The Songs in Our Hearts: A Young Adult Romance(62)

“I know,” I answered. “I just wanted to help out. Your dad left that money for you.”

I could tell Micah wanted to argue, but remained quiet on the topic. I decided to leave the whole “date/no date” thing out of the conversation, and was relieved when he left it alone, too. I didn’t feel like getting into a stupid argument over movie tickets. About an hour into the film, I couldn’t stop from shivering in my seat. The air conditioner felt as though it were blowing directly on me.

“Good lord, you must have ants in your pants,” Micah whispered as he wrapped an arm around my shoulder.

“No!” I whispered harshly against my chattering teeth. “I’m freezing.”

“Come here,” he said, tugging me closer into his arms. “I’ll warm you up.”

I was greeted by the warmth of his jacket and the sweet tang of his cologne. His hand found its way to the base of my neck, where his fingers gently played with my hair. His smooth thumb brushed over my skin, causing a pleasurable shiver to radiate down my spine.

After several minutes had gone by, I noticed it was becoming harder to focus on the screen. My eyes were growing heavy, comfortable with his body heat and gentle caresses. His touch was soothing, so much so, I was beginning to nod off. Before I knew it, my eyes were closed and I was pulled into a deep sleep in his arms.

I was startled awake by the sound of my name. As I opened my eyes and glanced around, I noticed the theater was well-lit again, and the movie was over. Micah was grinning at me, his arm still wrapped around my shoulder. So much for a thrilling pirate’s adventure. I’d slept through the entire thing!

“Good evening, Sleeping Beauty.” He laughed. “Was the film that boring?”

I pushed myself up, feeling very self-conscious. “I don’t know what happened. I—” I began, but the smile on Micah’s face was reassuring.

“Let’s get you home, sleepy head.” There seemed to be something unspoken as he looked at me before he stood up, ready to leave. I reached out and grabbed his jacket sleeve to stop him.

“We don’t have to end the night so soon,” I said quickly. “We could grab dinner if you want. I promise I won’t fall asleep on you again.”

“I could always go for dinner.”

Micah headed down the aisle. “If you fall asleep, just know that you’ll go face-first into whatever you ordered. And there will be pictures.”

I giggled. He stayed beside me as we exited the theater together, and walked out into the cold, dark night. Micah drove us to the local McDonald’s down the street, where we decided to start some sort of salt-throwing-over-our-shoulder tradition in hopes to bring us “good luck.” That was, until one of the managers came over and told us we’d have to leave if we continued.

“Spoil sport,” Micah mumbled as he pushed the salt container to the other end of the table.

“I’ve never gotten in trouble before at a McDonald’s.” I snorted.

“Consider it an experience, then,” Micah said proudly. “You can cross that off of your bucket list.”

“This might shock you, but that was never on my bucket list.”

“I bet you have all sorts of boring things on your bucket list. Going to college. Getting married. Having three kids. Let me guess, even the white picket fence, too.” Micah ticked them off on his fingers, watching me with amusement.

I sighed, thinking. “I want to go to England someday. I want to watch a sunrise...”

“Well, that one’s easy.” Micah pointed a French fry at me. “Just wake up early. Or stay up all night.”

“Easier said than done. I want to write a book someday. I want to fall in love. I want to see a miracle. I want to read fifty books in a summer…”

“God! Why would anyone want to do that?” Micah dragged the fry through his ketchup. “I was right. Your bucket list is boring.”

“Well, I don’t want to jump out of an airplane,” I retorted.

“Neither do I.” Micah raked a hand through his hair, looking contemplative. “I want to do a bunch of things when I get out of Grand Lakes. I’ve thought about going back to Georgia and buying a boat; living off the ocean. Sometimes, I think about buying a ranch in Montana.” He smirked. “Live off the land and marry a woman who can endure a life with me.”

“God help her,” I replied, rolling my eyes playfully.

“God help the man who falls in love with you and your boring bucket list!”

“I’m not boring!”

“Yes, you are. Difficult, too, and you know it.”

“Am not.” I bit my bottom lip to stop myself from smiling.

“The first step is accepting that you’re in denial,” Micah informed me. “I’ll cut you a deal. If, by the time you’re thirty, you haven’t found someone who can tolerate your stubborn attitude, I’ll marry you. We’ll live in that ranch house in Montana.”

“We’d kill each other.” I busted into laughter. “And I’m not so sure about Montana. It’s pretty far away.”

“It would be an adventure.” Micah leaned back in his chair, eyeing me. I lifted the straw of my drink to my lips and took a long sip of soda. The caffeine made me feel more awake.

“Let’s be clear.” I set down my cup, meeting his gaze. “You’re going to move away and forget all about me. I’ll become ‘that girl’ you talk about when you’re old and gray and you’ll always wonder what happened to me. I’ll become ‘ole what’s-her-name’.”