Page 72 of The Likelihood Of You

“What do you guys call the highway?”

“A motorway.”

“Ooh, what about erasers?”

“Rubbers.”

The guys burst into uncontrollable laughter after she told them that, like us being back together after so long had tricked our brains into melting back to what they were when we were fourteen.

“Dude, do you know any of the Royal family?” I shoved Davey with my elbow for asking that beyond stereotypical, and idiotic question.

“Yes, actually.” Florence nodded. “I’m…” She counted on her fingers. “thirteenth in line for the throne!”

Davey’s little brain couldn’t comprehend that she was kidding, made clear by the way he bowed to her and suddenly became all prim and proper, like I hadn’t seen this guy eat Fruit Loops from a hiking boot before. And I had to admire the way Florence went on to tell him, in specific detail, who had to pass away or abdicate for her to become the Queen of England.

That’s my girl, I thought to myself.

“Oh my God. Is this a drive-in?” Flo gasped as she rolled down her window, sticking her head out as far as she could to take in the bright pink neon sign and the huge twenty-foot cinema screen.

I did a quick U-turn with the truck and reversed us into a spot that positioned us in the middle of the screen. “Not being your favouriteperson on the planet was killing me.” I laughed, which earned me one of her sweet smiles and a head tilt, before she turned to admire the grounds.

The drive-in had beenthehang-out spot when I was in high school, but now it looked a little run down. I’d had some of the funniest nights of my life in front of this screen. The kids in this town now had no idea what they were missing out on. When I’d asked the guys earlier about where I could take Florence, it was Davey who suggested the drive-in, so I guess he does say some intelligent things, sometimes.

“Wait, where are the other cars? Why are we the only ones here?” She asked, looking at me with her wide eyes.

As I opened my mouth to answer her, a knock sounded on my window, with what sounded like a bunch of keys. I tried to disguise how it made me jump as I rolled my window down to see who it was. All the fear trickled out of me when I saw Bill, the guy who owned the drive-in.

“Sorry, Jacob, didn’t mean to scare you, buddy.” He jested, his native Boston accent reminding me I was home. “It was good catching up with you today, Mr. Movie Star!”

I shook his hand that was draped over the rolled window. “You too, Bill; I can’t believe you still own this place.”

“You know me; I’ve lived and breathed this drive-in since the sixties. It goes when I go.” We both chuckled before he dipped his head and noticed Flo. “Ahh, you must be Florence. Nice to meet you.”

“Hi!” Florence chirped, waving her hand at Bill.

“This one treating you nice, is he?”

“Oh, you bet. How long have known you this one for?” She asked, leaning across the gear stick, and me, the chestnut tones of her hair draping across my chest, the notes of honey warming me.

“Since he could crawl! The Rolling Pin was and still is such a staple in this city, that everyone knows the Emersons. Then he went and conquered Hollywood, and now the whole world loves him just as much as we do!’

My cheeks turned crimson as my eyes ping-ponged between the two of them, before I finally gave up and dropped my head, squeezed my eyes shut and scrunched my nose.

“No need to be embarrassed, son, we’re just proud, is all.” Bill cooed, and I peeked one eye open, just enough to see him tossing me the keys. “Anyway, these are the keys. Have her locked up by midnight; that storm that just hit Cape Cod last night will be heading this way.”

"No problem." With my blushed cheeks under control, I reached over to the backseat to grab the rolled-up poster I’d promised Bill in exchange for this place. “Pleasure doing business with you.”

Bill looked at the tube like I’d handed him a gold bar. “Aw man, this is gonna make me Grandpa of the century. Have a nice night, you two!” He headed back towards his truck, and, soon enough, was driving out the overgrown field, leaving me and Flo with the place to ourselves.

Florence turned her body to face me. “What was that?” she asked, her mouth remaining parted and her face looking puzzled.

“I spotted Bill in the line this morning; it turns out his grandkids are mega fans of the Defenders movie. So I made him an offer; I’d give him a signed poster and letter to his grandkids from me if he gave me the drive-in for the night. It was a good deal.”

Her eyes beamed, the green in them becoming fiercer by the second. “We have our own drive-in for the night?”

“Surprise,” I whispered, pulling her towards me and placing a kiss on her forehead. “I also grabbed some popcorn and Twizzlers from the store earlier, and blankets and pillows so we can watch from the truck bed,” I said, pulling the shopping bag from behind my seat and placing it in her lap, then going back for the mound of blankets I’d hidden behind her seat. “The only thing we need to do is pick a movie.”

As I dug my hands through that bag of sugar and artificial flavours, it took me a few seconds to feel that familiar burn of her stare. My head lifted, and my eyes found hers, that were glazed over.

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