With only a few hours to plan for the evening's celebration Florence had been rushing like crazy, leaving no time to better her outfit choice or make up – she was going casual tonight again. She looked at the goods that lay before her and smiled sheepishly; she had really gone all out for him. Chloe had screamed in excitement when she heard Travis was coming, not alluding to why, but Florence guessed it had something to do with their undeniable chemistry. In half an hour Chloe would be picking her up to head over to the cemetery.
Over the time Florence and Eric had spoken she had come to know one thing about him; he loved a good movie showing and that's exactly what she had planned for tonight. The Hollywood Forever Cemetery was famous for its many movie screenings and tonight was one of those nights. They were showing 'The Hand That Rocks the Cradle' one of Florence favorite old school horror films, and she knew Eric liked it too. He had told her that after he'd revealed that Jennifer hated horror movies...
Ugh, why did she have to think about Jennifer?
The minute Chloe showed up Florence felt nervous. Seeing Eric again, so soon, shouldn't bring back these nerves but here they were once more. She wondered if they were going to make this a recurring thing and in that case how often? All they had to do was drive that 30 minute drive to be with each other; and now they had both made it once.
"Are you alright, sweetie? You're very quiet..." Chloe asked her softly.
Florence turned to her, knowing she had to focus on the road and couldn't give her one of her many stares. She trusted Chloe to always answer her honestly, even if she hadn't asked for it, and this question was in dire need of a brutally honest answer.
"Do you think Eric likes me? She blurted out finally.
Chloe threw her head back and laughed, "Are you seriously asking me that?" Florence nodded shamefully, "obviously; yes!"
"How can you know that? To me that isn't obvious in the slightest!"
Chloe shook her head and turned up the music a little, "If you don't know that yet, you will soon."
"Are you really going to be like that?" Florence groaned and pulled on Chloe's fringe cardigan.
"Yes I am; if you're going to play dumb so am I. Now change the song because I hate this one."
*
Arriving to the cemetery 1 hour early was essential because the place was already half full. Chloe and Florence carried their picnic baskets, blankets and pillows close enough to the large screen and spread out.
"These are for me and Travis," Chloe set aside two large pillows on a separate blanket. When Florence looked at her with raised eyebrows Chloe simply shrugged and mimed a 'what?' to her.
"They should be here soon enough; we should start setting up the food."
"I can't believe you threw this together so quickly, you must really—"
"—not another word out of you, missy!" Florence said and continued setting up.
Florence zoned out while unpacking the goods that she had brought for her friends, mostly Eric, and didn't hear the sound of footsteps nearing their blanket – until Chloe squealed loudly. Florence head snapped up and she saw Travis scooping up Chloe in his arms and hugging her tightly; mimicking Eric and Florence first meeting. A few steps behind Travis she saw Michael and Eric making their way to the spot, a wide grin spreading on Eric's lips, and she was quickly on her feet to prepare to greet them.
"—and here I thought we were going grave digging tonight," Eric said when he finally reached her, "boy was I wrong."
"How morbid do you think I am?" Florence frowned jokingly.
Eric pulled her into his arms, slower than last time, and held her for a few seconds. She rested her chin on his shoulder and tried to contain a smile that had been dying to spread out over her face.
"Do you approve of this? We could totally go somewhere else if you'd rather that." She asked.
Eric shook his head and grabbed her hands, "This is perfect, Florence. And it's a movie that we both like!"
"I was hoping you'd say that." She murmured and showed him to the blanket she had prepared.
Before them she had put out booze, endless snacks and sandwiches – more than enough to last them through the movie. Chloe and Travis were determined to keep their blanket separate from the rest so Michael, Eric and Florence were sharing one.
"Great; I'll be your third wheel instead," Michael sighed and put a handful of Skittles in his mouth.
"We're all friends, Mike." Florence said and gave him a supportive pat on the back.
"You could've invited your—"
"Don't mention her, Eric!"
Florence looked at them both and rolled her eyed – so Michael had a crush on someone.
As the darkness surrounded them the movie began and a sea full of people finally took their seats and snuggled up next to their friend or partner. Travis and Chloe had locked lips since the opening credits and Michael was making fun of them by teasing Travis on his kissing skills. Florence and Eric were focused on the screen and neither had noticed that they were sharing the same blanket; that was until Eric's leg finally brushed against hers. Their eyes met and a nervous smile happened upon both their lips.
"Are you cold? because I brought a jacket this time." Eric whispered.
"I packed tons of blankets," she answered, "but you could never be too warm, right?" She quickly added.
For a moment she wondered if Chloe was right; was it obvious that he liked her? She glanced at Eric and tried to play back their entire friendship; how they got to know each other, the secrets they've shared and the way she feels in his presence – it all revealed one thing: She obviously liked Eric. He heart started beating faster upon her true admission to herself and she prayed Eric would never find out because he was still mourning the relationship with his ex-girlfriend.
"Are you okay?" She suddenly heard Eric ask her.
She gave him a reassuring nod before turning back to the screen while trying to still her heart. Fortunately for Florence she had packed enough booze to get each of them drunk and due to her nerves she decided it was time to open a bottle of wine. She masterfully managed to take a large sip without getting noticed and after three mouthfuls she passed it on to Michael and whispered:
"Say hello to your new best friend."
He thankfully accepted the bottle, "I'm not sure if that's you or this bottle right now; thank you."
"You've really thought of everything, haven't you?" Eric whispered to her, causing her stomach to overheat in an instant. When she didn't say anything Eric moved an inch closer and leaned back on the pillow she had placed behind her.
For a second Chloe glanced back at them and saw the terror in her friend's eyes. She smirked and winked at her, perhaps thinking Florence would dare to lie down next to Eric but she refused to. She started to identify with Michael; having a crush on someone and never wanting it acknowledge it to people. It was bad enough she had admitted it to herself but to putting it out there was scary and would only turn out badly in the end.
"Can I drive you home later?" Eric whispered to her after a long time and no talking.
Florence wanted to slap him for offering but secretly it was all she wanted; to be alone with him at her own apartment. She knew he hadn't invited himself upstairs yet and she was certainly not going to push it but if he wanted to...who was she to refuse?
"Yeah, thanks." She answered and turned her eyes back on the screen.
Florence Washington had just entered a dangerous territory and she wondered if Eric felt the same way.
*
"I normally hate horror films but this was great, mostly because of the booze." Michael declared once the movie was over and they were packing up their things.
"Look who's finally come up for air," Florence joked when Travis and Chloe rejoined the group. Chloe graciously showed her the finger.
While walking toward the car Eric hung back with his friends, maybe to give Chloe and Florence a chance to catch up. She was fidgeting with her jean jacket when Chloe grabbed a hooked her arm in Florence's' and started walking toward the car – a thought clearly pressing her mind.
"You looked stiff as a board back there; are you alright?" Chloe asked.
"No I'm not, I'm freaking out and he asked to drive me home—I can't be in a car alone with him—what if I say something—Chloe please help me!" Florence hissed in one breath.
"Florence there's nothing wrong with liking him; he's single for goodness sake!"
"What kind of friend would I be if I flirted with him now? He is going through a break up and I'm his friend, Chloe, he'll never see me as anything more than that."
"I know you Florence," Chloe said and stopped dead in her tracks, "you never fall for any guy, until now. You seem happier, you haven't talked trash about your mom for weeks and you've finally met someone worthy of you – what is so bad about that?"
She thought about it for a few second, but it was obvious why; "I don't want to lose him, Chloe, if I lose him because of my own damn feelings I will never forgive myself."
Eric, Michael and Travis finally caught up with them and the two girls quickly removed the distress on their faces and replaced it with that fake Hollywood smile the best they could.
"Are you ready go?" Eric asked Florence, "Chloe will take Michael and Travis to your apartment and they'll meet up with us there, so I can drive them home."
He'd gone through all that trouble just to spend some extra time with her? Damn his sweetness.
"Y-yeah, that sounds good." She heard herself say as they walked toward Eric's car.
Chloe's words rang inside her head: "You've finally met someone worthy of you."
As badly as she didn't want to hear it she knew for certain that Chloe was right.