One
“That is the last time Mandy gets to pick out the movie,” Grady Hardy grumbled as he left the local multiplex.
“What are you talking about?” Mandy shot back, her blonde hair flying as she jumped on top of the nearby curb so she could balance herself and work off excess energy. “That movie was phenomenal.”
“Where was the plot?” Grady challenged.
“Why do you need a plot?” Mandy countered. “You’ve got a psycho with a knife, and a bunch of buxom girls who can’t act, but their impressive racks more than make up for it by being all bouncy and distracting. That movie is right up your alley.”
Finn, the youngest of the three Hardy brothers, chuckled. Mandy’s enthusiasm for horror movies was legendary. He had no idea why Grady thought she would choose something different.
Grady’s girlfriend, Sophie, shuddered as she laced her fingers with those of the middle Hardy brother. “I thought it was awful. All that blood.”
“Fake blood,” Mandy countered, continuing her balancing act as she moved down the curb and jumped to the next.
“All the screaming,” Sophie tried again. Grady moved her dark waves away from her face, dropping a kiss on her temple to soothe her as she snuggled in closer to him in an attempt to ward off the chilly night air.
“That’s half the fun,” Mandy replied, the cold seemingly serving as nothing but a minor aggravation as her unzipped hoodie flapped behind her in the wind. “If they didn’t scream, you wouldn’t know they have enough brain cells to be scared.”
Finn couldn’t help but agree. The movie had been terrible. The naked eye candy more than made up for it. He had no idea why Grady was making a fuss. He’d seen Sophie jump so many times throughout the flick that it was obvious Grady wasn’t going to have problems getting lucky tonight, especially if he used warding off her nightmares as an excuse.
“I don’t get why the radiation was enough to deform the killer, but not bad enough to tip the government off that there was an inbred freak killing people in the woods,” Finn said.
“Maybe the cops knew,” Mandy said, her blue eyes sparkling excitedly. “Maybe they were just scared of him. Maybe one of them was his father – and we won’t find out until the sequel.”
Finn tilted his head to the side, rubbing his short-cropped hair thoughtfully as he regarded Mandy. “You’ve given this a lot of thought.”
“I know my horror movies,” Mandy said, extending her arms as she started to teeter.
That’s when the eldest Hardy brother swooped in, wrapping his arm around Mandy’s slim waist and hoisting her off the curb. James pulled her flush with his chest. “Listen, daredevil, you’re not picking another movie for the group.”
Mandy rolled her eyes. “Whatever.”
James dropped a short kiss on Mandy’s lips before lowering her to the ground. “I’m not joking. That movie was awful. And, as a man who has sat through an entire movie library of your version of ‘awesome,’ this movie was more stink than all of those other movies combined.”
“You liked it,” Mandy scoffed. “You gripped my hand twice because you were so scared.”
It was dark outside, the only light coming from the overhead lamps in the parking lot of the cinema, but the color rushing up James’ cheeks at his girlfriend’s teasing was obvious to both of his brothers.
“Were you scared?” Grady asked, tilting his head so his shoulder-length brown hair dipped below his right shoulder. “Did you need the tiny blonde to protect you?”
Sophie smacked Grady lightly. “Don’t make fun of him. That movie was terrifying.”
“I was not scared,” James said, his tone forceful. “I was trying to cop a feel. There’s a difference.”
“So, basically you’re saying that in the case of a masked killer with a deformed face – or zombies – you’re going to let Mandy take point,” Finn said, smiling widely. As the youngest Hardy brother, he was often the butt of their jokes. He was also the one who knew the easiest way to get under his brothers’ skin.
James reached over and smacked the back of Finn’s head. “Don’t try to be cute.”
Finn smirked. “I’ll leave that little endeavor to the blonde,” he said. “So, does anyone want to go and get something to eat?”
Grady and Sophie were already at his truck, their lips pressed together. Grady pulled away long enough to shake his head. “Sophie needs some consoling,” Grady said. “I think my services are going to be needed elsewhere.”