The drive-in played a family-friendly movie at eight o’clock and a movie for adults at ten fifteen. When Leanna had first mentioned that she wanted to watch both movies, he’d questioned the decision. He wasn’t exactly a kid movie type of guy. In fact, he couldn’t remember ever being into kids’ movies, even as a boy, but she said it was part of the drive-in experience, and he’d agreed, because she was, after all, Leanna. He’d brought his computer, and if the children’s movie was too painful to watch, he could start outlining his next book while she watched the first movie. He’d sent his manuscript to Jackie earlier in the day, and he’d touched base with Blue and was happy that the work was taking shape. Now he was looking forward to relaxing and watching the second movie, Prisoners with Hugh Jackman.
Leanna drove her van so they could all ride together, and she expertly backed into a parking place; then Bella, Amy, and Jenna jumped out of the van and joined her in setting up the beach chairs, complete with pillows, blankets, and bowls of snacks. Kurt and Pepper watched them create a comfortable slumber party of their own, and the whole scene made him smile.
The couple to their right had two small children, both dressed in pajamas. He heard the father tell the children that after the movie, they would go to sleep in the van and they’d drive home after Mommy and Daddy watched their movie.
What have I been missing?
He wouldn’t have pegged himself as a guy who might enjoy this type of Brady Bunch environment, with the noise and the chaos of lines and crowds hanging out by the snack bar. Now, here with Leanna, he found himself wondering what it might be like to bring his own children there one day. Their children.
Kurt left his computer in the van and joined the others on the chairs behind the van. Pepper settled in by his feet. It was a dark night with very few stars, and when the enormous movie screen came to life, it lit up the parking lot. The din of the crowds quieted as information about the theater, including emergency exits from the parking lot and a snack bar commercial that must have been shot in the 1960s filled the screen. Leanna’s eyes were wide, and the hint of a smile played across her lips. Jenna, Bella, and Amy sat with popcorn in between them, eyes glued to the previews. The brisk night air carried the scent of popcorn, and every now and again a parent could be heard shushing their child. Kurt probably would have gone forever without seeing a drive-in movie, and it would have been a shame. This…Being with friends and family, coming together without a computer or the Internet, but in real life, in real time…This was more meaningful than the extra hours he’d spent on his manuscript throughout the years. Leanna had opened another door to the world for him. There were probably a hundred things he had scoffed at over the years that, with Leanna, he might see differently, and he couldn’t wait to try them all.
Disney’s Frozen was playing, and by the middle of the movie, Leanna had moved her blankets in front of Kurt’s chair and built herself a comforter platform so she could sit between his legs and lean back against his chest.
And he loved it.
The coconut and berry scent of her shampoo—which he now knew was Aussie Aussome Volume and came in a purple bottle—and the feel of her body pressed against him in a relaxed, completely content manner, was something he’d never forget.
He remembered the picture for Siena and pulled his phone from his pocket.
“Do you mind if I take a picture for my sister?”
Leanna climbed right up on his lap. “Bella,” she whispered, then waved her closer. “Take our picture on his phone?”
Bella wore a sweatshirt that looked two sizes too big along with a pair of jeans. Her hair fell thick and wild around her face. She squinted as she lined up the picture. “Okay, smile.”
Leanna quickly planted a kiss on Kurt’s cheek.
“Perfect!” Bella laughed.
“Sneak,” he teased.
Jenna and Amy ran behind Kurt’s chair and crouched.
“Take another,” Jenna hollered.
“Shh,” Amy chided her.
Bella snapped a few more pictures.
“Want me to take one with all of you?” the man to their left asked.
Bella handed him Kurt’s phone. “Yes, please.” Then she crouched beside Leanna, and the stranger took a few more pictures.
“Thank you.” Bella retrieved the phone, and the girls giggled at the pictures.
In each picture, except for the one with Leanna’s surprise kiss, Kurt was caught looking at Leanna, and even he could see the love in his eyes.
I’m a goner.
Bella and the girls texted the picture from his phone to each of theirs, and eventually the phone ended up back in his hand. He texted a few pictures to Siena.
“I love you,” he whispered to Leanna.
“I saw it in the pictures.” She caressed his cheek, and he leaned in to her palm. “Besides, you must to put up with my friends.”
She curled up on his lap and wrapped her arms around his neck, then rested her cheek on his shoulder.
“I could stay like this forever.”
Forever sounded pretty darn good to him.
THEY RETURNED TO the cottage after midnight, and Kurt wondered how he was supposed to accept this night as their last night together until Monday. He wanted to wrap himself around Leanna and remain there until, by some act of magic, it was Monday and the days they were apart had passed.
Leanna came out of the bathroom wearing a black lace cami and matching panties. Her hair was mussed, sexily framing her beautiful face.
“That movie was really kind of disturbing,” Leanna said as she climbed onto the bed beside him. “The idea of those little girls and all the children before them being abducted. It’s terrifying.”
He reached for her. “It is disturbing, but it was a movie, babe. It was supposed to be scary.”
She traced a vein on the back of his hand. “Do you ever think about having kids?”
“Until I met you, I’d never met a woman I’d want to live with, much less have children with. But yeah, I do want a family. What about you?” Kurt was surprised that he didn’t break out into a cold sweat at the mention of having children. Wasn’t that what guys were supposed to do when their girlfriends mentioned having children or settling down?
She shrugged and began drawing circles on her thigh.
He wanted to draw circles on her thigh. With his tongue.
“I’ve never really thought about it in terms of when or how many, but I do want to have children someday.” She looked up at him then, the edges of her lips barely curved and her eyes sleepily seductive. “The thought of keeping them safe is a little frightening, isn’t it?”
He pulled her close, and she ran her fingers over his bare stomach. “If I ran from things that were terrifying, I’d never have become a writer, and I might never have allowed myself to go out with you.”
“I’m frightening?”
He kissed her forehead. “No, babe. You’re perfect. The thought of anything coming between me and my writing was what terrified me. But you’ve made me realize that there’s a lot more to life than being the best thriller writer. And with you, I feel like I can enjoy both. You defied the terror, and if you want children someday, then we won’t let fear hold us back there, either.”
“You know, I came to the Cape expecting to have a fun summer and maybe find a career, but I never expected to find you. Us.”