Page 57 of Forbidden Dance
I follow his lead. “Bye, Blitz.”
He pulls his phone out and holds it up. I know he’s telling me that he’ll text me where to meet instead. I’m terribly relieved that he understands the situation, and I’m so glad I told him about my parents already.
I give Daisy a hug and wave to her mom. “I was just cutting through. I live close by. See you next week!”
And I continue on through the park to the next street.
As soon as I’m out of sight of Daisy, I pull out the phone. I’ve forgotten it is set to silent, and I already have two messages from Blitz asking where to meet me.
I give him the name of the two streets at the corner and wait at a bus stop bench. I hear the roar of his Ferrari before I see it. He pulls up in front of me and rolls down the passenger window. “Pretty lady need a ride?” he says. “I’ve got candy.”
I walk up to the car and lean in the window. “I only take candy from strangers.”
“Then pretend we’ve never met,” he says, laughter in his eyes.
I open the door and hop into the seat.
And I can see the floor!
“Hey, you cleaned up,” I say.
“See, you’re already good for me,” Blitz says. He pulls away from the curb. “How much time do we have before the clock strikes twelve?”
It’s so much easier to navigate this with Blitz understanding my situation. “A couple hours.”
“Is there a movie theater around here?”
“Sure. It’s kind of old and dumpy, though.”
“All the better. Tell me where.”
He steers through the streets as I give him directions. I’ve only gone to the theater a couple times. It usually offers second-run movies and old black-and-white features. My parents let me seeSingin’ in the RainandThe Wizard of Ozthere when they played them for special occasions.
“What will we see?” I ask as he parks in the lot, almost empty on a weekday afternoon.
“Whatever is about to start,” he says. “You’ve never done that before? Just gone potluck on a movie?”
I shake my head. I don’t want to tell him I’m not allowed at modern movies, at least not anymore. I got to go plenty when I was a kid. Now Dad says they promote loose morals. Same as pop music and television. I’m too susceptible to ideas.
It’s probably true. But I can’t stay sheltered forever. And this is probably his worst nightmare, getting tickets to an unapproved movie with one of the sexiest, wildest men on TV.
It makes me want to laugh. My dad would probably spontaneously combust if he saw us.
“I like seeing you happy,” Blitz says as we get out of the car. “Let’s go find out what we’re watching.”
He wraps his arm around my waist as we walk. We could be any couple walking to a movie theater. It feels so good.
“Besides, I want to get you in the dark,” he says.
My heart thumps against my sweater. “And no Danika or Hannah to interrupt.”
“Exactly.”
We walk up to the box office, where a girl is leaning her cheek on her hand. She doesn’t recognize Blitz. “Can I help you?”
Blitz scans the marquee. “Two to whatever starts next.”
She rolls her eyes and prints out tickets. Blitz passes a twenty under the Plexiglas window.
