Page 52 of The Do-Over
THEA
“Do you want some popcorn?” Thea asked, holding the bowl out to Rob.
He came awkwardly into the living room and perched beside her on the couch. Reaching over, he helped himself to a handful. “What are we watching?”
“Scary movie,” she said.
“Yeah, you love those.”
He said it so matter-of-factly that for a moment even Thea herself was transported back to the time when they had been a real couple. Their relationship had been relatively short, but it had been so passionate. She couldn’t say that she hadn’t thought about him at all over the past few years, but she hadn’t allowed herself to feel the things she was feeling now.
She felt a strange urge to move closer to him on the couch.
It’s just because that’s what’s familiar. That’s what I would have done the last time we were together. That didn’t mean she should do the same thing now.
She put the popcorn bowl on the couch between them, in part to establish a safety zone. “Have you seen this one before?” she asked, pointing to the serial killer stalking the blonde heroine down a dark alley on the screen.
Rob shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t know,” he said.
Thea felt immediately guilty for asking the question. Of course he wouldn’t know. “I’m sorry,” she said. “That was a dumb question.”
“No, it wasn’t. It was the kind of question people ask each other. It’s not your fault I can’t answer it.”
“It’s not your fault either,” Thea said quietly.
He was silent for a moment. “The movie,” he said. “When did it come out?”
“Last year. It kind of bombed at the box office, but I like it. Lots of thrills.” As if to punctuate the comment, she grabbed a blanket and slung it across her lap. “Are you warm enough?” she asked.
“It is a little chilly.”
“We can share this,” she suggested.
Rob looked at the blanket. “Are you sure?”
“It’s a really big one,” she said. “One of those massive blankets they advertise—well, I guess you wouldn’t know, but they’re designed for couples who want to share blankets but don’t want to get all close. Or they can be for friends, or you can just pack your whole family under them if you want to.”
“Pretty crazy,” Rob said, taking the edge of the blanket she handed him and pulling it over. She patted down the space between them and resettled the popcorn bowl there.
Immediately, she wondered if this had been the right decision.
The whole point of this blanket was supposed to be that it let you keep your distance.
So why did she feel as if they had suddenly gotten much closer? As if they were almost touching?
Kim stared at the screen in silence, and so did Rob. It seemed to Kim as if both of them were reluctant even to move.
The movie played on, but Kim wasn’t watching it anymore. All she could think about was the fact that Rob Honeycutt was beside her.
* * *
“What’s up?” Thea asked, coming up behind Rob the following morning. He was sitting at the breakfast table and staring at his phone, swiping quickly.
“There’s a photo album on here,” he said.
She nodded. “That’s pretty standard on most phones. I’ve got one too.”
“But…well, look at these pictures.”
