Page 24 of Cozy Girl Fall

“Figured you wouldn’t want anyone to see you ugly cry to The Notebook in public,” he teased and she rolled her eyes, even though he was right. She blinked away the annoying prick of tears in her eyes as she realized that he really did remember the little things after all this time.

Rather than respond to his jibing, she presented his popcorn and slushie. “Here.”

He chuckled. “Didn’t feel like sharing like old times?”

Actually, she’d worried herself by how much she’d wanted to share with him like they’d used to do as kids.

So she’d deliberately got them separate snacks, that way she could avoid the warm brush of his fingers against hers in the popcorn bucket and placing her mouth in the place his had been on the straw.

There was only so much temptation any one person could take.

“Sorry if you’re not into popcorn any more. I can get you nachos instead, if you like? Or a corn dog?”

He gave her a sideways look as he led them away from the counter. “I like my popcorn and slushies the way I always have, sweetheart. You feeling OK?”

She nodded vigorously and this seemed to make things worse, his frown deepening. But he didn’t pry, letting her keep her anxieties to herself.

They wandered over to the roped-off entrance to the screens and Ethan presented their tickets to the attendant before ushering her ahead of him with a hot hand at the small of her back.

“Predictions?” she asked once they were seated, relieved when they settled near the back but not in the very back row that teens congregated in to make out. She would know. They’d once been those teens in the back row.

“Hmm, I think Reese Witherspoon is secretly the bad guy.”

Penny rolled her eyes. “Are you just trying to let me win?”

His laugh warmed his eyes and she had to look away before she drowned in their depths. “Go on then, show me how it’s done.”

She bit her lip. “I think one of them is going to seduce a guard of some kind to pull off the heist.”

“A classic trope,” he said, nodding.

They’d been playing the predictions game for a long time and falling back into the pattern was easy thanks to its familiarity.

It felt comfortable playing it again with Ethan, even as her heart raced at his proximity and the brush of his arm on the rest between them.

Typically whoever picked a prediction that came true in the movie got to pick the next one.

Sometimes there were no winners, but it didn’t stop them coming up with all kinds of nonsense guesses.

“I’m glad you agreed to meet me,” Ethan murmured, his low voice raising the hair on her arms and sending a tingle across her chest. “I take it your talk with Tasha went well?”

She nodded. “It was dicey at first, to be honest. I know she’s just trying to look out for both of us but it took a little while to convince her that our friendship isn’t at risk if anything happens between me and you.

And then many cookies were eaten, and things got a little easier from there.

I do get where she’s coming from though, especially after how everything went down last time.

” Ethan didn’t say anything, allowing Penny to finish her thought as he simply nodded in understanding.

Before she could lose her nerve, Penny blew out a breath. “Ethan? Is this a date?”

His eyes flicked over her face, assessing her. “Do you want this to be a date?” She hesitated, biting her lip before nodding. “Then it’s a date.” He smiled when she relaxed and leant in to kiss her on the cheek as they settled back in their seats.

The previews came to an end, the screen briefly going completely black as the movie prepared to play. The theater was relatively empty and the darkness felt cozy until the brightening of the screen threw their surroundings into sharp relief.

Ethan’s face looked pale in the bright light and when he turned to find her watching him, she jerked her gaze away quickly.

She’d been up front with Ethan about her feelings, and her concern over her eventually leaving Magnolia Springs behind, so why did she feel guilty?

Like a nerve was twanging under her skin, Penny couldn’t stop fidgeting, unable to focus on the movie, or anything besides Ethan’s warmth beside her.

She didn’t need to fight this feeling anymore, but she also felt like she couldn’t give in to it either.

Had it been so long since she’d last been happy that the sensation now felt completely foreign?

A hand covered hers, squeezing gently, and her eyes darted down to find Ethan’s hand intertwined with her own atop the shared armrest between them. Maybe it was the darkness of the room that had her burning, the freedom of being unobserved, but her body felt like a live wire as Ethan touched her.

When her fidgeting started up again ten minutes later, Ethan leant in with worry furrowing his brow. “If you want to leave we can,” he said, as Reese Witherspoon pouted adorably on-screen.

“No, it’s fine,” Penny murmured, wriggling in her seat to get comfortable. “Just can’t relax and get my brain to switch off.”

“Oh.” A small smile pulled at Ethan’s lower lip as he settled back in his chair. “I see.”

They didn’t say anything else and Penny tried to focus on the screen and the inevitable heist build-up. But then Ethan let go of her hand and surprise, maybe a little hurt too, made her fingers clench.

Except, his hand didn’t stop moving and instead dropped, reaching over the armrest and landing on her knee. She started, popcorn spilling from her bucket, and when he squeezed her knee her breath caught.

“What are you doing?”

He smiled. “Relaxing you.”

His hand on her leg was the opposite of relaxing, and then he started to move. His fingers trailed over her knee and carefully stroked upwards in a line of fire so delicate she thought she might lose her mind.

“Ethan—“

“Shhh. I’ve got you. You can be quiet for me, can’t you?”

His hand reached the waist of her jeans and he looked up at her for approval before flicking open the button and smoothly lowering her zipper.

Her gasp was lost in the loud music that flooded the room, but Ethan knew, had seen her chin tilt and mouth part and rewarded her by slipping his hand under her jeans and cupping her over her underwear.

Penny glanced to her right and was relieved that the rest of their row was empty, as was the row behind them. Nobody could see him torturing her, but even if they could, she wasn’t sure she’d care right then. Not when she could feel her own wetness mounting against the friction of his large hand.

She wasn’t the only one affected, though. Ethan’s eyes were closed, his bottom lip sucked into his mouth as he rocked his hand against her heat. Her hips canted forward and his finger slid under the boundary of her underwear, making them both jolt.

There was a brief moment then, as if they both realized that there would be no going back from this, then the bubble of time popped and his hand pressed against her clit.

He stroked into her arousal, the curl of his fingers proprietary as he teased her entrance and found her soaked.

Ethan muttered something under his breath that she couldn’t hear over the music playing, she stared at the screen without really seeing it as the tip of his finger pressed into her and she gripped the armrests, trying for some semblance of control.

“Is this OK?” The words were husky and uttered straight into her ear, making her shudder as his finger pressed into her more fully, curling and rubbing in a way he definitely hadn’t known how to do when they were in high school.

“Yes,” she panted and his smirk was there and gone in a flash of light from the screen.

“Good. I think you can take more, baby. Don’t you?” His palm pressed flat against her and the added pressure to her clit made her legs strain open wider. “I think you need more, but you have to be quiet for me, Penny.”

She nodded, the movement frantic and eager, and was rewarded with the press of a second finger at her entrance, stretching her out as the pressure inside her built. Her eyes fluttered close and Ethan tutted.

“Eyes on me, baby,” he growled and then chuckled low and dark when he felt the rush of moisture his words generated. Their eyes locked and he bit his lip on a groan as the filthy sound of what he was doing to her was lost in the soundtrack of the movie.

“How’s that, Penny? Are you feeling calmer now?” The speed of his slow thrusts increased and her hips rolled against his hand as small whimpers were wrung from her lips. The motion of his hand froze. “Shhh, only quiet girls get to finish.”

Her mouth snapped shut and she begged Ethan with her eyes, relieved when he resumed fucking her with his fingers. Each drag of the digits against her inner walls had her muscles coiling, the pressure mounting higher until she ground desperately against his hand.

“God, I’ve fucking dreamed about this,” Ethan groaned in her ear. “I can feel how close you are, Penny. Fluttering around my fingers. You want to come?”

She nodded, her pussy clenching around his fingers.

“Then come,” he said, voice hoarse, as he curled his fingers inside her, pressing against a spot that made her gasp just as his mouth came down on hers to capture the sound. He stroked her through the orgasm, murmuring praise in her ear as she soaked his hand, and her muscles slowly relaxed.

Her heart was beating so fast she had to take several calming breaths as Ethan withdrew his hand and rebuttoned and zipped her jeans before raising his fingers to his mouth and curling his tongue around them like he was sampling the nectar of the gods themselves.

Then he grinned like that wasn’t the hottest thing she’d ever seen and said, “Shall we finish the movie?”

He held her hand throughout the rest of the film and Penny felt drunk with the way her muscles tingled, the release he’d given her making her sleepy and warm. She hadn’t meant to fall asleep, but when Ethan nudged her awake, the credits were rolling and his smile was soft.

“Hey, sleepyhead. Want to get a late dinner?” The yawn that left her was so big her eyes watered, interrupting her response and making Ethan grin. “Or we could make that a rain check?”

“Can we rain check? Do you mind?”

He pressed a kiss to her cheek and helped her stand from her seat. “Not at all. I already filled up on popcorn anyway.”

She glanced down and narrowed her eyes at the two empty buckets. “You always were a snack thief.”

“I make up for it with my dazzling wit and good looks.”

Penny was still laughing when they walked out of the movie theater and into the cool night air, shivering lightly at the shift in temperature. Ethan draped his jacket over her shoulders and she smiled, breathing in the sandalwood scent that lingered on his clothes.

“Do you mind if we just sit for a minute? I need to wake up a little before I drive home.”

Ethan chuckled. “Sure. Come on.” The town square was fairly quiet, as most of the shops shut by seven, with only a few passers-by walking to and from eateries, the odd car driving past making the only sound aside from their footsteps. She smiled when she realized where he was leading them.

The water had slowed to a trickle and the stone rim of the fountain was mostly dry as they took a seat on the edge. Once it hit a certain time in the morning the fountain would turn back on in full force, ready for the new day, but in the evenings it was turned off to conserve power.

“I used to come here all the time, do you remember?”

He nodded, looking out at the hub of their small town with a soft look on his face. “Yeah. After you left it kind of became my spot, though.”

“Oh?”

He nodded. “It’s a good place to think. And …”

“And?” she prompted when he fell silent.

“And it made me feel close to you,” he murmured, his eyes avoiding hers. His confession was so quiet she had to hold her breath to hear the words. “Not even necessarily in a romantic way—you were my friend before we were ever more, and I missed that. You .”

Well, she was certainly feeling more awake now. “When I moved, I tried my best to not miss you, or anyone here really. I worked double shifts until I was so exhausted all I could do was go home and sleep, but you and Tasha and this stupid place snuck into my dreams sometimes anyway.”

He turned to her and the streetlights in the distance reflected in his dark irises as he watched her intently. “Why didn’t you want to miss us?”

She shrugged. “A hundred reasons. It hurt, it made me want to run straight back home, but I knew I’d screwed everything up when I left and thinking about that, about how I must have hurt you and Tasha and my parents, was too much.”

His hand found hers, their fingers intertwining easily as Ethan lifted their joined hands to his mouth and pressed a kiss to the back of hers. “I’m sorry you went through that alone.”

There was a lump in her throat that made it hard to swallow. “It was my choice, I guess. I always thought, at least you and Tasha still had each other after I left.”

“Eh,” he said, wrinkling his nose. “We were both busy doing other things at first. I went to college, Tasha started her internship at the library in the new town. Maybe if you’d stayed, it might have been different.”

“Maybe,” she whispered and he squeezed her hand.

“But right now, I think it all turned out OK in the end. Don’t you?”