Bet on It (46)

Walker watched as she parachuted one of them, straightening it out when it landed on his side. “You know, I’ve been told my lap is a pretty soft place to rest.”

“Have you now?” She kept her attention on releasing the second blanket.

“Yep. These thighs might not be much, but they make a pretty sturdy seat.”

Aja shot him a look, lips pursed, and an eyebrow raised. She muttered something under her breath that he couldn’t understand.

“What was that?” he asked playfully.

“Hmm?” Her eyes were wide with fake innocence when she turned them on him. “I didn’t say anything.”

He heard her scoff at his answering smirk, and that just made his smile bigger.

Once they got the blankets situated, Walker helped Aja climb up and settle into the bed before he went back to the front, grabbed his keys and the snacks, then locked the doors. He made sure to situate the little corded speakers on the edges of the bed before he climbed in.

They’d made a cozy little space. It was soft and comfortable, and the evening air was warm enough that they didn’t have to tuck themselves in but cool enough that they didn’t sweat on top of all the fabric.

“This is really nice.” Aja looked around at the wide-open space. “I’ve never been to a drive-in before. To be honest, I kind of forgot they existed. I think there’s one a few hours outside of DC, but I don’t know anyone who’s been.”

“This is my first time too, actually.”

She looked shocked. “What made you want to come then?”

“It’s more…” He tried to search for words as far away from “romantic” and “intimate” as possible. “It’s more fun, I guess. Less stuffy than a movie theater, we can talk if we want to, and we got to take a baby road trip.”

“Oh, it was definitely worth it. I just feel like everyone here is either a family of five or a couple.”

Walker made a show of looking around at the darkening area. “You mean you don’t think there are any other bingo buddies who have had wildly good sex exactly one time in the back seat of a Honda Civic around here?”

“Somehow, I doubt it.” Aja’s chuckle was tight. “That particular level of ridiculousness can only exist in two people at a time, I bet.”

“I don’t know.… All things considered, it’s not that ridiculous. A buddy of mine slept with a woman who also turned out to be the person his older brother was having an affair with.”

“Damn.…”

“Yep, that next-level Jerry Springer shit is way worse than our situation.”

“That’s true.” Aja’s voice lightened up. “I can pretty much guarantee that I’m a one-sibling kind of girl. Plus, my brother would never sleep with a Braves fan.”

Even in the large, grassy lot, with plenty of space between them and the nearest car, Walker’s laugh was loud. “And I’d never debase myself with a Nationals fan, so yes, you can be sure of that.”

“It’s a good thing I don’t care about baseball then, huh?”

“Absolutely.”

For the next half hour, they were relatively quiet as they got situated, both making a point of taking in their unfamiliar surroundings as showtime moved closer. Walker wasn’t sure when or if he’d ever make it back to the drive-in, and he wanted to soak in the experience as much as possible. The low hum of voices, the engines of cars driving in, even the slight breeze making the tree limbs shake and shiver. There was movement everywhere, something to see at every turn. Instead of making him anxious, it almost soothed him.

It felt like they were in the center of it all, watching without being watched. There, but still apart. It was only made better by Aja being there with him. Even when they weren’t speaking, her presence made him happy. Her scent, her knee touching his, the knowledge that she wanted to be there just as much as he did. She surrounded him in a way that probably should have been more concerning than it was.

When the movie started, they had settled their backs against where the truck bed met the cabin. Unlike at a traditional movie theater, there were no previews first. A hush fell over the large field when Lucy Liu appeared on-screen clad in a pair of yellow leather pants with brass knuckles on her fingers. The man on-screen was tied to a chair, struggling and spitting in her direction. The second she brought the knuckles down on his face, sending him reeling backwards and onto the floor, Walker was hooked.

About a quarter of the way into the movie, there was a lull when the obviously shoehorned-in romantic subplot began to take hold. Walker turned to Aja, noticing that she’d made her way through half of her box of Hot Tamales.

“You hungry?” he whispered.

“Uhm…” She tore her eyes away from the movie reluctantly. “Yes, actually.”

“Me too. I’m goin’ to get us somethin’. Did you have anything specific in mind?”

“I could go for a hot dog. Ketchup, mustard, and relish. Oh, and some fries if they have them. Oh, and some water.”

She was all but licking her chops when he got back with her hot dog and his nachos. He could barely get comfortable in the truck bed before he was watching her devour her hot dog. There was no room for talking while they stuffed their faces. When they were finished, only the bare remnants of their meal were scattered around them. Condiment stains on cardboard, a couple of particularly mushy fries. All evidence they’d been sufficiently satisfied.