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We arrived at the Grenada Theater fifteen minutes later. Luke told me I could pick the movie—and being me, I decided I wanted to watch the new scary movie that was out, mainly because I wanted to make fun of it the whole time. Luke seemed amused by my decision, but he didn't comment on it, and instead went and paid for our tickets. As we were going to our theater, I felt a strange sensation at the back of my neck, but I couldn't pinpoint what it was. It was probably the air conditioning, this movie theater always felt like a damn freezer every time I went here.
As we were heading to our seats, we passed by someone seated at the end of the row that I thought looked familiar, but we went by too quick for me to process it. Quickly, I turned around, but as soon as I did, the seat was empty. There was no one else seated near it either. Talk about creepy.
We kept going then, finally sitting at the very back—a.k.a. the make-out section. Instantly, I started to get nervous. I'd never actually kissed a boy before, how the hell was I going to make out with one?
Not long after we sat, the lights dimmed, and all of the movie trailers came on. I was very aware of Luke sitting so close to me, our arms brushing on the armrest, and I wondered if he was just as aware as I was. After a few minutes passed and the trailers were over, the movie began with a bloodcurdling scream that already freaked out the rest of the movie theater, but had no effect on me. I was too busy trying not to think about the fact that Luke was slowly lacing his fingers through mine. He began to rub circles on the back of my hand with his thumb, and I found it very hard to concentrate.
For the next thirty minutes, I had no idea what was going on throughout the movie, because Luke would not stop playing with my fingers. I mean, I had no intentions of stopping him—but still. Finally, I couldn't hold it anymore, and I peeked at Luke. Instantly, I met his gaze, which was both yearning and mischievous. My breathing deepened, and my blood rushed when I saw his eyes flicker to my lips. His eyes flickered back to mine hesitantly, as if asking for my permission to kiss me. The thought was so sweet, my heart warmed and I gave him a little nod. He seemed relieved afterward, and his lips lifted into a small smile. Ever so slightly, he began to lean in closer, closer, closer—
And that's when I panicked.
"Uhh, I have to go to the bathroom," I whispered sheepishly, thankful that the dark hid my burning cheeks.
Immediately, he pulled back. I didn't fail to see the confusion flash across his face before it turned into the usual light expression he wore. "Sure," he simply responded, no hint of disappointment in his voice, though I knew he must have been.
Quickly, I grabbed my purse and headed out of the theater, getting even more angry and embarrassed with myself with every step that I took. I didn't know why I did it. Luke was everything I'd ever wanted, so why in God's name did I have to be such a chicken when it came to finally kissing him? Hell, every other time, it took nearly everything in me not to throw myself at him.
Was it because I was just not used to boys when it came to romance? Or—was it because some small part of me didn't want to kiss him? I shut that thought down as quickly as it came.
No. I like Luke. End of story.
As soon as I got out into the light hallway, I began to make my way towards the bathroom, but stopped abruptly. Walking over towards the concessions, I caught a glimpse of the familiar silhouette of the person that was in the theater again. I squinted my eyes, trying to figure out who it could've been.
It was definitely male, and his frame was very tall and well-built. I thought I saw a glint of bright, golden hai—
AIDEN!
Immediately, I made my way toward him, but he was so goddamn fast that I nearly couldn't catch up. Finally, I gave in and simply shouted, "HEY YOU!"
Immediately nearly everyone in the vicinity went silent and stared at me.
Oops. Maybe that wasn't such a good idea... I gave everyone who wasn't Aiden that was still staring at me a look that said, "Mind your own damn business!" It seemed to be effective, for immediately everyone went back to doing whatever they had been doing previously.
Slowly, Aiden turned around to look at me. He looked like the usual Aiden I knew—the devil with an angel's face. His initial expression seemed tired and almost broody. Now, however, he looked back at me with light amusement in his eyes and that familiar smirk etched on his face. Quickly, I grabbed him and pulled him over to a more private area, surprised he actually complied and didn't fight back for once.
"What are you doing here?" I demanded when we stopped. I didn't bother with the formalities of greeting him and whatnot—it was Aiden after all.
He simply raised an eyebrow. "What does it look like I'm doing? I was watching a movie."
It was my turn to raise an eyebrow.
"Right...outside of the movie theater?"
He didn't seem to be fazed by my implication at all. "Had to stretch my legs," he responded nonchalantly.
I narrowed my eyes at him, and he resumed to look at me with the same bored expression. "Have you been following me?" I then asked, trying a different approach.
This caused him to snort. "Oh please, Diana, I have much better things to do than follow you around all day. I'd probably die of boredom after the first five minutes if I tried..."
Although the way he'd said it so nonchalantly threw me off, I still wasn't convinced. Finally I just decided to let it go and say,
"Look, I would really appreciate it if you could leave, I would rather not have my date ruined by your unwanted presence."
Aiden let out a disdainful laugh. "No chance—I paid for the ticket, so I'm watching the damn movie!" I rolled my eyes. He then regarded me curiously. "Why, though? Does my presence confuse you—make you wonder how you really feel about your precious little boyfriend?"
Even though I knew he was just goading me, I couldn't stop the anger that surged in me, as well as the embarrassment.
"Aiden, just go home!" I finally exclaimed, sounding a lot like a whiny little child.
He looked taken aback, and confused; I wondered what I'd said to make him react that way. Then I realized—
Home. I'd said home.
"Err, I mean, go back to my house!"
An excited gleam filled his eyes. Oh no, that wasn't a good thing. Not at all. He slowly stepped towards me. I took a step back, but he only kept stalking forward, as if I were some sort of prey. Well, I guess, technically I was.
As he kept moving forward and I kept moving back, he cocked his head slightly and, smirking, he said, "You can't tell me what to do."
I shivered, but I wasn't sure whether or not it was from the cold anymore. I maintained my glare, but my damn voice faltered when I said, "A-Aiden all I'm asking for you to do is leave."
Suddenly my back hit the wall. Aiden was now only a few inches away from me, making escape impossible.
"And what if I don't want to?" he then asked in a low, soft voice, his face so close that I could feel his breath brushing my skin like a soft caress. Again, I shivered.
"I-I—" Good God, I had officially lost the ability to form coherent responses, and have been reduced to the intelligence of a two-year-old.
He brought his lips close to my ear, tickling it as he whispered, "What, Diana?"
My breathing sped up in response. I'd long since given up on talking—now all I could focus on was Aiden's extremely close proximity to my body. He brought his head back to where it was inches in front of my face. Then, looking me straight in the eye, he leaned in.
And, believe it or not, I found myself slightly leaning in too.
Just as we were about to close the distance, he said softly, "Okay, I'll leave."
And that was when I finally snapped out of it. Suddenly he was a few feet away from me, a triumphant and smug look on his face. I, on the other hand, was absolutely bewildered by my emotions. On one hand, I was completely horrified at what just happened...again. I also felt guilty; I couldn't believe I had the audacity to nearly allow Aiden to kiss me while still on a date with Luke, who I for some reason couldn't even seem to accomplish that with. But on the other hand, some other small part of me that I just couldn't help was angry, not only at myself, but at Aiden—
For being such a tease and not closing that distance.
What the hell was wrong with me?
He began to walk away. "Bye, Diana! See you at home!" he called back behind him. Right as he reached the exit doors, he turned around and yelled, "Don't forget to use a condom!" This caused a lot of the people to once again stare at us, and make my cheeks redden even more.
And with a wink, he opened the doors and left, leaving me still shocked, bewildered, horrified, humiliated, and—lastly—confused.
So completely confused.
It was nearly eleven when Luke finally drove me back home. The rest of the date had seemed to pass by in a flash, mainly because I was pretty much out of it for the most part. I couldn't even tell you what the hell the plot was to the horror movie we watched, or whether the killer or monster or whatever the bad guy was had actually died.
The drive back to my house wasn't silent, but our conversation wasn't as comfortable as it had been when we were at the restaurant. I couldn't help it; my thoughts just kept coming back to how stupid I'd been to let Aiden get to me once again. I was so caught up in my thoughts that it never even occurred to me how my pessimistic attitude was unintentionally affecting Luke until we finally got to my house.
"Okay, was it really that bad?" he suddenly asked, snapping me out of my thoughts.
It took me a long moment to realize that the car was off and we were stopped in front of my house, as well as the concerned and slightly nervous look on Luke's face.
I blinked. "Huh?"
I didn't mean to sound rude or anything, but the question was so sudden I didn't really have much time to form a more intelligent response.
"Was the date really that bad?" he clarified, the worry in his eyes intensifying.
This time, I reacted quicker. Gasping I said, "What? No! This date was amazing! Why would you say that?"
He exhaled a little and seemed a bit elated by that news, but only a bit. Shrugging, he responded, "I don't know, you've just been a little distant ever since—well, you know..."
He was talking about the kiss that I'd rejected. Great. Now I just wanted to dig a hole and bury myself in it.
"Luke, about that, I'm really sorry. I don't know what was up with me. I guess I was just so nervous because...because" Oh God, was I really going to have to admit this to him on our first date? Cheeks flaming, I bit my lip and turned my face away before finishing quietly, "Because I've never really been kissed before."
For a long moment that felt like ages but was actually only a few seconds, everything was silent. I was very close to panicking. Oh, God, was he going to laugh at me? Or even worse, think that was such a turn-off and never look at me in a romantic way again?
Finally, he responded, but it wasn't much better from the other responses I'd imagined.
"Really?"
I snapped my head back to look at him; his navy eyes were wide, his expression incredulous, disbelieving. The prideful, defensive side of me awoke and I couldn't help but respond,
"Yeah, really! Would I lie about something like that?"
Immediately, he looked sheepish, and I almost felt bad.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean that offensively. I was just...surprised, that's all. You're just so—beautiful and funny and amazing, I figured guys would be falling at your feet."
Oh, only Luke would know how to make me feel better with just a few simple words. Okay, maybe not "simple." More like "perfect."
Finally, I replied lightly, "You forgot the little detail where everyone—including all of the guys—at school despise me..."
He scoffed. "Well none of those guys deserve you anyway. Hell, sometimes I wonder whether or not I even deserve you."
"You're kidding," I said disbelievingly, mainly because I thought the same thing all of the time with him.
"No, I'm not," he responded earnestly.
I told him how I thought the same about him, and he looked just as disbelieving as I had been, making me laugh. Already, the tense mood from earlier had dissipated, and things resumed to how they usually were between us.
"I think I should be heading inside now," I said then, reluctant.
Luke nodded. "I'll walk you."
We both got out of his car and walked towards the front porch. As we walked, Luke—without warning—grabbed my hand, and I felt little butterflies spread throughout my tummy. When we finally got to the top of the porch, we faced each other.
Feeling really cliché, I said, "Well, I guess this is goodnight."
He gave me a little half-smile. "I guess it is."
It was silent for a bit as we just stared at each other, before I finally broke it saying, "I really did have an amazing time, Luke. Thank you for that."
His smile widened. "Does that mean you'll be wanting a repeat sometime soon?"
I matched his smile with my own. "Definitely."
With the way we looked at each other now, it felt like the perfect opportunity for Luke to kiss me. I could tell by the way Luke's eyes darkened that he felt this too. Yet, he made no move to do so.
Suddenly, he let out a deep breath. "Diana, I want to kiss you, and I would definitely kiss you, but I don't want to pressure you into something you're not ready for yet—like I had in the movie theater. So, because I was raised to be a gentleman and respect ladies, I'll just end things like this for now."
Before I could actually respond, he pulled me into a hug, which was still very warm and comforting, but not as exciting or spectacular as an actual kiss might be. When he pulled away and I registered the absence of his heat I realized that I didn't want our night to end this way.
I wanted to feel Luke's lips on mine—to see if his lips were really as soft as they seemed. To know if the sensation would be tingly or warm. I wondered if there would be fireworks, like in the books and movies—if a first kiss was really as incredible as most people made it to be.
Only one way to find out.
So, before I could chicken out, I called out, "Luke," and grabbed his wrist before he could really walk away. Then, just as the surprise and confusion registered on his face, I closed my eyes and brought my lips to his. He was a full step lower than me, but the position actually wasn't as awkward as it could've been. For a moment the kiss was hesitant; a thousand thoughts raced through my mind, wondering if I had moved way too fast, if this was actually a turn-off for him, or if I was even doing it right. With Luke, he seemed to be frozen in what I could only figure as shock. However, it only took him a moment before he got out of it and he kissed me back. It was then that the kiss truly became splendid and warmth spread throughout me.
Luke rose his hand whose wrist I wasn't holding captive, and gently cupped my cheek, rising to the top step at the same time. My lips parted and he deepened the kiss then. I rose on my toes to meet him with the same force. My hand released his wrist to twist it in his hair, which was just as soft as I'd always imagined it was.
The kiss seemed to last for years, and I began to feel dizzy; I'd been so swept up in it, I'd forgotten to breathe. At the same time, my heart felt like it was racing and stopping all at once. Finally, we pulled back, and Luke rested his forehead against mine.
We were both breathing hard, and for a while we simply listened to each others' breaths, waiting for our racing hearts to calm down. Finally, Luke was the first to say something.
"Wow, that was...incredible."
I could hear the smile in his voice, and I smiled as well, responding, "Tell me about it."
He pulled back to look me in the eyes—his were lit up in excitement, but the way he looked at me was tender. He brushed back a loose strand of hair and tucked it behind my ear, causing my heart to beat faster.
"Are you sure you've never been kissed before?" he suddenly asked, his tone light. I let out a surprised laugh. "I swear," I promised in a solemn voice, though I was grinning widely as I did so. He chuckled.
"I guess I better really go now, otherwise I'll just end up kissing you again, and next time I won't be able to stop."
"Hmm, not such a bad idea, actually," I replied deviously.
He gave me a mock-stern look, but I could hear the amusement as well as resentment underlying in his tone as he said, "Don't tempt me."
I laughed, but sighed after, and said, "Okay."
He flashed me his sexy grin before pulling me into a tight hug, sending shivers down my spine as he whispered in my ear, "Sweet dreams, Diana."
And with that, he let go of me and stalked back to his car, giving me one final look complete with a bright smile, right before he got in and drove off. I sighed, watching his car until his taillights disappeared completely, before finally heading inside.
I felt like I was in a dream state. My body hummed with the happiness of what had just happened, and I felt like nothing could bring me down after that incredible kiss. It really was everything I'd imagined it would be, and more.
Sighing, I skipped up the stairs—
And nearly bumped into Aiden at the top of them.
I almost fell back down the stairs if Aiden hadn't have caught my forearm, preventing that from happening. Quickly, I snatched my arm away and stepped a safe distance away from both him and the stairs.
"Jesus Christ, Aiden, don't scare me like that!"
Aiden was shirtless (I wondered if that was going to be a regular occurrence from now on), only wearing a pair of loose, black sweats. He sported the same smug look he wore when he'd left me at the movie theater, and at the moment all I wanted was to wipe that damn look off of his face.
"Have a good time?" he asked casually, though I knew better than to believe it was just a simple question. Still, I decided to play along.
"Yeah, it was great, no thanks to you."
His lips twitched and he crossed his arms over his hard chest. I tried to ignore how that only made his muscles all the more noticeable. "I don't know what you're talking about," he then said.
I rolled my eyes. "Aiden, just cut with all the bullshit, will you? I know you were spying on us in the movie theater, if not even longer."
He let out a disdainful laugh. "Well someone's being a bit pretentious, aren't they? I love how you can't even consider that maybe I just wanted to watch a movie that you happened to be watching as well. Vampires watch movies too, you know. Or did you really think all we like to do is suck blood and sleep around?"
I blushed, both in embarrassment and anger. Even though he did have a point, I still didn't like the way he felt he had to talk down on me.
"Well sorry, but it's just too much of a coincidence for me to believe..."
"Does everything I do have to always have some ulterior, conniving motive behind it?"
I didn't answer, just looked at him in a way that expressed my thoughts, "Uhh, yeah!"
He sighed theatrically at this, but finally said, "Fine, yeah, I'd been following you guys." I know I probably should've been ultra-pissed at the admission, but instead I was just satisfied that he even admitted to it at all.
"But it wasn't to see how well your date was going or any other sort of sick, perverted shit. I was just keeping an eye out for Luke."
"Luke?" I asked incredulously.
Aiden's eyebrows rose and he gave me a skeptical look. "You do know that he's one of my top suspects for whoever's out to get me."
"How many times do I have to tell you—Luke wouldn't hurt a fly!" I exclaimed vehemently.
Aiden refused to back down. "How do you know? The guy hates me—and it's not like I've been treating you, his girlfriend or love interest or whatever you are to him, in a way that wouldn't make him want to kick my ass or even worse. Truth-be-told, I don't trust him; he's shady. And you know what, I don't think you should, either."
I was so furious by that point, I swear I could see red.
"Well you know what, I don't trust you; in fact, I trust Luke a hell of a lot more than I will ever trust you!" My voice had risen to the point where I was practically yelling.
For a second, he actually looked taken aback at this. He looked almost hurt. However, in the next second, his stare became cold.
Finally, he said in a distant tone, "Looks like we don't have anything else to discuss. Goodnight, Diana."
I don't know why, but the way he was so quick to brush me off actually stung. Whatever, fuck Aiden. Two can play that game.
"Hey, I have something to say to you!"
He stopped walking, but didn't turn around. His back faced me, and I could see all the smooth lines outlining the hard, corded muscle underneath. I forced myself to focus on the subject at hand.
"What happened today, when we talked at the movie theater and almost...you know..." I wasn't about to admit what had nearly happened out loud, especially to him. I heard him let out a snort at that and again my anger flared.
"That can't happen again. I'm with Luke now, so you can't keep doing stuff like that. Alright?"
Aiden still didn't turn around, and instead turned his face to the side. I saw a corner of his lips lift up into a small smile as he said, completely void of emotion, "You've got nothing to worry about, Diana."
And with that, he stalked off, slamming the bedroom door behind him. I flinched, not because of the noise, but because of everything it implied. That combined with his careless words and his expression was almost like a slap in the face. Uggh. Of course Aiden would be the only person to know how to ruin my day in only a matter of minutes.
Huffing, I trudged to my bedroom and slammed the door behind me as well, dropping onto my bed before finally falling into a restless sleep.