Page 41 of Stranded
And I did.
He could be vapid but he was entertaining and funny. He made me crack up, and the way he looked at me made me feel ten feet tall.
When he entered the lobby where I waited with our tickets, my mood plummeted. He wasn’t alone. A guy with light brown hair and a long nose who looked like he had cash and class was with him. The familiar jealousy I felt when Aiden was withsomeone else rose within me. They were standing way too close for my comfort.
Aiden was laughing at something the guy said. I hated anyone else making my Aiden laugh like that. What the hell was so funny?
As if he’d felt me watching him, Aiden swiveled around and spotted me. He turned back to his friend, pointed me out, and they hugged. The guy headed for the concession stands while Aiden ran over to me. He wore baggy pants that rode low on his hips and a shirt that gave a peep show of his belly each time he moved. He’d complemented the outfit with strappy heels so thin I was in awe at how easily he walked in them.
“Hey!”
“You’re late,” I said.
“Sorry. My cab didn’t show, so I had to ask someone for a lift.”
I frowned. “Tomorrow, we’re getting you a new car.”
“But my car’s in the shop.”
“You need something more reliable than that pile of junk.”
“So you admit you’ve been having me drive around in a pile of junk?”
“Before, you were just my stepson.”
I walked off, and he hurried to catch up with me. “And what am I to you now?”
“Mine.”
He slipped his arm through mine. My breath hitched, but then I calmed down. So what if we were walking arm in arm? If anyone knew us, they wouldn’t think it was weird.
We took a spot in the back row. It’d been a long time since I’d been out to the movies. In fact, I’d lived pretty much a hermit existence since being off active duty. Hell, I hadn’t felt so alive until this boy reminded me what it was like to feel, to wantsomething, to crave it so badly I’d destroy my life just to have it. Even if it might end up being bad for me.
“Did you want snacks?” I asked Aiden.
“Not now. During intermission. Is that okay?”
“Sure. Whatever you want.”
He smiled and kissed me quickly on the cheek. The cheek where the skin was gnarly and scarred. He didn’t flinch, didn’t even seem to notice the skin wasn’t smooth.
I swallowed. His mother had been different. I’d seen the repulsion in her eyes the first time she saw my face. I couldn’t unsee it. No wonder I couldn’t get hard for her again. She’d been loathed to touch me all this time, but since we returned, she’d been more attentive.
Something felt off.
“Shh, the movie’s starting.” Aiden was full of excitement, shuffling closer to me, taking my arm, and resting his head on my shoulder. He was so sweet. When he wasn’t being a piranha. I liked that about him, that he wouldn’t allow himself to be a pushover. It made me feel better about us that I wasn’t taking advantage of him.
Aiden had chosen the movie, an action flick set in a notorious city where police were corrupt and supervillains ran rampant. The cinematography was fantastic, with flashy visuals of car chases, shoot-outs, and explosions that had the audience gasping. The sound system made it feel as though you were actually there in the middle of all of it, with bullets flying past or cars smashing into one another.
At the first explosion, I stiffened, waiting for a flashback of what I’d been through in the Marines. Nothing.
“Jackson?” Aiden said softly. “Are you okay? Do you want to go? Sorry. I wasn’t thinking when I chose this movie.”
I squeezed his hand, touched that he’d asked. “No, it’s fine.” I had to learn to live with explosions without freaking out.
He kept my hand firmly in his, and I sensed him watching me every time an explosion of gunfire happened on the screen as though checking if I was still okay.
When it was intermission, Aiden got up. “I’ll get the snacks,” he said.
