered Keira.
Keira stood, frozen, staring at her best friend. “What?”
Susan turned to check her lip gloss in the mirror. “Do I look okay?” she asked. “God, I wish I was wearing something cuter. Oh, I also called my mom and told her we were going to the movies together. Just so you know. Don’t mention Smith if she asks, okay?”
Keira blinked, pulled her spare elastic off her wrist and handed it to Susan.
“You seem really into Smith,” she ventured. “That must have been some conversation you guys had at Take Note.”
Susan shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, he seems nice enough.” She smiled a wicked little smile. “But mostly, he’s hot and a little bit mysterious. And he’s eighteen. And he said he’s already finished with school.” Her eyes narrowed as she smoothed her hair into the world’s fastest French braid. “And if anyone sees me here with him, there is zero chance I will still be ‘that girl that Tommy dumped’ at school tomorrow.” She held up her hand, looking at Keira in the mirror. “Hot. Mysterious. Older. From away. Likes action movies.” She ticked them off on her fingers. “Win. Win. Win. Win. Win.”
Keira was way past shocked. Her tongue seemed stunned, so thorough was its refusal to form words.
Susan bounced over, bumping Keira’s shoulder. “Come on. We have dates waiting for us.”
The smell of stale popcorn and faux-butter soaked into her clothes as soon as Keira stepped out into the multiplex. Susan made a beeline for Smith, who stood against one of the poster-lined walls, arms crossed, waiting.
Walker wasn’t with him. Keira’s eyes swept the crowded lobby. She spotted him, bent over the concession counter in his familiar wool peacoat.
He passed some money across the counter and turned toward her. He didn’t scan the crowd the way she had. His eyes didn’t catch on the woman wearing an out-of-season halter top or the screaming toddler.
Walker looked straight at her.
He smiled, and it was like dawn had broken all over again. The colors in the room were suddenly brighter, the air warmer. His happiness washed over Keira and her own mood lifted in response. Before she knew it, she was standing in front of him. He had a packet of red licorice in his hand. Favorite candy wasn’t a topic she remembered talking about with him. Had she forgotten?
“How did you know?” she asked, pointing at the candy.
He gave her a quizzical look. “Know what?”
“My movie snack. The red licorice.”
Walker’s eyebrows lifted. “Are you kidding? Red licorice is my movie snack.”
Narrowing her eyes, Keira cocked her head at him. “You mean I have to share? Besides, I thought you said I could buy the snacks.”
Walker handed her the bag of licorice. “I said you could get the snacks ‘or something.’ ”