Page 94

ON THE BIG SCREEN

Evie: You’re ditching me?

Jon: I’ll be back later, I promise.

Evie: Was this your strategy all along?

Jon: Hush. Go eat more pie.

“I didn’t even know this existed.”

“I think of it as a hidden gem.”

We were somewhere between Firefly and Merryville.

Like everything else in this area of Maine, I doubted I’d find it on a map.

We got out of the car, staring up at the massive, crumbling screen on the far side of the parking lot.

I could only imagine Mimi in her younger years, sitting in the back of a pickup, watching old movies.

“Did you ever see movies here?”

I glanced over as he turned on a flashlight, lighting up the underside of his chin. He shook his head. “Before my time. I always wished they’d bring it back. But I think Firefly is content with movies on the green.”

“This is so much bigger!”

“Size queen.” Maybe.

He stood in front of the car’s headlights, holding his hand out.

I wouldn’t admit it out loud, but since our hookup at Spectrum, I had enjoyed the intimate gestures.

As my fingers laced together with his, it reminded me of early boyfriends and how I read into every little action.

I couldn’t put my finger on why, but Tyler made me nervous.

He pulled me along. “Where are we going?”

“You can’t come to the drive-in without getting a proper view.”

I could barely make out the ladder. “Is every date going to involve us climbing ladders?”

“Depends. Is this a date?”

“I… uh…” We had talked about getting together. I secretly hoped there would be kissing. That made it a date in my head, but we had never used that specific word. Had I gotten the wrong?—

“I’m messing with you.” He pulled me closer, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. “Now it’s officially a date.”

Every kiss brought me back to that first moment. Bursts of lights in the sky with loud bangs, and us, two scared teenagers, unaware of how to make the next move.

He dragged me along the gravel.

I attempted small talk. “So, I got invited to be on the carnival committee.” I didn’t want to do it, but I owed Firefly for that night. What could it hurt? It’d be a reimbursement for all the baked goods occupying my fridge. “I think I’m going to do it.”

“Am I going to wind up in the dunk tank again?”

“Only if you’re in a speedo.”

“I know where you’ll be spending all your tickets.”

I was thankful he turned his attention to the screen. Otherwise, he’d have seen how excited I got thinking about him sitting in that tank. Yeah, this guy had definitely gotten under my skin. After walking around the brush, trying to reclaim the parking lot, we reached the base of the ladder.

“Is this safe? You know I’m a klutz, right?”

“Probably not,” he said. “But it’s a time-honored tradition.”

“If I die?—”

“Nobody will ever find the body.” He flashed a smile before taking the first step upward. When I hesitated, he looked down. “Come up, and I’ll tell you about my time behind bars.”

Evil.

Bribery served as motivation as I tested the first step. In the dim light from his car’s headlights, I gripped the sides, cautiously following. It must have been twenty feet by the time we reached the platform at the base of the screen.

“You ran a pie smuggling operation.”

“Nope.”

“Caught riding a moose?”

“I didn’t get caught.”

I snorted as he offered a hand, guiding me to my feet. From up here, the car looked so far away. Its headlights barely illuminated the screen. It always surprised me, admiring the night sky. Peppered with stars, it wasn’t nearly as dark as the tree line beneath it.

“Alright,” I said. “Spill the beans.”

He moved toward the center of the screen before taking a seat. He patted the wood to his side. I joined him, legs swinging in the empty air. Something about the empty parking lot and the vastness of Maine made it even more romantic than a drive-in movie.

“Breaking and entering.”

“I knew it!”

He cocked his head to the side. “You thought I rode a moose through town.”

“Close second,” I chuckled. “You can’t leave it there. Were you breaking into No Big Whoop for a late-night whoopie pie?”

“No, but now that you mention it. I want one.” His legs swung back and forth for a second as he leaned back on his hands. “I broke into my ex’s house.”

“Scandalous. So you’re a crazy ex?”

“Before he was my ex. I broke into his apartment so I could decorate for the proposal.”

I didn’t know if I should laugh at the situation or— “Wait, he called the cops on you?”

“Oh, no. I was putting up streamers when the sheriff busted in. One of his neighbors thought I was a thief. I tried to explain myself, but she insisted I was a burglar. So they took me in.”

“Wow. Who says romance is dead?”

He threw his head back, snorting through the laughter. “Then Phil showed up at the county jail to get me out. At that point, the sheriff thought it was hysterical. While Phil stood on the other side of the bars, the sheriff said there was only one way he’d release me.”

“You proposed through prison bars?”

“Yup. I tried to convince Phil to get married in the jail, but he refused.”

The reason he had a prison record might not be worthy of gossip, but the outcome had become a story in its own right. His ability to roll with the punches and make the best out of it reminded me of the library. I’d be fearful of losing my job. Instead, he focused on the here and now.

“Can I ask what happened?”

“It’s a boring story.” I would have let it go. Tyler didn’t owe me an explanation. “We made a great couple while we were dating.” Apparently, being silent gave him the space to carry on. “Our wedding happened, and things changed. He changed.”

In my relationships, I was lucky if there was ever a spark to begin with. “I’ve heard of that happening.”

I didn’t know what else to say. Hearing somebody’s marriage fell apart meant they didn’t get their happily ever after.

If I had my way, everybody would meet their somebody and live in domestic bliss, whatever that meant for them.

I’d be lying if I didn’t have a moment of relief.

His marriage ending meant we had the opportunity to sit here admiring the mountains.

“We went from dates and making events out of every little thing to… comfortable. It wasn’t bad. He was still incredibly sweet. It just felt like he lost a little of that spark. I fell in love with that spark. Without it, we were?—”

“Roommates.”

Tyler nodded. “It got to the point where we simply existed together.” He let out a long sigh.

I never believed a person had a single love.

There were too many people in the world for that.

Instead, I preferred believing we had the right person at the right time.

Those didn’t always line up. I let out a little chuckle at the thought.

“What?”

“Oh, it’s nothing.”

“If I’m spilling my guts, I expect you to divulge.”

“I was thinking about how we can meet somebody, and they’re perfect. But the timing might be off. That’s it.”

“That’s it?” He glanced at me. Even in the dark, I could make out his expression. Tyler was less than convinced.

“We’re perfect examples. Right person. Wrong time.”

“Then or now?”

I was about to spit out a reply when I realized that statement might not apply. Back then, it had been right person and wrong time. Right now? Right person. Right time. Bad… I didn’t have an answer. Bad situation?

“Both,” I admitted. “I hadn’t thought about that kiss in years.”

“Ouch.”

I leaned over, bumping my shoulder against his. “That’s not what I meant. Because of that kiss, I finally came out of the closet. I liked it… a lot. I wasn’t sure before then. But afterward… it confirmed a suspicion.”

“Same,” he said.

“I don’t need to think about it.”

“Digging yourself deeper.”

I took a deep inhale. The air had changed, charged as if a storm were coming. Somewhere out in the distance, it started to rain.

“I don’t need to think about it because my entire life is built off that moment.” It was a strange thing to admit out loud, but it didn't make it any less true. “Every date. Every boyfriend. Every hookup. They all started with a kiss with a boy I had a crush on. The life I have now started there.”

“Damn.”

“Right?”

Out of the corner of my eye, I caught him staring. I had made a fool of myself in the treehouse. I didn’t want to screw it up this time. Third time’s the charm. I reached over, hand against his face, our eyes locked.

“I’m going to kiss you.”

“You ruined the?—”

I leaned in, lips pressed against his. This time, I didn’t miss.

I gripped his neck as I inhaled notes of sandalwood and citrus.

Our legs dangled over the drive-in, but all I could think about was crawling on top of him.

The tip of his tongue flicked against my lip.

I ended it, biting his lower lip just hard enough to make him grunt.

“Not ruined,” he whispered.

Thunder roared through the woods. The sound of the falling rain grew closer, and we only had minutes before we were consumed by a summer shower. If it weren’t for the ladder, I’d have stayed and suffered through wet clothes to keep kissing.

“We could continue not ruining this in the car,” I suggested.

Lightning flashed. Sitting atop a giant metal structure went from being romantic to deadly. Neither of us spoke as we shuffled toward the ladder. Mother Nature had sped up the process. One way or another, we were going to wind up in that car.

“I’m soaked.”

I pulled the passenger door shut before shaking my head.

Water splashed against the dashboard. It wouldn’t be long before his seats were as wet as us.

While he might be soaked, my knees were covered in mud.

True to form, I slipped and slid, making a mess of myself.

I could either see this as a sign that we needed to end our date or…

I pulled my shirt over my head. He glanced at me, an eyebrow lifted. “What? I don’t like wet. It’s not like you haven’t seen me?—”