Marriage by Law

"I'll call you later," she said.

"What? Rose!" I sighed when the line went dead. I chucked the phone aside and served us both helpings and grabbed the forks when I heard him come in.

"Here," I said, pushing a plate toward him. He gave me another nod and I followed him into the living room but grabbed the remote control before he could.

Ha, TV is mine. I am not watching another boring documentary on some stupid war in the 1800s. I turned it on and found a movie on some channel and sat back to enjoy.

"Did you make this?" he asked, breaking the silence.

"Yep, why?" I asked. Crap! I forgot to ask if he was allergic to anything. He rubbed the back of his neck and opened his mouth just as his phone rang.

I was going to take that as a compliment since Mr. Ego found it hard to speak. I took a taste of mine and choked. Okay, maybe it wasn’t a compliment. I looked at the pasta in my bowl; it looked okay but tasted like absolute crap.

Maybe I should stay away from the kitchen. I dumped mine in the bin and started cleaning up. I hoped he didn’t eat all of that.

I cleaned up and was drying the plate when he walked in with his.

"What was that about on the phone?" I asked. Let's see if he could try and make a conversation.

"Work," he said.

Okay...that was a start.

"Well, do you want to go to a movie?" I asked. He checked the time and shrugged.

"Okay. Get ready in ten. I'll go grab my stuff." The last word was barely out of his mouth before I started running upstairs. Yes, movies!

Now I felt like a teenager again, sneaking off in the night to see a movie with –

I stopped, finding myself thinking of that memory. It should be gone from my system by now. I grabbed a jacket, since I know he would never offer me his, my wallet and phone, and went back downstairs.

Darius came down dressed again in casual clothes and I tried not to drool. Why are some people just genetically advantaged? It never made sense.

"Let's go!" I said, giving him a huge smile. I walked past the car toward the gate when he called out.

"Aren't we taking the car?"

"No! It's only a ten-minute walk," I said. He shrugged and caught up with me, which was easy given that he has longer legs than me.

It was a very quiet walk and I opened my mouth too many times and closed it without uttering a word. I don’t know what to say and how to start a conversation.

"So... beautiful weather, eh?" I asked, glancing up. He looked at me with his green eyes sparkling and chuckled with a shake of his head. I smiled. That was definitely a start. I don't think I have ever heard him chuckle. It was soft yet masculine and did funny things to my stomach.

"Yea, if you like the smell of wet ground," he said. I didn't realise what he was saying till it started raining.

"Aw crap," I muttered. His laughter trailed behind me as I broke into a small jog, his footsteps echoing close by. I broke into a full sprint as I raced the last corner and into the building. A few people turned to look at me as I came in gasping and panting. Darius followed seconds later looking more like a model than me, who was a disheveled mess.

I rolled my eyes as I went to the counter and ordered the movie tickets. That was the thing about small town cinemas: they only had a movie running each week and today was some random movie. Grabbing the tickets, I motioned for Darius to follow me.

"Do you want popcorn or drinks?" he asked as we entered.

I shook my head. "No, thanks. I don’t really like popcorn." I grimaced to prove my point. He shook his head, a small smile on his face as we stepped inside the theatre, both our faces getting covered by darkness.

I located vacant seats and wrinkled my nose. Great, some stupid tall guy was sitting in front of my seat. And next to me was a group of teenage guys eyeing me. Hormonal boys.

I sat down with Darius beside me and I sat tall, trying to see past the head in front of me.

It wasn't that bad. I could pretty much see 90 percent of the screen but my eyes seemed to zone in on the bold head and how I wanted to bash it right now.

Why can't tall people get the back seats or something?

The movie started and the last bits of chatter died down. I nearly took the guy’s popcorn next to me and chuck it at the screen when I realised it was an old black and white movie. Great, just my luck.

It wasn't even an hour in and I was already bored. I looked around at Darius who seemed to watch the movie with interest. With a deep sigh, I slouched in my chair. My eyes felt heavy and the theatre was warm, making me fall asleep instantly.

Something or somebody stepped on my feet and I opened my eyes and sat up. Where am I? I looked around and realised I had fallen asleep. What a shame....that looked like an amazing movie.

"Is it over?" I asked, yawning and stretching in my seat as much as it would allow. Darius raised an eyebrow and I stopped mid–stretch, turning back and sitting down.

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