Page 37 of Out in the Open

You typed it.

Did you want—

Ethan stopped himself. Was he supposed to propose a plan? Greg had willingly taken the reins of their arrangement so far. What was the rule in this situation? Ethan didn’t even know the rules in a normal dating setup. This was completely foreign turf.

Luckily, Greg replied back.Let’s catch a movie.

CHAPTER fifteen

The town had a large multiplex that played a nice variety of blockbusters and art house films. One of the benefits of Duncannon was the better selection of movies than Ethan’s hometown. Greg scanned the list while a bored employee waited in the box office.

“The New Wonderfulsis supposed to be really quirky, like a Wes Anderson film,” Ethan said.

Greg wasn’t impressed.

“It’s gotten great reviews.”

“I don’t care about reviews. When did it come out?” Greg asked. He wore a polo and green shorts with flip-flops. It was the first day of fall. Ethan was already in a light sweater.

“I think it just came out this weekend.”

“Pass.” Greg continued scanning the board. Ethan wondered if he actually wanted to see a movie, and the possibility made his heart beat even faster.

“What aboutLiberated?” Greg asked.

That was a movie Ethan and his friends had seen opening weekend. Not his choice. It was about some imprisoned journalists in the Sudan. That was all Ethan remembered before he had dozed off.

“It starts in twenty minutes. How long has it been out?”

“At least since school started.”

“Perfect.” Greg slapped Ethan on the back. His brown eyes made his smile seem even warmer.

Greg paid for his ticket.

“Thank you so much!” Ethan sounded overly grateful, but it had been a long time since anybody had paid for his ticket.

“Don’t worry about it. You can cover snacks.”

“I don’t know if we’ll be eating.” Ethan nudged his side. Then he realized they were still in front of the bored employee, and he looked down. So much for being smooth.

“Get some popcorn,” Greg instructed and headed into the theater.

“With butter?”

He shrugged. It seemed to be the last thing on his mind. Ethan decided against it. What if butter on his hands caused irritation to certain body parts? He also got a Coke, just in case they got thirsty.

Greg sat in the back row, and Ethan’s nerves stood on-edge. The anticipation and excitement consumed him. Knowing his skin would be making contact with Greg’s tight, tanned flesh momentarily, all while in public view, made him dizzy and caused his knees to clack together. Climbing those stairs felt like their own form of foreplay, getting his engine revved.

“Hey,” Greg said. He tossed popcorn into his mouth. “Sweet. You got soda, too.”

“I got Coke.”

“That’s fine.”

“What do you usually drink when you go to the movies?”

“This.” Greg pulled out a flask from his pocket.