Chapter 18

JAX

Oh, look… wow… we're at the same movie at the same time?

Mila stares up at me and knows this is all bullshit.

That makes her even more attractive to me.

She's not some bubbly girl who wants to look at the stars and say that fate brought us together. She's not into that kind of stuff.

She's just… real.

"You've got to be kidding me," Mila says.

"Do you mind walking?" I ask. "I want to get a decent seat. I've heard good things about this. Should be a blast, right?"

She looks at my popcorn. And my drink.

I'm in full movie mode here.

I'm ready to have some fun.

An indie horror movie made by someone right here on campus?

Sounds like an awesome night!

I'll never tell the truth if I really feel that way or not.

But let me say this - I don't mind a scary movie.

Mila faces forward and finally begins to move.

She's casually looking left to right, trying to find a seat.

There are plenty of open seats.

"Got to get on the end," I say to her. "But not too close to the screen. Although this screen is a little bit small."

"I'm going to sit by myself where I want," she calls back to me.

Now the smile on my face is even bigger.

I am such a dick right now. And I don't care.

She's here alone.

Perfect.

That tells me her ‘situation' is exactly what I think it is.

I can picture it now.

Ward wrapping his lips around a shot glass like he's sucking off some frat boy. Shot after shot, dedicating his college life to booze and forgetting all about the woman he has.

I'm not here to play relationship expert. I'm not even here to play being the nice guy and giving Mila a shoulder to cry on if she needs it.

I'm here to make sure Mila knows there's another option.

The way I'm feeling at the moment, the only taste I'm craving is hers. I can't get it out of my head. And you're going to tell me that Ward sent her out here alone? Not that Mila isn't capable of handling herself or taking care of herself. Believe me, she is. But not like this. Not alone at the movies.

And quite honestly, if I had to bet my entire hockey career on it, I bet she has two tickets. Yet she only used one.

Why is that, Jax?

Well… let's see…

Ward is a useless piece of crap. That's why. I'm willing to bet Mila went out of her way to get two tickets and wanted Ward to come but he blew her off to go partying. And Mila being strong and stubborn and not wanting to admit that she's capable of being hurt, she shows up to the movie alone and acts like everything is perfect.

I watch her move down a row.

She looks back at me. "Don't even think about it."

I go to the next row.

I walk down and stop right in front of Mila.

I look back.

She's not happy with me.

I inch down one more seat, just so I'm not totally blocking her view.

I plop down and look over my shoulder.

Mila is seated, staring forward.

She won't even look at me.

Oh, yeah, this is fun.

A few seconds later I hear someone ask Mila, "Is this seat taken?"

I glance over my left shoulder and there's some guy sitting next to her.

Wearing giant black glasses.

Stuffing his mouth full of popcorn.

Wearing a shirt that has a zombie that's half eaten on it thanks to maggots.

"I love this stuff," he says to Mila. "Indie horror is where it's at. I can't stand the big release movies, you know? All that computer stuff? It's not good. Give me old-school effects, right? Like show me some bubble gum and ketchup as skin and blood. Okay? Oh, is this grossing you out?"

I smile.

"Hey, I'm Jacob by the way. You're here alone? That's cool. We can be alone together. What's your favorite horror movie franchise? You know who you look like…?"

I gently toss some popcorn into my mouth. I take a sip of my soda.

"I'm sorry, am I bugging you? I don't mean to. You just look so familiar to me. You're so pretty."

Mila kicks the back of my seat.

I feel the nudge and I wonder what she wants me to do…

Oh. Wait. She needs me now, doesn't she?

There's an evil part of me that wants to just sit there…

Hey, to be fair, she has a boyfriend, right? Where is he?

"I'm sorry," the guy says again. "I get nervous around pretty girls. And pretty girls at a horror movie? I'm so lucky to have chosen this exact seat, right?"

Mila digs her foot under my seat. Poking at my ass.

She definitely needs my help.

"Hey, before this starts, can I get your number? I want to text you as we watch this together. Is that okay?"

Mila digs her foot again.

I grab my popcorn and my soda and I stand up.

I turn around.

The guy in the glasses looks up at me.

"Well, hey there," he says. "Another fan of horror!"

I lean down a little. "Listen, my man. The scariest thing will be what happens to you if you don't stand the fuck up and walk away right now. Leave this pretty woman alone, okay?"

"Excuse me," he says.

I reach for his popcorn - with the intention of smacking it out of his hand.

Yes, I'm being a dickhead bully. And, no, I don't care.

The guy inches back against his seat.

"I'm going to fucking sit there now," I say to him. "So you either walk away or I pick you up, break you in half, and then you can live in your own horror movie. Got it?"

The guy quickly hurries to his feet and scrambles down the aisle.

I look at Mila and curl my lip.

Without speaking, I step over the row I'm in and I sit down next to Mila.

I place my soda in my cupholder.

I take a handful of popcorn and eat.

She's looking at me, waiting for me to say something.

I slowly turn my head.

It almost feels like we're about to kiss.

I even inch closer to her…

"So now you need me, honey?" I ask.

Mila puts a finger to her lips. "Shh… the movie is about to start…"

She looks forward.

And I see her smirk.