Silence (Silence #1)(23)
“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?”
Cole frowned for a second. I could tell that he didn’t want to do anything else, well, not with them anyway. Ben must have noticed it too because he nodded once and turned to Kerry, telling her he wanted her all to himself for the rest of the evening. She seemed happy with that and they quickly said their goodbyes.
Cole let out a sigh of relief. “I know they’re my friends, but I just want you,” he whined. I wasn’t sure if he was being serious or not. He had that cheeky half-smile on his face. “Ice cream, Miss Farrell?” Grinning, I fell against his side, pushing him towards the car.
It was too late for the café, so we went to McDonalds again, and sat in his car eating our McFlurries.
“You okay? We can go somewhere else if you’re bored.” I shook my head.
He suddenly chuckled at something, pulling a heaped spoonful of ice cream out of the tub. He wouldn’t, would he? I watched his smile become more pronounced, more mischievous, and I knew what he was about to do.
My eyes widened, and I held my hands up in surrender. I really didn’t want to be all sticky and gross on my first date with the guy I was utterly crazy about. Before I could blink, he flicked the spoon, sending the ice cream flying at me. It landed on my top with a soft thud and fell onto my lap. Gasping, I swung the car door open and hopped out of the car. Oh, you’re going down, Benson!
Cole’s laughter blocked out the sound of a group of teens shouting and messing around outside McDonalds and the couple arguing in a car nearby. After brushing the remains of the freezing cold ice cream from my top and jeans, I scooped up some ice cream and flicked it at him through the door. Surprisingly, despite my rubbish aim, it landed on his chest. He stopped laughing immediately and looked down at the ice cream and chocolate sauce that was running down his t-shirt.