Page 21 of Bear's Midlife Bridesmaid
Erin laughed because the thought had certainly crossed her mind when he’d mentioned where they were going. “Possibly, but I meant just enjoying the moment and worrying about the rest later.”
“You know, I haven’t gotten to just sit back and not think about things for a long time. That sounds kind of nice.”
“Then it’s a plan,” Erin confirmed. “Or rather, not a plan. But still a plan. Anyway, what movie are they playing?”
Jace turned onto the road and accelerated. “Guess.”
“How am I supposed to guess?” she asked. They still had plenty of daylight, but the sun was starting to slide downwards. It angled its light at Jace. “You have the brattiest grin right now.”
“I’ll give you a hint,” he said, his smile widening at her comment. “They’re playing some older, classic movies tonight.”
“That really limits my options,then,” Erin replied, but she was enjoying their bit of fun. “I don’t even know what kind of movies you like.”
“Guess,” he repeated.
“Let’s see. I’m going to go with the obvious and say you like anything with a nautical theme. You probably assumed I’d guess that, and you’re trying to trick me, but I’m going with it anyway.Titanic.”
“That’s actually one boat-themed movie I’ve never seen,” Jace admitted.
“Really? I thought everyone had seen that.”
“Try again.”
Erin thought for a minute. “Jaws?”
“Ian is the one who’s never let go of his obsession with sharks, not me. The time frame is about right, though.”
“Huh. You know how when someone asks you what your favorite restaurant is, you can’t seem to think of any restaurants at all? That’s kind of where my brain is at right now. Let’s see.” She leaned her head back against the seat, still holding Jace’s hand. “The African Queenis too old.”
“A good one, though.”
“The Perfect Stormis too new. What aboutThe Poseidon Adventure?” She lifted her head to look at him.
“Bingo.”
“Really?”
“That’s the one,” he confirmed as he pulled into the Wellfleet Drive-In and up to the booth to pay their way. “I saw it when I was a kid, and there was just something about it that I really liked. There was an adventure in trying to navigate through an upside-down cruise ship.”
“I can’t believe that didn’t scare you away from the water, especially since most of the people died,” Erin noted.
He moved his sedan slowly down the rows of cars until he found a good spot and pulled into it. “There’s not much that scares me.”
“I guess not.” Erin unbuckled her seatbelt as Jace tuned the radio to the right station. “You were brave enough to put up with Hugo, Gretchen, and their friends on that yacht, and then you took a chicken like me sailing. You must be brave, indeed.”
“I thought you said you were a bobcat, not a chicken,” he chuckled.
“Very funny.” She felt warm and happy as they scooted closer to each other, watching the ads and previews. Erin laid her head on his shoulder, and their hands entwined once again. It didn’t matter if they made out during the movie or just sat there together. Spending time with Jace and exploring hisworld was much better than being on vacation with Gretchen’s snobby friends. It still pained her to know that things had gone so poorly, and she almost felt guilty that something so wonderful for her had come out of it. Almost.
The movie started, but her mind wandered to what things might’ve been like if they’d been able to find each other earlier in their lives. Would it have been easier? Harder? Would she ever have had the chance to have the children she’d always wanted? Ian was a handsome young man who’d probably been an adorable little boy.
The picture flickered. She didn’t think much of it since that just made it seem more like the classic experience this was supposed to give, but then it happened again. The happy passengers of the SSPoseidon,who didn’t yet know they were about to meet their doom, wobbled and stretched. The interior of the ship leaped off the screen and disappeared before it could capsize, and the screen was blank.
“Hm.” Jace glanced backward toward the small building that housed the projector. “I’m sure they’ll fix it in a minute.
“Probably.”
The picture was restored for only a couple ofseconds before it blanked out again. Several minutes ticked by, and nothing was improving.
