Page 42 of Stay With Me
She looks down at her lap and tucks her hair behind her ear. “I don’t know about that. I’ve just tried to stay hidden for the most part. I don’t think that makes me amazing.”
I wipe my hands on a napkin, bring one to her chin, and make her look at me. “My sweet Lunabella. I’m sure those fucks you ran away from never in their wildest dreams imagined that you would be as successful as you are today. You might not be successful in the traditional sense, but in a world so different from what you knew, you are. You have friends who love you and a sister who looks up to you to help guide her in this crazy world. You have so much more than so many people.”
“What about you?” she asks softly.
“What about me?”
“Do I have you?”
“Yeah, baby. You have me.”
Her eyes light up at my words. “But you’re more than just a friend, right? Does that mean you’re my boyfriend?” she asks innocently.
“Yes, my Lunabella. It means I’m your boyfriend.”
Boyfriend sounds so much less than what I want to be to her, but it’s a start.
“Can I ask you another question?”
I laugh. “Yeah, you can ask me anything you want.” I pull my hand back reluctantly so I can finish eating my sub.
“You call me Lunabella? Why? What does it mean?”
“Well, Luna is your name, and bella means beautiful. Combined, it translates to beautiful moon. I think you’re beautiful, so it’s fitting. Why? Do you not like it?” I ask, knowing I’ll never call her that again if it’s something she doesn’t like.
“No, I like it. I just didn’t know what it meant and was curious,” she says just as the advertisements crackle through the radio. “Does that mean the movie is starting?”
“Yup, and the best part is it’s two movies back-to-back. The first one is normally a kid-friendly movie. That way, after the first movie, if the parents don’t want their kids to see the next one, they can head home.”
“This is so cool. I’ve never been to the movies before.” She crumples up her empty sub wrapper and looks around.
“Hand it over. I’ll take care of it,” I say as I reach behind me for one of the grocery bags from our snack haul to use as a garbage bag.
I organize our snacks on the folded-down bench seat in the back for easy access and pull out the blankets from the pocket behind my seat. I hand one to her. “Here’s a blanket in case you get cold or just want to get comfy with the movie playing.”
The last of the advertisements finish, and she has her legs pulled up under her with the blanket draped over her lap and a smile on her face as she eats the bag of white cheddar popcorn we got, because who can go to the movies and not eat popcorn?
TWENTY-ONE
Luna
Takinganotherhandfulofpopcorn, I glance out of the corner of my eye at Noah.
Tonight has been amazing, and I don’t want it to end.
When he wouldn’t tell me what we were doing, I wasn’t sure what to wear, and when I asked, all he said was to dress comfortably.
Nervous that I would wear the wrong thing, I called the girls.
We settled on jeans, a T-shirt, and a flannel in case I got chilly.
While I see him in casual clothes often, Noah looks drool-worthy in his fitted jeans with his tennis shoes and a dark blue Henley.
Times like tonight, I wish I were like the women in the books I read, knowing exactly what to say or being brave enough to kiss him. I feel like he can do so much better than me. He deserves someone who isn’t always thinking about running to the next town to stay off The Family’s radar.
As I grab another handful of popcorn, I realize I’ve been hogging it. “Noah,” I whisper.
“Yeah?”
