24. The Lot
24
The Lot
I got out of work before Victor. Although he offered to sneak me in for a late-night showing, after an almost-full day of shifts, I needed to give him the goods and be on my way.
Parking lot. 9 p.m. Behind the theater exit doors. It felt like a forbidden handoff. It was kind of sexy.
The semantics of locking up and clocking out meant I had to go through the security exit. Mall cops were so insecure. The guy tonight was an older gentleman who winced at my outfit.
I flashed him my teeth in an equally insincere grin and covered my ears as I headed through the metal detectors. Their silence was always a minor victory considering all my piercings and keys.
I snatched my stuff, including Victor’s jacket, and headed to the car. My keys jingled as I strode down the employee lot.
Fresh night air hit differently after a full day of mall life. No music or glaring lights. As much as I loved the store, this was actually kind of nice.
Me: I just got out. I’ll drive over to the theater and bring your jacket in a few minutes [purple heart emoji]
Victor: [black heart emoji]
I smiled at the glowing moon. Despite how it started, today was magical. Part of that was because of Victor. And now I got to see him again.
I shook my head to quiet my eager heart. Just the thought of him made my insides flap like a flurry of bats. We were in the early days of our relationship–presuming that’s what we were headed for. Yeah, we’d worked out our schedules to date, but we still had to nail down some details. And I still wanted to nail him .
I smirked at my bad joke and started my car, waiting for a few exiting mall employees to pass behind me.
The brake lights of a red car parked in the spot kitty-corner behind me flared. I waited for them to go. Then, waited some more. But they didn’t move.
Fucking weirdos. I guessed I could go, then.
I backed out and drove around to the theater side of the mall. The red car slunk behind me.
Okay, that was…a coincidence. Maybe they were seeing a movie after their shift.
I pulled into a spot by the theater and kept an eye on that car, my heart thudding hard as they parked farther down. Away from the light.
They didn’t get out of their car. No way in hell was I getting out of mine.
I double-checked my locks and nudged the glass-breaking mallet with my feet.
My older sister would call me a fucking psycho for being so fixated on the possibility of someone stalking me. Strange cars. Driving the same direction.
Maybe I was being paranoid. All those horror movies were getting to me.
But I also had to trust my gut on these things.
Fear could be a gift. I wasn’t going to suppress it for the sake of not looking silly.
Why would it take so long to back out and exit a car?
I supposed the driver of the red car could be chatting on the phone and not want to disconnect their wireless yet. Or they might be hooking up with somebody. Although it’d be uncomfortable in the front seat. And—
Someone rapped on the back of my car.
Shrieking, I jammed the horn.
Victor held up his hands in surrender. “It’s me.”
I rubbed my forehead. Fuck. He was also going to think I was overreacting.
I slid out of the car with his jacket in hand and let out a nervous laugh. “Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you to meet me in the parking lot and there was a car…” I sighed and glanced at my maybe-stalker. “It’s probably nothing.”
He looked over his shoulder and frowned. “There are lots of cars out here. But only one beautiful lady.” He lifted me into a hug and pressed me against the car, placing his body between me and that red monstrosity.
I laughed, tightening my arms and legs around him, almost out of breath from how much I wanted him like this.
My handsome Spider-Man would help protect me. He brought out the beast within.
He brushed my lips with a kiss and pulled back slowly enough my insides stretched with longing to go with him. “I’m sorry for scaring you,” he said softly.
“I’m fine,” I said. In his arms, it kind of felt like I could be.
He narrowed his gaze. “Do you scare easily?”
“No. Not with Bitsy pranks, at least.” I poked my tongue out at him.
He squeezed me harder and huffed a laugh, his hands wandering to my ass. “Good, because I was thinking about what we could do outside of the movies, and I might have found the perfect thing.”
“Oh yeah?” I rubbed myself against him. Did it involve my back seat?
“A haunted house,” he said, his dark eyes flashing.
“Ahhh, yeah.” I grounded my feet. Girlfriend-material probably didn’t fuck their guys in the back seat while setting up a second date. But he was dating me , so it was definitely a possibility.
He furrowed his brow. “Would that not be…satisfying?”
“No, I love scary things. A haunted house sounds perfect. Honestly.” I cupped his cheek and kissed him with tenderness, which was surprisingly satisfying in its own right.
He savored each second—and so did I.
I loved his lips, the way he lingered in our embrace, his cold fingertips biting through my clothes and sinking into my skin. I loved being with him. I loved—well, I liked him. A lot.
I just had to get to know him outside the mall and movie preferences.
“I can’t wait,” I said, easing back.
His eyes crinkled around the sides. “I’m glad to hear it.”
“Do you want…” I was so tired. But I was also happy. And floating. And horny–again. “Do you want to come in?” I giggled, jerking my head at the back seat.
He moaned and hung his head on my shoulder, rocking our bodies against the car. “I have to get back to work.”
“Well, fuck.” I stroked his hair. It was soft, and not nearly as greasy as mine.
He kissed my neck, a low growl at the back of his throat. “We’ll make up for this unfortunate circumstance.”
“Yeah,” I muttered.
He nipped my ear.
I yelped a laugh and smacked his shoulder with his jacket.
Backing up, he grabbed his coat and bowed. His eyes shone with moonlight and mischief. “Until we meet again.”
“Farewell, Mr. Sterling.” I gave him a kiss before slipping into my car.
Victor stood by my spot and watched me go–all the way down to the stop sign. My faithful sentinel.
But as I turned to wave, he fixed his attention on the red car.
Maybe he saw it as a red flag, like I did. Or maybe he recognized it.
Either way, I lowered my hand and swallowed the nagging suspicion that moonlit magic didn’t always lead to a happily ever after.