Chapter 20 #2
“It’s probably easier if I tell you what I don’t watch.” I tug at the stray thread. “No death. No car wrecks. Nothing where a child’s life is threatened. And basically, understand I can veto a movie at any time for no reason at all.”
My list is met with silence.
I cringe. “I’m sorry—”
“No, ma’am. No apologies.” Harlan kisses the top of my head. “That’s good information.” He leans forward, taking me with him, to grab the remote. “I think I’ve got a solution.”
Scrolling through our options, he settles on my worst nightmare. Only his film choice doesn’t fit any of the taboo categories, and I don’t know how to skirt the issue.
“Divergent.” He raises his hands in victory, Rocky style.
“Yeah.” My exaggerated response isn’t convincing, even to me. “Divergent.” Most-embarrassing-moment flashbacks attack my vision. I glance at Harlan.
His lips twitch, breaking his earnest stare.
Wait a minute.
As I sit up, I take a better look at him. Gasping, I shove a finger into his firm chest. “Molly put you up to this.”
Harlan doubles over laughing. “Please, tell me the story. I have to hear it from you.”
“I cannot believe this.” I run my hands through my hair. “That little traitor.”
He twists to me and props his knee on the cushion. “All she said was to ask you about Divergent and CPS.”
Divergent and CPS, indeed.
Heat crawls up my neck, and I shake my head. “Fine.” I reach over him and snatch a handful of candy corn from a decorative crystal dish.
“Emotional eating is required for this story,” I say as I stuff a few candies in my mouth.
Big, masculine Harlan Holcombe sits crisscross applesauce, grabs a snack bowl off the same table, and focuses on me with the excited anticipation of a child. “Excellent.” The word is muffled through the popcorn he shoves in his mouth.
“Pretty early on, I had the kids enrolled one day a week in a Mother’s Day Out program.
It was glorious.” I devour a few more of the yellow and orange candies.
“For five precious hours I could do anything I wanted. My friends understood how important they were to me if I scheduled a lunch with them during that time. It meant they were MDO worthy.”
Harlan chuckles. “MDO worthy.”
I place my hand over my heart. “I truly believe it would have been more than acceptable to sit in my pj’s and eat bonbons for those five hours. But in social settings, I felt pressure to come up with justifiable reasons for taking time away from my children.”
With popcorn halfway to his mouth, he grins. “Like what?”
One finger raises with each excuse. “I volunteer at the prison to teach a GED course. Or I’m on a board to cure cancer. Or I need to purchase raw goat milk from a local farm.”
“That’s not a thing.” He throws a piece of popcorn at me.
“Yes, it is. My friend Charlotte couldn’t breastfeed and made a carrot-juice-and-goat-milk concoction for her babies. Her kids temporarily turned orange because of all the beta-carotene.”
Shaking his head, he grabs another handful. “You’re making this up.”
“I’m not.” He launches another morsel of popcorn at me, but I smack this one down before it makes contact. “But one day I let myself do the unthinkable.” I hold my hand out like a stop sign. “For almost two years, not once—not once—had the school ever called me in the middle of the day.”
Harlan’s shoulders shake with silent laughter.
“So I did it.” Adding to my dramatics, I lean in. “I went to a movie while my kids were in Mother’s Day Out.”
“Divergent.” He slaps his hand on his knee.
“Yeah. Divergent. And just as the big kissing scene finally happens, my phone vibrates.” I pause for dramatic effect. “It was the nurse at Mother’s Day Out.”
Harlan laughs and holds his stomach. “Stop. I can’t breathe.”
“She informs me Chloe has a fever. And in my brilliant, flustered state, I confess I’m at the movies and . . . wait for it . . . ask if I could pick her up after the kissing scene ends.” I bury my face in my hands. “I broke the sacred mom code, and I thought they were going to call CPS.”
Harlan’s cackles fill the room. “That is amazing. Did you ever finish the movie?”
“Read the books but didn’t finish the movie.” Popping the rest of the candy corn in my mouth, I glance at the TV.
“Well, then. Let’s find you some cinematic closure.” Uncrossing his legs, he exchanges popcorn for the remote and hits play.
As Divergent begins, Harlan stretches his arm behind me and rests it on the cushions.
I purse my lips in an effort to contain my smile.
Who knew Hercules had high school cuddling moves?
When I scoot toward him, he tucks me against his side and presses my head down on his chest. Wrapping my arms around him, I decide there’s nothing wrong with high school moves.
The first few scenes roll, and I settle into his embrace. We fit together. The two of us. I place my hand over his heart. The beat is just like the man. Steady.
I pause the movie, twist, and gaze up at his handsome face.
He returns my stare with molten dark eyes pouring into mine. His strong hand cups my face, thumb grazing my cheek. He leans in, and his lips brush my mouth tenderly. He moves back just a touch, our breaths tangling.
With my eyes still closed, I smile. “Again,” I whisper.
The word barely escapes before he kisses me a second time, this one deeper. He draws me closer with one arm as he runs his other hand through my hair.
Tris and Four’s big kissing scene will have to wait again.
Only this time, I’m not that upset about it.