I nodded. Actually, I couldn’t believe it took him so long.
She spent the next two minutes revealing the details – how he had bought her flowers ?– pink roses – and asked her to be his girlfriend, just before we all came out tonight. Every word she spoke rolled into the next as she tried to get the whole story out as quickly as she could. Her excitement was infectious, and I couldn’t help smiling with her.
“So,” she took a breath, “has Cole asked you yet?” Again, no! She was impatient. I shook my head, and her face fell a little. “Well, what’s taking him so long? It’s not like he doesn’t want to, duh. It’s so obvious. Don’t worry, he’ll do it soon, I can tell,” she said confidentially. It really didn’t bother me. Well, not too much anyway. I was happy to take things slowly. Rushing into a relationship when I was only just getting used to all these teenage hormones wasn’t something I should do.
“Has he kissed you again?”
I flushed and nodded. He had kissed me quite a lot actually. Kerry squealed.
“Aww, it’s so cute. OMG we’re gonna be friends-in-law!”
What? I grinned in amusement and bit my lip. Friends-in-law. Is that even a thing?
“Anyway, we should get back, come on!”
Again, I was pulled along by Kerry. I couldn’t be mad though. I had a feeling she’d got away with a lot as a child. It was impossible to be angry with her.
Cole and Ben were chatting about football when we got back to the table – my least favourite subject.
“You survived then,” Cole whispered as I sat down, careful to turn his head so Kerry wouldn’t hear. I laughed softly. She wasn’t annoying at all. He draped his arm over the back of my chair and kissed the side of my head. His lips against my hair made my heart pound. Don’t grin too wide or you’ll look like a desperate idiot.
After dinner and listening to Kerry talk about the hottest celebs for forty-five minutes, we made our way to the cinema. Cole held my hand as we walked into the cinema and picked up our tickets. I wasn’t looking forward to watching the film, but I was just glad to go out on a double date like a normal teenager.
The cinema was pretty small and old. Since the new chain-cinema opened up in town, this one had become much quieter. It probably wouldn’t be long before it closed down entirely. I loved it though: the stained carpet, lingering smell of popcorn and ripped seats felt homely and welcoming.
Cole stroked my knuckles with his thumb to get my attention. “You sure you don’t mind seeing this? I’m sure we can find something else.”
I shook my head and awkwardly took the ticket he was holding out for me with the hand I was holding my drink with. As stupid as it sounded, I didn’t want to let go of his hand.
“Okay.” He smiled and nudged me towards the door signed Screen Two.
I could count on one hand the amount of people that were in the cinema, and that included the four of us.
“We’re going to the back,” Kerry announced, bounding up the stairs.
Cole carried our popcorn, eating some from the box with just his mouth. I grinned as I realised he was doing it because he didn’t want to let go of my hand either. When we reached the top of the stairs and walked to the end of the row where Kerry had already settled down, I dropped my hand from his to pull my seat down.
“Scared yet?” he whispered in my ear, three seconds after the film started. I raised an eyebrow, which made him chuckle quietly. About twenty minutes into the film, that music started; the kind where you know something bad is going to happen, but you don’t know what or when exactly. Shyness didn’t even register with me; I grabbed Cole’s hand and gripped hard. I jumped up on the seat as some ghost-like creature popped out from nowhere on the screen. Hugging my legs with the other arm, I hid behind my knees. Why did I agree to watch this?
My heart was beating too fast as that music blared out from the speakers again. A door, or something that sounded like a door, slammed in the film, and I jumped. I couldn’t watch any more. I picked a spot just below the screen and concentrated on it.
“Wanna do something tomorrow, just us?” he whispered into my ear. I nodded and lifted the armrest that separated us. Leaning against his side, I felt safer. Spending time alone with him was definitely something I wanted. “Cool,” he said, smiling happily. He hadn’t mentioned what we would be doing, but that didn’t really matter.
“That was awesome! I loved the part where she was drowned in the bath!” Kerry exclaimed as we made our way out of the cinema. Oddly enough, that was not my favourite part. “So, where to now, guys?”