Hardwood - K.M. Neuhold Page 0,62
suck so hard when this ends. My chest constricts, and I reach for my glass of water to cover the array of emotions no doubt passing across my face.
“Sorry, was that too much?” he asks, grimacing.
“No, it was sweet,” I say. “I like you too.”
Our food arrives, and we talk while we eat. I tell him about my foster siblings growing up, and he tells me about being an only child. We talk about our favorite movies and all the ways our lives haven’t turned out the way we expected. Big and small topics all mixed together and somehow flowing seamlessly.
“We should go if we don’t want to be late for the movie,” he says, looking at the time. I pull out my wallet, and he waves me off. “I’ve got it.”
“Fine, but the next time is on me,” I insist.
“Deal.”
The movie theater isn’t far, so we get there in plenty of time. It’s decently crowded inside, and again, Ev grabs my hand without making a big deal of it.
“Important question,” I say seriously as we survey the concession line. “How do you take your popcorn? And please be advised that any answer other than with extra butter will result in points being docked from your perfect man score.”
He laughs, leaning in like he’s about to say something when his face suddenly goes pale. He drops my hand like it’s a poisonous snake and quickly dips his head.
“Val’s here,” he whispers frantically.
“What?” I peek over his shoulder and sure enough, there’s his ex-wife, standing in the concession line a few feet away. “Oh shit. Okay, she hasn’t seen you so let’s…fuck, she’s seen you.”
Her eyes land on Ev, and they light up. She says something to the man she’s with and slips out of line.
“What?” he picks his head up to risk a peek, and I swear he’s about to be sick. “Shit, shit, shit. What do I do?”
“Deep breath. Stay calm; I’ve got this,” I assure him.
“I can’t—” he starts to say, and I cut him off with a shh as she gets closer.
“Hi, Mrs. Aldridge,” I greet her with a friendly smile. “I just bumped into your husband here. You two must be out for a fun date night.”
“What?” She looks at Ev with amusement. “Oh god no, we’ve been divorced for years. Wait, are you here with a date?” she asks, looking around hopefully as if some mystery woman is going to appear out of thin air. My stomach twists, and my jaw twitches as I fight against clenching it, but I keep my smile in place.
“I am,” he confirms. “Actually, um…” he trails off, darting a panicked glance in my direction. Sweat is forming on his forehead, and he reaches up to adjust the baseball cap that isn’t there. He looks like a cornered animal, and it takes everything I have not to reach out to comfort him.
“She had to leave,” I supply for him. He doesn’t need to come out to his ex-wife in the middle of a crowded movie theater, especially not when he looks like he’s about to faint. Val doesn’t question how I suddenly know about Ev’s mystery date when seconds ago I was pretending to think the two of them were still married.
“Oh, well, what are you seeing? You can come sit with Jeff and me.”
“That’s okay,” he says quickly. “I think I’m going to call it a night.”
“All right,” she says, stepping forward to kiss him on the cheek. “Have a good night.”
“You too,” Ev says. Val turns and goes back to her boyfriend, and Ev visibly deflates. “I’m so sorry.”
“It’s okay,” I assure him, even though there’s still a heavy feeling in my chest. I reach for his hand reflexively, and he jerks away, sending me an apologetic grimace. “Do you still want to see the movie?”
He glances back at Val and her boyfriend and then back at me. “Yeah, I don’t want to ruin our second date.” His voice is tight and dripping with discomfort.
“Tell you what, why don’t we go back to my place instead. This date is far from ruined. It just needs a change of venue.”
“Really? You don’t mind?”
“I don’t mind,” I assure him.
He glances at them one last time before nodding toward the door and following me out. As we make our way through the parking lot, he walks close enough to me that our hands brush every so often, tempting me to reach for his. But I resist the urge. It’s been a