Time alone - away from my job, away
from my friends, away from my life. I picked up the newspaper and in
the other hand sipped my coffee. Turning my attention to the
entertainment section, I picked out a movie, the longest one listed
on the page, and smiled. A dark, quiet room where it was just me and
the screen. No phone calls, no emails, no one to answer to. No
Edward.
I put down the paper, finished my cup and made my way to
my bedroom. My favorite jeans were folded on the shelf in my closet,
and I grabbed them, to pair with a red henley t-shirt, the one I wore
the night we met. I slipped into my outfit, and picked up my purse,
and went out the door. I drove over to the theater. I parked and
walked towards the door. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a
silver Volvo, like his.
Stop it. He's not here. Stop thinking
about him, just let it die already. He's not worth it.
I shook
my head and entered the building.
"One please," I said
to the teenage boy at the counter, and slipped him a ten dollar bill.
He handed me my changed and I walked away just as he told my to enjoy
the show. Single-minded, I went to the concession counter and bought
a drink. Beverage in hand, I made my way to the dark theater, and
took a seat in the back. The theater was near empty and I put my feet
up, watching each person walk through the door and find a seat. In
walked a tall, dark haired man, about six foot, slightly over
weight... it was him.
My heart jumped into my throat. I looked
away quickly, hoping he wouldn't notice me. He took a seat, in my
row, at the very end.
It wasn't long before my sideways glances
met his. Our eyes locked and he shot me a smile. I turned away from
it and focused back on the movie.
Damn, all I wanted was an
afternoon by myself.
Without another sideways glance for a
good while, I felt movement in the seat next to me. I looked over and
there he was, hair in his eyes, looking right at me.
"What
are you doing?" I whispered angrily.
"Watching a movie,"
he responded, and leaned towards me. I looked away, my face red with
anger. The audacity! He put his arm around me and spoke into my ear,
"How are you?"
"I'm watching a movie," I
retorted and moved away from him.
"I miss you," he
said.
"Fuck off," I whispered, and I sipped my drink. I
paid as little attention as I could to him, even though he was all I
could think about. It had been months since he had dropped me, months
since we talked and now, here he was, sitting next to me. He put his
hand on my shoulder and rubbed my neck. My body reached to his touch,
softening, relaxing, leaning into his.
"Talk to me," he
said. "I know you miss me. I'm sorry about everything. I wanted
to return your calls, I just-"
"This is SO not the
place," I whispered in a stern tone and he nodded.
The movie
ended quickly, and I had no idea what had happened. My mind was numb,
stuck on the fact he was right next to me. The lights came on as the
credits rolled and everyone filed out of the theater. We sat there,
alone, staring ahead at the black screen.
"Can we talk?"
he asked, turning to face me.
"About what? You made it pretty
clear that you didn't want to talk to me."
"Let me
explain."
"You didn't let me explain."
"I
know. I was just.. I was wrong. Just please, come talk to me. I'll
buy you a Starbucks."
"You know you don't deserve this,
right?"
"I know I don't. I just.. hope you'll give me a
few minutes to talk it out."
"Fine," I said,
annoyed, and got up. He followed me out of the theater and to the
Starbucks located just a few stores down in the mini mall. He went
right to the counter and ordered my favorite Frappuchino, and brought
it to me at the table I chose in the far back corner. "Thank
you."
"Thanks for sitting with me, and listening."
"Go
ahead."
"I'm sorry I never returned your calls. I'm
sorry I ignored you."
"Why did you? It never made sense
to me."
"I was upset at you, upset at what you said to
me, upset at what happened."
"I said things I didn't
mean, I admitted that a long time ago."
"I know. I got
all of your messages. All the ones where you apologized. The ones
where you wanted to talk, I just.. was confused, I didn't know what I
wanted, I just.. freaked out."
"Why wait? Why wait so
long? I mean, we ran into each other accidentally. It's not like it
was planned."
"I know, but as soon as I saw you, I knew
it would be the perfect time to talk to you about it," he
explained and reached his hand out to cover mine. I pulled away
before he could get to it and he frowned.
