An Afternoon at the Movies

Princess & the Little King

"Hey, it's pretty slow here today. Not much else is going to happen so you can take off."

She looked up from the report she was working on to see who was speaking and acknowledge their unexpected presence. Her manager popped his head around her office door. Brian Jacobs, CEO of Mason Asters Construction, was a balding, overweight man of average height. He always seemed to have a thin sheen of sweat on his upper lip and an ever-present 'bat-in-the-cave.'

"Really?" she replied back cautiously but then remembered something about gifts and horses. "Wow, that's great! Thanks."

"Yeah, you and the team have been working really hard over the last few weeks trying to get everything in line for the acquisition. I don't anticipate any issues rearing up before we close the deal next week so go ahead and get an early start to the weekend. You earned it," he said, rapped the door twice with his knuckles then turned and walked away.

For a moment she wasn't sure what to do next. It was still fairly early in the workday, just after one o'clock in the afternoon. She would usually finish her work day a little after four p.m. and then head home to start her second job: Executive Child Manager. The idea that she would have a few hours to herself to do as she pleased gave her a small thrill of excitement. She began to contemplate possible activities when she heard another masculine voice, this one with a deep timber to it.

"Yo, did you get the same good news I did?" he asked.

She didn't have to see who was talking to know who the voice belonged to.

"Hey, Rian. Yeah, I can't believe we get to leave so early on a Friday. I wonder what impromptu golf game begat this sudden generosity," she said, although not too loudly, out of fear that someone passing by would hear her snarky comment.

Rian chuckled as he entered her office. At this point, she stopped gathering her belongings to look at him. His sandy blonde hair with natural brown highlights striped throughout was combed back from his forehead in a fashionable side-swept pompadour. His face was fairly symmetrical, bisected by a straight nose, complemented with semi-full lips that hid straight, bright white teeth whenever he smiled. It seemed as if the smile only came out when they were talking together about things unrelated to work or if they were making fun of the higher ups at the job. In total he was a very attractive guy. However, there were physical attributes on him that got her thinking of things she perhaps shouldn't. Standing at an impressive 6'4", the suit he was wearing clung to his form in very masculine ways. She didn't think that he had his clothes tailored because that would have seemed pretentious to him. It was probably more along the lines of he knew which cuts of cloth worked best for him. She always took the time to notice his hands. They were large and looked strong. Not the kind of hands that spent all day bending wood or other raw materials to his will but more like the kind of fingers that could wrap themselves around the back of a delicate neck firmly without leaving a mark, pulling a woman closer, for what was probably going to be a soul shattering kiss. His build was more on the lean muscle end of the physique spectrum. More so like a jaguar ready to spring into action if the situation called for it but also very comfortable leaning back in an office chair during a marathon meeting. Alas, it was his eyes that drew her in. She had always been a sucker for blue-eyed blondes and he was no exception. They were a gorgeous shade of azure sky on a cloudless day. She was even more struck by the hue when he came into the office, after a day spent at the beach. The contrast of his sun-kissed, tanned skin with his blue eyes seemed to make them even more radiant. To top off this layer cake of manliness was his acerbic sense of humor. She'd always had a biting, sarcastic wit that she had to check whenever she talked to her co-workers, lest they think she was a negative person or making fun of them. His cynical, self-deprecating approach to life always made her laugh with pure joy. For her, the quickest way to her heart was not through her stomach but by tickling her funny bone.

But all of this was a moot point since she was no longer in the singles game and therefore could not afford a trivial office dalliance with her sexy co-worker. She watched as he smoothly lowered himself into a chair in front of her desk, resting an ankle on the knee of the opposite leg.

"So, what are you going to do with the rest of your day?" he asked, slowly swiveling left, then right in the chair, back and forth.

"Oh, I don't know. I mean, half the day is already gone so I might well just get a head start on stuff I have to do at home. Such a super exciting life I lead," she answered.

He let out a deep laugh as his lips parted in a smile. "You could just hang out here and finish your work day. We all know how much you love being in the office each and every opportunity you get."

"God no! I'm not going to waste this chance. I have a full weekend ahead of me. Plus you and I both know what awaits us next week. I'll figure out what to do while I log off and shut down my computer." She continued clearing her desk and closing out applications on her desktop computer as he sat looking pensive, the fingers of his hands steepled in front of his lips. She turned to face him only to meet his unwavering gaze.

"Why don't we do something together?" he said in a low, husky voice.

She paused then leaned back into her chair as she looked at him. 'Do something together,' she thought to herself as she wondered what in the world that supposed to mean? Her mind briefly went to her dark fantasy place but quickly returned because there was no way that he could have meant something like that. Their office relationship was always friendly but professional. Sure, he was the only one that would ask if she wanted to order out for lunch but she chalked that up to her not being the most approachable person in the office. But something about his tone piqued her curiosity.

"What did you have in mind?" she asked.

"Hmm. Let me see," he said. "We could grab some food. Maybe from that Asian place you like so much."

She shook her head.

"No, I'm not hungry. The Greek food they ordered for the office today was pretty filling. I think I overdid it with the baklava."

She rose from her seat, grabbing her briefcase and car keys. As she pushed her chair under the desk and began to make her way towards her office door, he placed both of his feet on the floor and leaned forward, steepling his fingers in front of his lips. A pair of baby blues searched for her own eyes, a mischievous lint in them.

"How about a movie?" he said excitedly. She paused to look at him.

"A movie?"

"Yeah, it's a great idea," he replied, reaching into his suit jacket pocket and pulling out his phone.

"Let's see...there's the Holloway theater right down the road. It's actually on the way home for you and not too far out of the way for me." He stopped talking and appeared to be scrolling through information on the phone's screen. "They have a showing of that new M. Night Shyamalan about to start in 20 minutes."

She rolled her eyes at the thought of sitting through two hours of high school level acting, overly brooding music and a 'twist' that was neither shocking nor entertaining. She looked squarely at him.

"Seriously?! God, I can think of much better ways to spend my time than sitting through some schlocky flick," she replied.

"Well, obviously you can't since you haven't come up with any ideas. So you might as well spend your time with me," he replied as his eyes locked onto hers.

A snarky comment died in her throat when he finished speaking. She quickly bent her head to examine some invisible piece of lint on her skirt so he wouldn't see how unnerved she had become. To a normal person it was a very innocuous suggestion. But for her it struck on a deeper level because of how much she was attracted to him. The thought of being with him in a dark movie auditorium seemed illicit yet exciting. She didn't consider herself one of those housewives that got a charge any time a man looked her way but for some reason this seemed different. As if she knew something so simple as two coworkers watching a movie together could somehow be viewed as scandalous. She hesitated and was going to politely decline when a voice in her said, "Christ, it's just a movie. When was the last time you had the chance to watch a movie that didn't involve animated singing animals or CGI superheroes? Just go!" She straightened her posture and lightly said, "Sure, why not?"

"Great. It's settled then. We'll take our own cars and I'll see you there." He lithely rose out of his chair and exited her office.

As she turned off the lights and closed the office door, she tried to convince herself that the slight tremble in her fingers as she locked the door was due to all the coffee she'd had earlier in the day and not in anticipation of the event to come.

...

She arrived at the cineplex to find him waiting outside by the ticket box office. There was a light breeze that gently ruffled his hair, the sun glinting off the blonde strands as they fell across his forehead, giving him a boyishly youthful look. He had removed his tie and undone the top two buttons of his dress shirt. As he saw her approach, he smiled. She tentatively smiled back and looked down so he wouldn't see her staring at him like a smitten school girl.

"If it's alright with you," he started, "I've already got our tickets. I had to buy them quickly before the show sold out." For emphasis, he swept his arm across the air, gesturing towards the near-empty parking lot. From the looks of it, employees probably made up the bulk of parked cars with a few other moviegoers' vehicles dotted here and there. She laughed at him.

"Well, I guess we'd better hurry before the lines at concessions get too long," she said, matching his light-hearted tone. He opened the door for her to pass through, following closely behind. Once they entered the theater it was obvious they had nothing to worry about, if the bored looks on the staffs' faces were any indication.

She was keenly aware of him in her personal space, a little off to her right side. Even though her heels brought her to an impressive height for a lady, he still towered over her by at least half a foot. When they reached the concessions counter, an employee apathetically asked for their order.

"I'm still pretty full from lunch but it just seems un-American not to have popcorn," she stated, scanning the menu for food fare that was just the right size. He moved in closer behind her and spoke over her head to the counter person.

"We'll have one medium popcorn with extra butter and two small drinks," he said. She sensed movement from him and felt his left arm snake around her back. "For the drinks, I'll have a Coke..." And as if to punctuate completing the food order, his fingertips lightly grazed her left shoulder. "...and she'll have an orange soda."

Her jaw dropped imperceptibly in shock, leaving her lips slightly parted open. What the hell just happened? One minute she was trying to decide whether she wanted buttered or caramel popcorn and the next minute he had taken control by ordering for both of them. And accurately, because he was spot on with the selection of orange soda; it was her go-to drink of choice when it came to soft drinks. And did he really just put his arm around her? No way, she thought to herself. Thinking that she had imagined the intimate gesture as wishful thinking, she felt his hand move lower then press into the small curve of her back guiding her away from the concession stand and towards the auditorium showing the movie. In her stunned haze she failed to notice that he had paid for the items and began carrying the loaded tray, holding it while deftly guiding her with his expansive palm splayed across her lower back.

Her mind struggled to process and reconcile what had occurred in the last few minutes. What was supposed to be a simple outing between two easy going coworkers was shaping up more like a first date between long-term platonic buddies who decided to take their friendship to the next level. She mutely followed behind him as he held open the door to the auditorium for her to enter. Her conflicting thoughts raced furiously through her mind, clashing against one another in an effort to determine the best course of action. Should she keep it simple and not read anything more into what had happened so far? Or should she leave her mind--and body?--open to the possibility of something...more? She didn't know, as she was torn between marital commitments and the thrill of a deeply coveted fantasy potentially about to come true.

Throughout her life she had always been attracted to Caucasian boys and as she got older, Caucasian men. But she came of age at a time when the tides of interracial dating had not changed swiftly enough for her to experience a relationship with a white guy. So she dated what was socially available: black men. However, one fleeting glance at a dark-haired, green-eyed white guy could stop her dead in her tracks. When asked about her preference in men, she would reply "I like my men as I like my chocolate...white!" In the past, a friend had accused her of fetishizing Caucasian men based on their physical attributes. But that friend had it all wrong because a fetish is something you need to have sex. She didn't need white men for sexual fulfillment. She wanted to be with a white guy. To run her fingers through his hair, grasping it between her hands as he pumped into her. To feel the angle of his nose against her cheek as they kissed. But most of all, she wanted to see the contrast of her deep caramel skin against the paleness of his skin. All of these things contributed to her preference of white men. She'd had sexual encounters twice with white guys but nothing that amounted to overly memorable events. And now here she was, with a walking and talking tall drink of water in the middle of her desert. And damn if she wasn't feeling thirsty!

She snapped back to reality as she became aware that she had blindly followed him to seats he had selected in the middle of the second to last row of the auditorium. The cineplex itself had been around for more than two decades so it tried to stay relevant by catering to the changing tastes of moviegoers. It didn't have stadium seating as the newly-built theaters have but it did have wide seats that could recline slightly and armrests that could be levered up or down converting two seats into makeshift loveseat.

"Hey, can you hold this for a moment?" he asked, handing her the tray of food and drinks.

"Yeah...sure..." she replied absent-mindedly, taking the tray. She watched him shrug out of his suit coat and hang it over the back of the chair back next to him. He took the tray from her and balanced it on an armrest two seats over.

"Here let me help you out of your coat," he said. He moved behind her and grasped the top left and top right of her overcoat by the shoulder seams and pulled it down her arms. The crisp, earthy scent of his cologne wafted around her. She briefly closed her eyes, breathing it in as an image of him shirtless, chopping wood entered her mind. His fingertips grazed the back of her neck as they swept her long hair aside, seeming to linger. She suppressed a tiny shiver at the electrifying sensation.

"Thank you," she said as she watched him neatly fold her coat over a chair. "Such a gentleman."

"Well, my mama raised me to be a well-mannered boy," he said with an affected Southern drawl, reminiscent of Forrest Gump, then he quietly laughed.

"You are so stupid," she said laughing with him.

They sat down and settled into their seats. She placed her drink in the armrest cupholder to her right as opposed to the one that was on her left, even though she was left-handed. Glancing out of the side of her left eye she observed him doing the same in that he placed his drink in the cup holder to his left. Looking around the theater revealed they weren't the only ones that had decided to take a break and catch a midday flick. It was sporadically populated with no more than 10 people in total, with most seated six rows or more in front of them. Without thinking about it she reached for popcorn only to snatch her hand back as she realized that the popcorn was placed squarely in his lap. He let out a low chuckle.

"Sorry about that. I'll move it between us." He raised the arm rest that divided their seats, giving him a place to set the popcorn and also more room for them to be comfortable.

She was glad that the theater was dark and they weren't facing each other so he couldn't see the embarrassment on her face.

"Thanks." She reached for a small handful of popcorn and popped a few kernels in her mouth. It must have been popped before they had placed their order as it was still warm. It was also quite buttery which pleased her palate to no end. She loved butter the way some women loved chocolate. The house lights dimmed and then went black as the movie screen brightened with images from the projector.

They sat next to each other, munching on popcorn and sipping their drinks. Occasionally he would lean over and whisper an interesting tidbit about an actress or actor or a generally snarky comment on the trailers and commercials being shown. She would do the same as they settled into a comfortable rhythm of quietly passing information back and forth, nudging each other with an elbow to signal the other to lean closer so the bit of trivia could be heard without being too loud. Sometimes he would say something so funny and she would laugh so loud that the other patrons turned around to see what all the commotion was about.

"Sorry!" she whispered loudly, then settled into a fit of quieter giggles. She could see his smile as he laughed at her. But a short time later he had her in such stitches that she snorted like a pig. Her hand flew to her mouth in mortification and her laughs grew louder as she tried to catch her breath.

"Sshh!!!" could be heard from several people as they signaled their displeasure at the noisy couple in the back of the theater.

"Oh, piss off!" Rian loudly whispered back, throwing a handful of popcorn towards the rows in front of them. While this did nothing to end her fits of hysteria, she was able to reign it in. The trailers ended and the movie finally started.

She found the beginning of the movie interesting enough but during momentary lulls in the plotline she would reflect back on the events leading up where they were now. It had been quite some time since she'd been out on what was unquestionably a 'date.' He'd made the plans, ordered for them and paid for it all while she gamely followed. Actually, it was a welcome change since she was usually responsible for making most of the decisions at home and many of the major ones at work. She wouldn't describe herself as one of those women that spend all day dominating at work but needed to be submissive at home. But every now and then it didn't hurt to let someone else take the reins. Her eyes widened at the memory of him getting her order correct. Come to think of it, it seemed like he had quite a few details about her rattling around in his head. Back at the office, while suggesting a second lunch he brought up the Asian restaurant she favored. He seemed to know where she lived when he mentioned the insignificant distance to the movie theater, though he had never been to her home. Only someone that paid close attention to her would know about her affinity for butter and her love of orange soda. Maybe there was something more going--.