Chapter 118
After a quick
Chinese fire drill, Nick and Claire were back on the road, and Claire was
behind the wheel once again. She drove
them to the Empress Cinema, an old movie theater that had been restored to look
just as it had in the 30’s, when it had been built.
“Friday
Fright Night, I was right,” Claire said gleefully, reading the brightly lit
sign on the overhang of the theater as she and Nick walked across the parking
lot. “And look, they’re showing King
Kong!” she laughed.
“Wow… haven’t
seen that since I was a kid.”
“Yeah, it’s
been awhile,” said Claire. “Well,
there’s an 8:00 showing, and it’s like five till, so we better hurry.” She started to increase her pace and then
stopped, apparently realizing who she was talking to and what had happened in the
last parking lot they’d walked through.
“On second thought,” she said with a sheepish grin, “let’s take our
time.”
Nick
snickered to hide his embarrassment while she matched her stride with his and
walked alongside him to the door of the theater. Once again, she held it for him, but this
time, he paid, buying two tickets for the 8:00 showing at the old-fashioned
ticket booth.
The theater
itself was almost completely empty, with the exception of an older man sitting
all alone in the front row. He did not
even turn around when Nick and Claire entered, and they quickly chose a couple
of seats in the back, glad for the solitude.
“This place
is cool,” Nick said, running his finger over the faded crimson velvet of his
seat, drawing little designs in the material.
“I know. Some of my girlfriends and I came to see Gone
With the Wind here once; it was so cool.”
“Chick
flick,” muttered Nick, wrinkling his nose.
“No. Classic,” Claire corrected firmly.
Nick
smirked. “Whatever.”
The lights in
the theater began to dim, and the giant white screen went black and started to
crackle as the film rolled. Nick was
suddenly taken back to his youth, to late nights spent lying on the floor in
front of the TV with his sister, watching black-and-white horror movie
marathons into the wee hours of the morning.
As the movie progressed, he snickered, yet at the same time marveled at
the primitive special effects, remembering how much more lifelike they had seemed
to him as a little kid and understanding how impressive they must have been to
the moviegoers of the nineteen thirties, people who had once sat in this very
same theater when it was brand new. It
was really quite a powerful experience, and he was glad Claire had suggested
it.
Halfway through
the movie, he stole a glance at her. Her
eyes fixed on the screen, her lips slightly parted, she did not even
notice. Her hand loosely gripped the
armrest, and, smiling, he reached out and laid his hand ever so lightly on top
of hers. At his touch, she flinched,
turning to look at him in surprise.
Flashing her an embarrassed smile, he quickly pulled his hand back and
rested it on his lap, tugging nervously at his pants as he tried to focus on
the movie again. But his attention was
torn away again when he felt her hand snake over and grab his, blindly
maneuvering it so that their fingers entwined.
He looked over at her again, but her eyes were back on the movie, and
she did not return the gaze. Studying
her silhouette in the darkness, he noticed how her lips turned up to form just
a slight smile. Smiling himself, he
settled back in his seat to watch the rest of the movie, his thumb running
absently over her soft skin as the mighty Kong roared through the jungle
onscreen.
Near the end
of the film, as the massive gorilla took his famous last stand atop the Empire
State Building, clutching his beloved, Nick felt Claire’s hand tighten around
his. Smiling to himself, he squeezed
back, and as the movie ended, glanced over at her again. He was startled to see tears glistening on
her cheeks, illuminated by the light of the flickering screen.
“Are you
crying?” he whispered through the darkness.
Sniffling,
she turned to face him, a sheepish smile on her face. “It’s sad,” she said simply.
“Why, cause he
died?”
“Yeah… and
because he loved her. He wasn’t trying
to hurt her… he was in love with her,” she whimpered, smiling tearfully.
Nick choked
back a laugh. “He’s a gorilla!” he
whispered loudly. “It’s a movie!” Dissolving into hushed snickers, he marveled
at how strange the opposite sex could be.
How she could turn King Kong into some kind of tragic love story
was beyond him.
“You’re
laughing at me,” she said, playfully pushing his shoulder. “Quit it.”
“So stop
being such a girl, sheesh!”
“I am
a girl,” she said with a smirk. “Or
maybe you didn’t realize.”
Nick’s
attention turned from the man in front row, who was now walking out of the
theater, back to Claire. The credits of
the movie were still showing, and the screen provided just enough light in the
dark, empty theater for him to see her face.
She was smiling, her eyes still sparkling with moisture, and all of a
sudden, he felt his heart begin to pound with yearning. Taking his hand out of hers, he gently
reached out and touched her cheek, lightly brushing her tears away. Her hand rose to take hold of his, and
slowly, she guided it down her face, to her lips. She pressed her lips to his fingers, kissing
them tenderly and then slowly lowered them.
But his heart was racing now, and his tingling fingers longed to touch
her again. They went to her shoulder and
crept around, his arm encircling her, gradually pulling her closer to him as he
leaned forward, his head tipping to the side, his lips drifting toward hers as
if there was a magnetic field between them, steadily drawing them nearer.
“I am a
girl. Or maybe you didn’t realize.”
Oh, I’ve
realized, Nick thought as their lips connected. You’re definitely a girl. And then… Shit, he cursed mentally as
the kiss intensified, I hope I don’t have pizza breath. But if he did, she didn’t seem to mind, her
hands drifting up and around his neck as she kissed back. Entranced by what he had not experienced in a
long time, he opened his mouth slightly and captured her bottom lip between
his. He lightly ran his tongue across
it, until her tongue found his and lured it into the sweet trove of her mouth.
What am I
doing? a voice in the back of his
mind questioned. This is Claire! We’re just… just friends…
But he was
only kidding himself. Hugging her
closer, he continued to kiss her in a way that made it apparent they were not
“just friends.” And he didn’t want to
pull back, didn’t want to let go. His
mind was telling him he was going too far, but it felt so right. It was not a lustful, passionate kiss, like
the many he had shared with Leah. No,
this kiss was different, unlike any other he had experienced. Just like Claire was unlike any girl he had
been with.
Finally, they
pulled apart, both breathless, staring at each other with wide eyes. The movie screen was blank now, and the
lights were slowly coming up. Nick
exhaled a shuddering breath.
“I… I guess
we should go now.”
“Yeah,”
Claire murmured, slowly standing up. The
seat of her chair swung up, and she reached out her hands to Nick, helping him
out of his seat. Silently, they left the
theater and went out to his car.
The ride home
was awkward, devoid of the free-flowing banter that had filled the car earlier,
on the way to the restaurant. Staring
out the passenger side window while Claire drove, Nick watched the lights of
the city and let his mind wander. By the
time they got back to his house, his brain felt like gelatin, and he was more
than ready to call it a night. He was
drained, physically and emotionally, and knew he had some thinking to do.
“I had a
great time tonight,” Claire said softly, as they stood outside his front door,
bathed in the soft glow radiating from his porch lights.
“Me
too.” Leaning heavily on his crutches,
Nick shifted his weight awkwardly, not sure what else to say or do.
“Well, um… I
should get going. I’ll see you later.”
“Yeah… see
ya.”
Claire
hesitated a moment, then leaned in, rose to her tip toes, and kissed his
cheek. “Good night,” she whispered,
smiling coyly.
“Night,” he
echoed faintly, as she turned and walked down the steps. She gave him a little wave and then went to
her car. As she drove away, flashing her
lights once as a final goodbye, he went inside, unable to conceal the smile on
his face.
“Heya,
Nicky,” AJ called loudly when Nick entered the living room. “How was your night? Didja have fun with Claire?”
Avoiding his
eyes, Nick shrugged. “Oh,” he said
casually, faking a yawn to hide his smirk, “I guess you could say that.”
***