Shadow Girl (Ongoing)

Chapter 15

We get to the movies twenty five minutes late, but Samantha says that girls should always be the ones that arrive late and have the boys wait for them. "It shows how much they want to hang out with you if they wait for long," she explains while adjusting her dress so that more cleavage is showing.

I feel that this is all a bit excessive for a night at the movies. Who's going to be seeing us in these outfits anyway, when we're in the dark theaters watching a movie for almost two hours?

We find Jonathan and Max sprawled on the couches of the lounge area, where it's families that sit down and enjoy their snacks before their movie starts.

Max is the first to see us and he hops off his seat and greets Samantha with a hug and waves at me. "Don't you two look like you're out to break hearts," he says, smiling.

Jonathan approaches from behind Max and smiles at us. "Nice to see that youve finally arrived," he teases. "Hi Nathalie," he shifts his focus to me.

"Hey, Jonathan," I greet back.

Samantha had given me instructions on what to do. I should stand nearer to him in the group, if he wants to buy me something I should let him, and when I talk to the group I should make eye contact with him longer than the others. She says this is how one shows one likes someone.

"Shall we?" Samantha leads us to the popcorn counter.

After we're seated in the theater (Samantha and I are in the middle with Jonathan on my right and Max on Sam's left), we pretty much sit there quietly for the duration of the film, except for when Jonathan and I went for the arm rest at the same time and he pulled back to let me have it.

I noticed several times from the peripheral of my view that Jonathan's gaze shifted to me several times. I caught him once and at first he seemed embarrassed to have been caught but I hold his gaze and smile slightly to which he smiles back.

He really is handsome. I've never noticed before. With his blonde hair and hazelnut eyes, he's almost boyish. He also has light freckles over his nose and across his checks that give him a unique, and very cute now that I notice, appearance. 

After the movie, Samantha proposes to drive us around the city before dropping us off at our homes. The boys didn't mind the ride since they had taken the subway. 

Jonathan and I sat in the back while Max rode shotgun, chatting and flirting with Samantha as she drove. Their chitchat faded into the background with the music and I could not help but think that I was having a nice time. 

After drifting off into my thoughts and staring out the window for a while, I feel someone's gaze on me and turn to find Jonathan watching me. He smiles at me sweetly and I smile back. 

"I had a really nice time with you today," he says.

"Me too." 

Suddenly it seems like we're in our own world with Samantha and Max faded into the background. He stares down at my hand, which is on the seat, and reaches out to hold it. I let him. 

"Maybe we can do this again? Without anyone else?" 

My heart rate is starting to race. I'm feeling a mixture of excitement and...anxiety. I can't place my finger on what's causing the anxiety, but it's like a solid ball in the pit of my stomach. I push it away and say "sure." Jonathan's face softens as his grin widens. Despite the anxiety, I can't help but acknowledge that he is very cute, especially when he smiles. 

Maybe things will work out for me after all. 

"So...can we exchange phone numbers?" 

"Of course," I say as I dig out my phone and hand it to him. "Here, just punch your number in and miss call yourself so you have mine."