Chapter 16 #2
Gemma grew angrier by the day. She threw herself into soccer, her girlfriend, and school, anything to avoid the icy blue eyes that no longer thawed just for her.
BY MID-OCTOBER, SOMETHING HAD FINALLY shifted.
Gemma wasn’t sure exactly when it had happened—maybe the day she had laughed so hard at practice that she forgot to scan the other side of the field, or maybe when Emily had surprised her with hot chocolate after a cold morning run.
But sometime in the last few weeks, Gemma had stopped tracking Caitlin’s movements.
The cheerleaders still practiced nearby, but Gemma found herself actually watching the ball instead of searching for a halo of auburn hair in the distance.
One crisp Sunday evening, Gemma took Emily out on a date to their local movie theater.
They walked, hands intertwined, still laughing about yesterday’s soccer game.
Players from the other team had crashed into each other while going for the ball, and total chaos had followed.
Westmore had swooped in to score the winning goal while the others were still struggling to untangle themselves. The image still cracked her up.
Arriving out front of the box office window, Gemma’s body stiffened.
“Hey Gemma!” Troy said, walking up the sidewalk with Caitlin by his side.
“Hey,” Gemma mustered up as much of a greeting as she could. “Here to see a movie?” Trying to act casual, the words had tumbled out of her mouth before she could stop them. Of course they were, why else would they be outside a movie theater? She felt heat creep up her neck, but Troy only laughed.
“Yeah, the new Diane Keaton and Mandy Moore one. It was Caitlin’s night to pick.” Troy shot a wink at Caitlin, whose grip visibly tightened on her boyfriend’s arm. “What about you girls?”
“Oh, we’re just here for the overpriced popcorn,” Emily replied for them, not picking up on the tension in the air. “Just kidding, Gemma can’t resist Mandy Moore, either. I’m Emily, by the way. Gemma’s girlfriend.”
Gemma winced. She glanced at Caitlin in time to see a flash of horror cross her face at the word girlfriend rolling off Emily’s tongue.
“Right, sorry. Em, this is Troy and Caitlin.” She pointed toward the couple, trying to avoid direct eye contact.
They all went to school together, but it was clear that Emily had never engaged with either the lacrosse player or cheerleader, and this was about as much as Gemma could handle for one night.
“Well, enjoy the movie.” Gemma tugged on Emily’s hand, moving through the door, trying to escape the other couple.
Caitlin and Troy followed close behind. Gemma had already forgotten that they were all there for the same movie. She pulled Emily into the concessions line, hoping that Troy and Caitlin would continue straight into the theater. They didn’t.
As Gemma scanned their movie stubs, hoping to see assigned seating, she heard Troy speak up from behind her.
“Hey, why don’t we all just sit together?”
Gemma glanced over her shoulder. Caitlin’s fair skin turned bright red, clearly not pleased with her boyfriend’s invitation.
“No, no, you guys should enjoy your date,” Gemma responded quickly, taking a step forward in line.
“We’re all friends, right? It could be like a double date!” Troy looked back and forth between them, smiling like a golden retriever, totally unaware of the land mind he was standing on.
Emily shrugged her shoulders. Apparently, there was no way for Gemma to get out of this.
“Sure.” She sighed, resigned.
A few minutes later, the four of them filed into Theater Six one by one, each carrying a bucket of buttery popcorn.
Gemma was hardly even shocked when she found herself suddenly wedged into a seat between Emily and Caitlin.
She vaguely wondered what she had done to receive this kind of karma while pretending to be engrossed in the previews flashing across the screen.
As the opening credits ended, Gemma angled her body toward Emily, reaching for her in the dark. She focused on the movie, on the hand in hers, on literally anything except the fact that she could smell Caitlin’s perfume every time she shifted in her seat.
On screen, Mandy Moore begins juggling relationships with two men, neither of whom is aware of the other. They are worlds apart, one man predictable and well-off, the other passionate and spontaneous. Unable to choose between the two, she attempts to date them both.
Gemma squirmed, feeling the plot hit a little too close to home.
Chancing a look to her right, Gemma saw Caitlin also fidgeting in her red velour chair.
Sensing her gaze, Caitlin turned and locked eyes with Gemma for a heartbeat.
Caitlin sucked her bottom lip between her teeth, and Gemma quickly returned her attention to the screen.
Why was Caitlin acting like this? If she had actually cared about Gemma, why hadn’t she even acknowledged that the kiss happened?
It was driving Gemma insane not knowing Caitlin’s reasoning.
Pay attention. Diane Keaton, Mandy Moore, not Caitlin Stone.
An arm slid onto the shared armrest, Caitlin’s bare skin brushing against Gemma’s, sending an unwanted tingle through her body.
Gemma did not like the involuntary reaction, so she hastily repositioned herself, leaning into Emily.
Gemma laced her fingers with her girlfriend’s on the wooden surface between them.
Gemma stayed in that position for the rest of the movie, refusing to give Caitlin any indication of her discomfort.
When the film ended, they all exited the theater together.
“That wasn’t the worst rom-com I’ve ever seen,” Troy decided as they walked up the black ramp.
“I loved it.” Emily squeezed Gemma’s arm, beaming like the movie’s own happy ending.
Gemma and Caitlin both stayed quiet as they made their way down the carpeted hallway with its abstract brown, red, and yellow patterns. They stepped outside into the refreshing fall air. Gemma inhaled as if she hadn’t taken a full breath since they had gone inside.
“Well, enjoy the rest of your night.” Gemma waved goodbye and walked down the sidewalk, pulling Emily along by the hand.
Before Gemma could stop herself, she turned to look back. Caitlin hadn’t moved, watching with something that looked like sadness as Gemma left with Emily. She wasn’t even trying to hide the emotion on her face from Troy, but he looked clueless as ever, glued to something on his phone.
Gemma almost stopped. She almost turned back to close the distance and ask if Caitlin was all right, or to demand an answer that would stop the constant ache in her chest. But she didn’t.
Caitlin was not her responsibility. Far from it—she had been the one to push Gemma away.
If Caitlin had something left to say, she knew where she could find her.
Gemma had planned this night for Emily, and she’d be damned if she let Caitlin ruin it.
“Do you want to…” Gemma hesitated, but when she saw Emily’s smile, it eased her worries. “Sleep over tonight?”
“I’d love to.” There was a little extra spring in Emily’s step as they walked back to Gemma’s house.
Gemma tightened her grip on Emily’s hand, determined not to let Caitlin tear down what she and Emily were building.