34. Things We Do in the Dark
34
Things We Do in the Dark
By the time my break rolled around, I desperately needed to sit in the dark for a while. I texted my man.
Me: Break time. I’m gonna catch the first half of Demons in the Attic and order some chicken nuggets.
Victor: Have a hell of a time.
I snickered and shook my head. He was so bad.
No one was at the concession stand when I came in, so I waved at the widow animatronic.
“Hey, babe,” I said. Maybe the ghosts were in a better mood today.
She twitched but didn’t descend. Weird. Normally, she had a whole rotation of movements.
I slipped into my theater seat. It was the middle of the day, and this movie had been out for three weeks, so I was all alone. This would be the perfect time to hang with Victor. I flipped up the armrest just in case.
The lights dimmed, and I turned to the entryway. Thankfully, by the elegant stalking silhouette, I could tell my man was delivering my meal.
“Right on time.” I grinned and stroked my cross. “I didn’t think you could be any more attractive, but now that you’re bringing me lunch, I see I was mistaken.”
“I aim to please.” He bowed and presented me with the chicken nuggets.
“Thank you, good sir.” I held up a fry. “Can I tempt you to sit?”
“You don’t need to bribe me.” Still, he snatched the fry in one bite and nipped my fingertips.
I giggled and cozied up next to him. Everything was already better. “How’s your shift been?”
“Fine.” He slunk his arm around my shoulder. “Yours?”
“Ugh, it’s been—” I bit back the rest of that sentence. Last time I’d complained about my day, he’d given me a speech about boundaries. And he probably didn’t want to get too deep. At least with feelings. Or families.
“What?” He brushed my hair behind my ear and kissed my neck.
My pulse jumped at the brush of his lips. “Chaotic,” I gasped.
“Do you need a release?” His fingers spread under my skirt.
I wasn’t one to turn down an orgasm.
I nodded and spread my knees. This man did something to me. His whispers seduced the strongest, darkest parts of my psyche. I needed to feed the inner beast.
We leaned toward one another, a breath away from bliss—but then two people hurried into the theater. We snapped apart faster than lightning could strike…or Victor could touch anything wet and waiting.
“Shit,” I whispered. I still needed that release. But as kinky as we were, I wasn’t sure where we stood on other people accidentally witnessing him finger me.
Victor obscured his mouth with the hand that’d been teasing my thigh and fixed his gaze on the screen. “We could rendezvous in theater thirteen.”
Our special place. It had comfy seating. And privacy. While I kind of did want to see this demon movie, Victor’s offer was more intriguing.
I slid the food tray aside. “What should I do with my dinner?”
“It’ll keep.”
He took my hand and led me through the darkness, down the hall, and into our private sanctum. The door had barely closed behind us when he pressed me into the divide.
I gasped at the impact of my back against the wall, my shock swallowed by his kiss. He pinned me and sucked my lips. Moaning, I wrapped my leg around his hip and ground against him for relief. I was splayed and savored in all the best ways.
His phone buzzed.
He ignored it to kiss down to my chest.
“Victor, yes.” I panted, raking my hands through his hair.
We were all over each other: desperate and hungry.
But amid our lust, his phone kept vibrating.
“Either silence that or put it against my clit,” I joked.
He snorted and pulled back to check the screen. “Sorry, I…” He frowned and scanned the notifications, his grip loosening on my legs. “Oh.”
Shit. “Did something bad happen?” I asked.
“No, not yet. But I do need to manage something for a second. Stay here.” He shoved his phone back in his pocket and hurried towards the exit. “I’ll be right back.”
“Really?” I arched my eyebrow. “People in horror movies don’t usually survive that sentence.”
He smirked over his shoulder. “Good thing we’re in a romance.”
I laughed and pushed off the dividing wall. That cheeky spider man was slick. Did he even have an emergency or was he planning something elaborate? A prank? A kink? Anything was possible with him.
Especially in a dark, empty theater.
I stretched my neck and smiled. My skin tingled with anticipation. Was there anything I could do to surprise him? Strip naked and sit spread eagle on the chairs for when he came back? Or would that be too indecent? Maybe I could find Bitsy before the big reveal. He could’ve hidden her around here after he got my text.
The door cracked open without a sound. I held my breath and tensed. Was Victor waiting on the other side for me? If so, that was quick. His pranks usually happened quickly. They didn’t lure me into a jump scare.
Heart pounding in my ears, I crept closer.
The door waivered. Was this part of the theater haunted too? What did it want from me? I shoved the door open.
“Ah,” someone cried. The door smacked against something solid, decidedly not a ghost.
“What the fuck?” I poked my head into the hall.
Sam the squirrelly teen stumbled. He gripped the door, his eyes wide. “Uh, hi. Funny seeing you again.” He scratched his arm with the same mania dogs clawed at fleas.
“What are you doing here?” I asked. Theater thirteen was supposed to be empty.
His jaw hung open and his gaze slung around the theater. “Uh, well, I was looking for Victor.”
“He’s off managing something,” I said.
“Right, right.” He avoided looking at me. Why was he being so shifty?
I crossed my arms. “Were you hoping he’d see the door move? Why didn’t you say anything?”
“I didn’t know if he was…busy,” he finished, curling into himself like he’d love to melt into the bright carpet, which wasn’t too far off from the red on his face.
I stiffened. Was he listening to find out if we were still fucking?
“If you’re done, I can clean,” he said awkwardly. “You’re one of the few girls I don’t mind cleaning up after.”
“What? Oh my god, don’t worry about it.” I escaped down the hallway and shuddered.
It was one thing for everyone here to know we were fucking. It was another for them to know when and where it was happening. Was it against some kind of code? Did we need to be more discrete? And what did he mean ‘one’ of the girls? Was there more than one? More than me, for Victor?
I took off in search of him.
His voice rumbled from the balcony. “She’s fucked up.”
The words stopped me in the hall. Surely, he wasn’t talking about me. This was a management situation, an irate customer or something. I peeked around the corner.
He paced on the balcony with his cell phone perched against his cheek. “I expect her to last at least through Halloween.”
What did he mean ‘last?’ Was he talking about us or some not-so-great employee?
He scrunched his bangs and rolled his eyes. “Yes. She’s beautiful to look at, but that’s not what I want. I want you to come down here as soon as possible and make things right.”
Who was he talking to? Or about? I wracked my brain for any issues he’d shared lately—but he hadn’t. He didn’t talk to me about anything heavy. Exes. Nothing.
He braced his forearms on the balcony. “If you cared about me, you’d try.”
I swallowed against a lump in my throat. Didn’t he care about me?
“When can you come in?” He flexed his shoulders. “Fine. I’ll let you in through the side doors. Text me when you get here.”
Why couldn’t this person come in through the front? He wasn’t really meeting other girls in theater thirteen. He couldn’t be.
“Odds are, I’m going home with you tonight,” he said. His dry tone hollowed out my chest. “I like Kat, but,” he gripped his phone, his voice tight and low. “This is hanging over me, a metaphorical sword of Damocles.”
Yeah, well, I felt like one had just slammed into me. Had I lost my head—and my heart—to someone who planned to lose me after Halloween?