Page 92 of Shots Fired

“Gotta be quicker than that, Doll.” I hold it between my lips and wait for her to reach up and take it from my mouth.

Her eyes rove the theater as she braces one hand on the seat and reaches up to snatch it. I take full advantage, pulling her into my lap.

“Archer …” she whispers just before she takes the Bugle from my mouth and begins crunching down.

The woman sitting directly in front of us shifts in her seat, but doesn’t look behind her as she continues to watch the movie.

I push back Darcy’s braid and brush my lips along the shell of her ear. “I’m going to need you to calm down. Or you’re going to get us busted.”

Her cheeks flush pink, and her skin pebbles along her bare arms. She’s only wearing a black T-shirt and purple skirt with tights and boots, and all I can think about is how easy it would be to slide?—

“Do you have any intention of watching this film with me?” Darcy asks, cutting off my daydream.

With my hand on her knee, I slowly trail it up and under her short, pleated skirt, dipping my fingers beneath the hem. “It’s like you can suggest other things we could be doing?”

“Shhh!” the woman in front scolds, still not looking our way.

I roll my lips together and try not to laugh. Darcy buries her head into the crook of my neck.

“You know what we can do in silence?” I whisper so quietly that I can barely hear my own voice as she loops both arms around my neck, the shine of her eyes reflecting off the screen.

“What?”

When I run my tongue along her lower lip, she parts for me. Just like my memories of railfanning, this kiss takes me back to when I was a young boy and started to kiss girls for the first time.

Butterflies dance in my stomach, and a small whimper rises up my throat when I massage my tongue against Darcy’s. But unlike when I was a teenager, nothing about this moment feels naive.

I’m in love with this girl. The feeling is unmistakable, even if I’ve never said the words to anyone before or felt the way I do about Darcy. The realization washes over me in a flood of relief, mixed with a silent prayer that she will catch up to me. This is beyond wanting her as my girlfriend or being obsessed enough to stalk her around town or call her shitty ex. It’s beyond wanting to raise a baby with her because I know she’ll be the best mom in the world.

She is what I want for the rest of my life—silly dates at the theater where we don’t actually watch the movie but make out instead. Walks around the park so she can clear her head of stress and tell me all of her eccentric British traditions.

This is why I couldn’t get enough of her when she visited from the UK. Why—from the moment I set eyes on her two years ago—the only place I could picture being was right by her side.

I break the kiss and study her swollen red lips as I pull away, finding her eyes when they lock on to mine.

“What’s the matter?” she asks in the softest voice.

I swallow hard, my mouth as dry as the popcorn by my feet. “I need you to promise me that you won’t freak out in the middle of this packed theater.”

Her fingertips tickle the back of my neck. “I promise I won’t.”

“Good, because I can’t hold it in anymore.” The woman in front of us stirs again, and I bring my mouth back to hers. “I’m in love with you, Darcy. I’m going to need you to be my girlfriend now.”

When a smile tips up her lips, I know that despite being in a packed theater as I whispered the words, this, right here, was exactly the right time to go all in.

“Okay.”

My arms tighten around her waist as I check that this isn’t a dream.

“Oh Jesus …” I blow out a slow breath. “For real?”

She chuckles softly and brings her mouth down over mine. “For real. Iwantto try with you.”

Bringing her palm to my lips, I set a kiss in the center before resting it over her stomach. “You hear that, Pipsqueak? Let’s fucking go.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

DARCY