I stepped off of the subway and headed back up to the street. Sebastian said he'd meet me right on the corner - Houston and Varick. The theater he asked me to was only half a block from the station, but he insisted he'd meet me at the subway. I let him have that one.
As I climbed the stairs, I saw Sebastian leaning against the wall of the building. I walked slowly, trying to take him in before he spotted me. The overall energy of him hit me before the details. Not a shred of tension was evident in his muscles as he waited. It didn't look like confidence exactly, more like an ease. I noticed that he wore the same leather jacket as the first time we met over a white t-shirt and dark jeans. Just like the first time I saw him, I couldn't help but notice how stunning he was. The golden hour light gave him a celestial glow, and again I was reminded of paintings of angels, if angels dressed like James Dean.
He saw me as I stepped onto the sidewalk. Smiling, he closed the gap between us with a few paces.
"Don't you look lovely," Sebastian commented, clearly pleased. The red top I'd chosen earlier in the week hung on my door for days. A warmth bloomed deep within my chest at the compliment; I tried to suppress the urge to preen. Anna gave the top and black pants I'd paired it with her stamp of approval as I left our apartment, but Sebastian was the one I really wanted to impress.
"You don't look half bad yourself. So what are we seeing?"
I'd noticed that Sebastian had a fondness for surprises. I had a sense that he'd stop if I said that it bothered me, but honestly, the thrill of the unknown was exciting. None of the several men I dated before Sebastian had been thoughtful enough to even plan real dates, let alone surprise me with anything. Maybe if any one of them had, I'd still be with him.
It would have been easy to look up what was playing at the theater, but that wouldn't have been as fun. Weirdly, I never really even had the urge to check.
"I hope you like classic films. They're playing A Streetcar Named Desire." Sebastian offered me an arm, and I took it.
"If I didn't know better, I'd think you've been stealing peeks at my lesson planner." Sebastian looked at me with one eyebrow raised in confusion. "We start reading Streetcar in class on Monday."
"Well isn't that serendipitous."
We arrived at the theater, and Sebastian opened the door for me. He also paid for the tickets. Something told me he'd refuse if I suggested that I pay for any of it - another old-fashioned quirk.
"Do you want snacks?" he asked me.
What kind of question was that? Who went to the movies and didn't want snacks?
"Obviously," I said with the most irony I could muster. He just chuckled as we headed to the concession counter.
"We have to get popcorn. Obviously," Sebastian echoed me pointedly. "Do you want candy too?"
I looked at him with one quirked eyebrow.
"Obviously, got it. Do you like Raisinets?"
I had to laugh at that. "You really are ancient, aren't you? I don't think my grandfather is even old enough to like Raisinets."
Sebastian rolled his eyes with a sigh and a smile. "Good, I don't have to share them then. What would you prefer?"
"Do they have the cookie dough bites? I love those."
"If I'm ancient, then you're about 7 years old," he quipped. He got them and handed me the box. Unable to help myself, I opened the package and popped one bite in my mouth.
"Do you want a soda?"
"Would you want to share one?" Sebastian's face got that impossible-to-read look that I found at once frustrating and enticing. "Otherwise, I'll have to get up and go to the bathroom mid-movie." He nodded and ordered the drink. Again, Sebastian paid for it all, and we left with our concessions.
The theater lights went down as we walked in to find our seats. I carefully followed Sebastian's steps; the shoes I wore were not exceptionally well-suited to tiptoeing around people in the dark. The other patrons' toes managed to stay untrampled as we sat. I took a handful of popcorn from the bag in Sebastian's lap and ate a piece.
I'd seen this movie plenty of times. I played it during class, scene by scene, to show my students how the words on the page can come to life. We would discuss the difference between reading the lines of a play and hearing an actor on stage infuse meaning into them. Still, I enjoyed watching it every time. After all, it was a classic.
Despite my careful efforts to eat each piece one by one, the snacks were gone before Marlon Brando delivered his famous "Stella!" in the courtyard. For some reason, the movie just wasn't really capturing my attention. Maybe it was because I'd seen it about a hundred times, or maybe it was because of how focused I was on the man next to me.
I wriggled around, trying to get comfortable. I placed my arm on the armrest and tried to sink into the chair. Sebastian closed his hand around mine as Kim Hunter descended the stairs, and my heart stuttered. My eyes stayed trained on the screen as heat crept into my cheeks. Why was I so flustered by some innocent hand-holding? I tried to will my heart back into its normal rhythm and banish the burning in my face.
After a while, I gave up trying to focus on the movie. My body was too attuned to Sebastian. His hand was over mine, and I could feel how relaxed he was in his seat. Every nerve ending in my body was on high alert, and he was the picture of composure. This was just like dinner - I had to scramble to keep it together, and he just got to maintain this devil-may-care attitude?
No. If I couldn't focus, then he didn't get to either.
I slowly skimmed my foot up his calf.
Sebastian immediately tensed. The shift in his posture was obvious, and his hand gripped mine tightly. I kept my eyes schooled forward, but his gaze was palpable. A small smile was the only concession I made for his benefit. Surprising him for once was intoxicating. Sebastian's hand relaxed, but the rest of him stayed wound tight beside me. We passed the rest of the movie this way, neither of us making a move to press any advantage. Which was just as well, since I hadn't really planned more than an opening gambit.
The lights turned on as the credits rolled. Unexpectedly, Sebastian didn't let go of my hand. I turned to face him.
"Did you enjoy the movie?" I asked.
"I did, though I have to admit that partway through, I became a bit distracted." His hand still didn't move. We stayed seated as everyone else filtered out of the theater. Sebastian seemed to be in no hurry. So far, I hadn't been disappointed following his lead. I waited.
"You wore red," he stated after a quiet moment, not looking at me. His voice was soft, dreamy and far away, but still clearly directed at me. I expected him to expand on the thought, but he didn't.
"Well," I murmured, "I aim to please."
"Hm," is the only thing I got in reply. Sebastian still hadn't looked at me. The other theatergoers were gone. Had I done something wrong? Maybe wearing the red top did come off as desperate rather than coy. I couldn't tell what he thought, which was agonizing. It always seemed like he could tell all of my thoughts. It wasn't fair. I couldn't bring myself to break the silence.
Finally, he faced me. Nothing about him betrayed anything. He just stared at me for a long moment.
"Will you come back to my place?" he asked.
My racing thoughts screeched to a stunned halt.
"Because as exceptional as you look in red," he continued, "I've been thinking about tearing that top off of you for about two hours."
I was too floored to do anything but blink in response.
"I told you last time that I wanted you. If that's too forward or you're not interested or I'm moving too fast, I'll walk you back to the subway." Sebastian took his hand away from mine and traced the inside of my wrist, lazily following the veins there with his finger. I shivered visibly. "Though hopefully I could persuade you into letting me take you home and make you come hard enough to forget your own name."
I'd already forgotten.
Assembling anything that passed for a rational thought was the hardest thing I'd ever done. Something pushed forward from the part of my mind that seemed to relate best with Sebastian, and I managed to respond. "A persuasive argument."
The smirk on Sebastian's face suggested that he was as good as his word. "Alright. Then let's get out of here." He stood and held his hand out for me. I took it, wondering what exactly I'd just agreed to. Adrenaline zipped through me as we left the theater. Hopefully, whatever this next surprise ended up being, it was as good as the rest.