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Alex stared at the phone that she held in her hand. The screen was brightly lit with a phone number, a number that Alex knew by heart. A number that she had called many times, a number she wasn’t even sure would reach that same person.
It had been over a week since she’d had her stroll down memory lane. Over a week and she still hadn’t been able to move past it. Over a week and she thought about him every minute. She was spiraling out of control. Her emotions were out of whack. She found herself crying over the smallest thought, over the smallest reminder of him. She had managed to avoid watching his show, but she couldn’t keep herself from the photo album. It lay at the foot of her bed and she would flip through it every night before falling asleep, all in the hope that her dreams would take her to a time where she was happiest.
She blackened the screen, the number disappearing from her sight. She knew she wouldn’t be able to call that number. It had been too long and she wasn’t even sure that he would want to talk to her. She placed the phone on the table beside her bed. She stared at the album lying on her bed but for the first time in over a week, she left it alone. She reached for her book instead, opening it up to her marked spot. Her eyes began to scan the words on the pages, but she wasn’t reading them. She couldn’t focus. Her thoughts kept drifting.
Saturday had arrived quickly and Alex found herself standing in front of her wardrobe. She knew he was taking her to a movie, but she wasn’t sure what movie, or even what type of movie. Casual. Casual was always a good way to go. She reached for her favorite pair of jeans and a tank top. It was still summer in California and the heat didn’t waver much as the sun went down. She made sure to take along a light sweater, for the just in case possibilities. He had called her several hours ago, letting her know that he’d be by to pick her up at 7 and to get directions to her place. She glanced over at the clock to the right of her bed, noting that he would be arriving at any moment.
She dressed quickly, double checking her hair and makeup before grabbing her purse and heading out into her living room. She had barely sat on the plush couch for a few moments when her doorbell rang. She stood, self-consciously flattening out her shirt and pants. She opened the door to reveal his handsome face.
“Hey,” She smiled at him and was rewarded with his winning smile.
“Are you ready?” He leaned against the frame, his eyes searching her up and down.
“Yeah,” She placed her hand on his chest, pushing slightly as she turned around to pull the door closed behind her.
He stood next to his car, the door to it opened as he waited for her to finish locking her door. Alex thanked him politely and as she was buckling her seatbelt, he shut her door, running around to the drivers-side.
“So, which movie are we going to go and see?” She watched him as he situated himself, checking his mirrors before he started his car up.
He didn’t turn to look at her, “I thought it might be fun to do something a little different. There is a drive-in theater, right in L.A. and they’re showing Ghostbusters tonight. We can grab some take-out and make a whole thing of it.”
Alex smiled, he’d put some thought into it. “I think that it sounds like fun. What were you thinking for food, because I could go for some really good Chinese?”
“We could do Chinese. I know this great little place over in Chinatown that makes some great kung-pao chicken.” He glanced over at her, waiting for a sign of approval.
“Let’s do it,” Alex grinned at him, pulling her leg up, her foot pressing into the seat, her arms wrapped around her knee. She leaned her chin on her knee. She studied him carefully, taking in every feature of his face. His hair was shaggy and kept falling down into his face. He’d reach up and push it away, but it would quickly fall back into his line of sight. His face was thin, his cheekbones and jawline were prominent. He had a five o’clock shadow that highlighted his upper lip and chin, and a part of her wanted to reach out and brush her fingers along the stubble.
“What,” He visibly tensed up.
Alex chuckled softly, “Nothing, I was just checking out the view.” She winked at him, her grin growing bigger.
“Wow, is that the best you can do? I would have thought that you’d have better pick-up lines that that.” Matthew’s grin matched hers.
Alex woke with a start. She rolled over and looked at the clock. The bright red numbers glared a giant 1:30 back at her. Ugh, she sighed. She fell onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. She’d been having a good dream. Granted it had been about Matthew, but it had been one that she could look back on fondly.
She wasn’t sure how long she laid there. The house was quiet. She could hear the hustle and bustle of living in a big city going on outside. She tried, several times, without success to fall back asleep, but each time she closed her eyes, he would flood her thoughts. Even when her eyes were open, he dominated her thoughts, but at least she could focus on something besides his face. She took a couple deep breaths and finally just crawled out of bed.
She padded into her kitchen and put on the kettle. Maybe a cup of hot tea would help calm her down enough that she could fall back asleep. She curled up on her couch, flipping the TV on. She secretly hoped that he’d be on, that she could drift away to the sound of his voice. She was beginning to fear that it might be too late, but her luck held out and she happened upon an episode of Criminal Minds. She stretched out on the couch, pulling a blanket up to her chin and closing her eyes. His voice would break through and she slowly started to drift off into dreamland again.
Matthew pulled into a spot. He had tried to get as close to the center of the lot as possible, for he wanted the best view experience he could get. The movie would be starting in about another 45 minutes, so the food was pulled out and they sat together in the car, eating Chinese and talking about how their day had been.
Alex grabbed the empty food containers and climbed out of the car. She found a trash can and dumped the garbage in it. As she was walking back to his car, she stopped. A grin quickly spread across her face. He had pulled out two lawn chairs and was setting them up in front of the car. He had a blanket lying across the hood and a cooler was situated in-between the two seats.
She continued her approach, stopping when she reached the car. She leaned against it, waiting for him to finish is set-up preparation.
He glanced up, “Here, this one of is for you.” He motioned to the chair on his right.
She pushed herself off the car and walked over, settling herself down into the comfy lawn chair. He handed her the blanket and she laid it across her lap.
He sat down in the empty seat, reaching between them. He grasped the lip of the cooler and lifted it open. “I’ve got soda, beer, and some water. I wasn’t sure what you would be in the mood to drink. I will also go and grab some popcorn if you’d like that. They also sell ice cream if you’d like some dessert or maybe you’d like some candy. They have licorice.”
Alex reached out and held her finger to his lip, “Matthew stop…I’m fine.” She smiled at him, “I really just want to sit here and watch this movie with you.” As she went to pull her hand away, he caught it and held onto it for a few moments before releasing it. She really wanted to slide her chair closer to his, but the cooler was prohibiting this movement.
“I’ll be right back,” He jumped up and disappeared in the sea of vehicles.
Alex took this opportunity to rearrange their sitting situation. She slid the cooler backwards, so it was bumped up against the car. She picked up her chair and moved it within inches of his. She sat back down, pulling the blanket back up onto her lap. It wasn’t cold out, but the comfort of the blanket helped to calm her raging nerves.
He returned a few minutes later and stopped momentarily before sitting back down, “You moved the chairs?” He looked over at her.
She nodded her head, turning her head back to face the screen, “You were sitting too far away. What if there is a scary moment?” She had to bit her lip to keep the grin from giving her away.
Out of the corner of her eyes, she could see him roll his. “Well, I guess that you’re in luck.”
“And why is that,” She liked that he was playing along.
“I happen to know that there is at least one scary moment, you might want to slide over here a little closer.” He reached over and grabbed the arm of her chair.
She stood just enough, he pulled it closer to him. “Do you want some blanket?”
He nodded his head and she unfolded the blanket, handing him one end of it. He stretched it across his lap.
Her arms rested the handles. His were doing the same. Throughout the movie they both fidgeted. He’d move his hand closer before pulling it back. She’d follow suit, doing the same, but losing her nerve. Finally, halfway through the movie and countless failed attempts, she reached over and took his hand in hers, pulling it across and resting them both in her lap.
His hand was warm, his fingers lacing with hers. He hopped his chair just a little closer, the arm rests now touching. His knee was pressed against hers under the blanket and she liked the fluttery feeling that was erupting within her.
Alex stretched, yawning as the sun streaked through her living room. She had slept rather soundly. She rubbed her eyes as she pivoted her feet to the ground. She stood, stretching her arms above her head. Making her way through her bedroom she stopped as the display on her phone flashed at her. It must have been on silent, for there was no ringing, but the number that was displayed made her stop cold in her tracks.
There was no way he could have known that she had been thinking about him. There was no way he would have known that she couldn’t get him out of her head.
She reached for her phone, stopping, pulling her hand back. She shook her head. She was being stupid. She just needed to answer the phone, there had to be a reason as to why he was calling. She reached for her phone again.
“Hello,” There was a slight tremble to her voice, but she was hoping it wouldn’t be noticeable to him.
“Alex. Hey, I know that it’s early but I was hoping that maybe you had a moment to talk?” He sounded just as nervous as she felt. The phone call couldn’t have been easy for him to make.
“Umm, sure, I’ve got some time.” She settled down on her bed. She had no idea what to expect but a part of her had some hope. Hope that maybe the last week of reminiscing was fate. Maybe, just maybe.