Airel: The Awakening (Airel Saga Book One)

Chapter VIII

WE MADE IT TO the theater before anything disastrous could happen—miracle of miracles. After I parked, Michael opened my door for me, and on the way to the ticket booth he grabbed my hand and held it and would not let go. I was flattered and elated, but terrified.

On one side of this shiny new coin, he wasn’t shy about his affection for me and didn’t feel like he needed to ask permission for anything. On the other side, what the heck was he doing holding my hand without asking my permission? I wanted to be offended, but at the same time I didn’t pull away. I didn’t want him to stop.

We bought our tickets and went into the theater, but not before Kim and I had an impromptu conference in the bathroom to compare notes. She insisted on digging for dirt about Michael, and dishing me all the dirt she could about James. 

“Guess what? Guess who his favorite band is? Just guess.” She was giddy.

I didn’t really want to know, but it was cute to see her like this. They were both crazy about the exact same music. We walked out holding hands and laughing. Luckily, that discouraged any more handholding with Michael as we found our seats. I needed a little space, but not too much. Of course I let him sit next to me. I couldn’t be rude. Besides, I wanted to sit by him.

The lights of the theater dimmed to darkness and the previews started rolling. It was girl, girl, boy, boy—Kim on my left, Michael on my right, and James next to Michael. Kim didn’t seem to mind, or maybe she just didn’t care. Michael made a few jokes about the different movies that were coming out. Then he leaned over and whispered in my ear. “Do you want anything? Popcorn or a drink?” 

His voice in my ear, his breath on my neck made me go all fuzzy, my head spinning in electrified euphoria. I was instantly covered with goose bumps. “Sure,” I breathed. “Dr. Pepper and popcorn. Small. Thanks, Michael.”

“No problem.” He slipped out and James followed. James wasn’t much for conversation on his own anyway, and since guys probably didn’t have impromptu conferences in restrooms, I figured James left so they could talk about us in private while they were in line for concessions.

“They went for a junk-food run,” I whispered to Kim.

“Good. I’m starved.” Then she changed gears again, giving me whiplash. “So, I see you and Michael are getting friendly.” A hint of sarcasm spiced up her voice. 

“He’s nice. But he’s a little out of my league.” Of course, I didn’t mean that how it sounded. I didn’t dare think about having anything to do with Michael other than friendship, even with all the handholding, because I wasn’t sure about me. It wasn’t a question of him being out of my reach as a young woman. I didn’t validate those kinds of things by thinking them. In fact, I usually mocked those kinds of ideas. No, it was mostly a question of me being scared to death at the seriousness of my response to him. My reaction to his sudden appearance in my life was so different in comparison to everything I had ever experienced, and so intense, that I was flailing for any excuse to keep him at arm’s length until I was a little more sure of myself.

Or maybe I’m just being neurotic. 

If there was one thing I’d learned about guys, it was that they could hurt. I shivered involuntarily at the thought, and kept a tight lid on my feelings in that department. I was going to be cautious about all of this. “Michael’s friendly with everyone, Kim. I can’t really believe he’s seriously considering me as one of his undoubtedly many options.”

“Come on—he likes you,” Kim said. “Anyone can see that. Don’t overthink it and don’t worry about anything. Just leave it to me.”

“Oh, no.” I gave her that “don’t even think about it look” and hit her on the arm.