“Ok,” Antonio replied.
By the time I reached the aisle, my heart was pounding with the excitement that was bubbling over inside of me. It was wrong, and yet it felt so right. AJ was so unpredictable…..I liked it. A smile crossed my face as I walked toward the exit. There were only a few people lingering nearby including a guard to check ticket stubs. I patted my pocket, remembering that I still had mine, and took one last glance over my shoulder before I made a run for it.
When I burst through the doors, A.J was there leaning against his car with his arms folded across his chest looking as irresistible as ever. He was wearing a fitted short sleeved black shirt and dark blue jeans that matched the night sky…..it was that same carefully careless look that he’d made his own. He smiled at me and I couldn’t resist doing the same. I walked over to him and threw my arms around his neck and squeezed him.
“What are you doing?” I asked without releasing him from my grip.
“He gets more of your time than I do, so I had to even the playing field a little,” AJ replied. I wrapped my arms around him again, tighter than before.
“I have to go.” I sighed.
“No you don’t,” he whispered back. “You could get in my car and we’d drive away. It’s just that easy.”
For a moment, I considered his idea. “I can’t do that to him, AJ. I can’t just leave him sitting there.”
AJ was silent, but he eventually released me. I backed away and felt miserable when I saw the disappointment on his face.
“I know…..but you can’t blame me for trying,” he said solemnly.
I kissed him once and then turned to go back inside. As I retreated, I felt like I was leaving a piece of myself behind.
I rushed up the aisle back to my seat. Antonio was focused on the movie, so he didn’t look over at me as he reached for my hand again. The rest of the movie was a blur to me because AJ was all I could think about even though I was sitting right next to Antonio. His beautiful face, his scent, his confidence, his sense of humor…. everything about him was pulling me in his direction even in his absence. I didn’t even notice that the movie had ended until the lights came back on. Antonio waited for me to get on my feet and then put his hand on the small of my back as he led me down the aisle and out the door.
“Did you have a good time?” He asked.
“A great time,” I replied, secretly referring to my rendezvous with AJ. A smile snuck up on me and I didn’t try to conceal it.
Once we reached the car, Antonio picked up right where he’d left off before we went into the theater. “Are you gonna call Leslie before it gets too late?”
I tried to play dumb. “Call Leslie for what?” I asked.
“So you can find out what time you all are supposed to get together.”
“Are you really considering coming over there to spy on me?” I asked in a tone suggesting that I was offended by his implication.
“It’s not you I’m worried about,” he retorted.
“Antonio…..I’m a big girl. I can handle it. I still say there’s nothing to worry about. He isn’t even thinking about me,” I assured him, even though I would’ve bet a thousand dollars that AJ was in fact thinking about me.
“He just needs to know that you’re already with somebody…..and that I’m not about to let you go.”
“You’re making a big deal of this for nothing. He probably has a girlfriend already. Plus….when was the last time you saw an Asian guy with a black girl? That doesn’t usually happen, Antonio,” I said loudly, nearly yelling.