Tell Me You Love Me // Demi Lovato // 1

15. Movie (Part 1)

Demi instructed me to park in a random parking lot, and when I looked out the windshield, across the street, I saw where she'd led me. This wasn't just any parking lot. It was the one across from our favorite movie theater. As teenagers, we came here all the time, smuggling in Sour Patch Kids and sitting in the middle of the theater.

I smiled at the building before me. We'd had some good times in this place. It was like our sacred spot and we had an unwritten and unspoken rule that we could never go without the other, nor could we bring anyone else.

It was both of us or nothing.

"What was the last thing we saw here?" I asked in a breathy voice.

Demi chuckled lightly. "I don't even remember. What year was it, even? 2009?"

I shook my head, one hand still gripping the wheel. "I don't know. You never...?" I started to ask if she had gone back after rehab, if she'd taken anyone to our special place but stopped.

"Nope. You?"

"I wasn't even here for some of the time," I reminded her. "So, no." I sat back in my seat, trying my best to ignore the sting in my eyes, the pit of sadness in my stomach. Honestly, I had forgotten all about the place after she entered rehab.

"Well, what do you wanna see?" Demi asked me. I could feel her gaze on me. And finally I looked over, into her deep brown eyes. She brushed her hair back off her shoulder, waiting for an answer.

"I heard Fifty Shades Darker is really good," I said, making her burst out laughing. Truthfully, I'd only said that to make her laugh. Another truth: I hadn't even seen Fifty Shades of Grey.

"Come on," she said, pushing her door open. I followed after her, crossing the street and seeing that Daddy's Home 2 was starting at one, which was only about twenty minutes away. Like she read my mind, she asked, "Daddy's Home 2?"

And I nodded. We got our tickets and inside, we got four boxes of Sour Patch Kids, two buckets of popcorn, and two sodas. We carefully made our way to the theater, finding it empty, except for a few people, and immediately found our seats in the middle. With a little more than fifteen minutes to wait, we crunched on the popcorn, saving the candy for the movie. Besides, if we opened them now, they'd be gone before the lights were turned off.

"Maia, I have a question," Demi said, palm full of corn that she then proceeded to stuff into her mouth. I waited for her to chew and swallow, then she asked her question. "What makes you think I would reject you?"

Okay, not what I was expecting.

"I mean, you didn't even let me say anything."

"Well, you did say you hadn't expected it. And I saw your face."

"I was surprised. I hadn't expected to hear that I was the girl. But that doesn't mean I would have rejected you." She stuffed her face again, making me smile.

"So, now what?" I asked, staring down into my buttery popped corn, a major vice of mine.

Demi didn't say anything, making me think she hadn't heard me, but she was actually just waiting for me to look at her. "Consider this our first date."