Filmed_ An Alpha Bad Boy Romance(22)

“Hey, Linda,” he said as I approached, emphasizing my name. I was immediately snapped back to reality.

“Hi, Noah,” I replied.

“Linda, Noah is going to walk you through everything today. I know you have experience, but it’ll just be easier if you stick with him for tonight,” Miss Havisham said.

“Okay, sounds good.”

I didn’t necessarily want to shadow Noah all night, but it was probably better than hanging out with Chuck and Mikey, who I began to call “the Wonder Twins” since they were always together back behind the concession stand. They seemed like nice guys, but they were incredibly goofy. While Miss Havisham was talking to Noah, they were busy trying to throw popcorn into each other’s mouths again. I had no clue why Miss Havisham didn’t seem to mind, but they loudly cheered whenever they caught a kernel. I knew I’d like them immediately, but that they’d be a little too much for me to handle in large doses.

“Good luck!” Miss Havisham said, and she walked off to her office, shutting the door behind her.

“We probably won’t see her again until closing,” Noah said, suddenly standing close. I looked at him and realized all over again why I had been obsessing. He really was gorgeous.

“Why do you say that?” I asked.

He shrugged. “She usually shuts herself up in there and doesn’t come out until we’re closing the registers.”

“What does she do in there all night?”

“No clue. My personal theory is she’s summoning demons.”

I laughed, taken aback by his response. “Like, as if she were a witch?”

“Yeah, something like that. It’s all the shawls, makes me think she’s into Voodoo or Wicca or something.”

I grinned, imagining her lighting candles and chanting in her tiny room.

“I don’t know,” I said. “She’s probably watching old videos of her acting.”

Noah laughed. “Yeah I would totally buy that.”

We grinned, standing close to each other, and I had the irrational desire to grab his hand. Not to do anything weird, but just to hold it. I’d never felt like that around someone before. I had felt like punching someone, or pushing them, or even giving them a hug, but never grabbing their hand just to touch it. For a brief moment, I felt a strange shiver run down my spine.

“Okay dots, you’ll be taking tickets tonight,” he said, breaking the short silence.

“What happened to using my real name?” I asked, rolling my eyes.

“Only around the management.” He grinned.

“By the way, I brought my notes.” I gestured over toward the box office.

“Cool, thanks. I appreciate it.” He started to walk over toward the theaters, and I followed him.

“We don’t get busy for another hour, but it shouldn’t be too bad tonight. Think you’re up for it?” he asked, stopping and facing me.

“I’m definitely up for it,” I said.

“Yeah, I thought you would be.” He grinned, and I wasn’t sure he was talking about work anymore.

We spent most of our time before the crowds arrived going over procedures—what to do with the ticket stubs, what to do if someone didn’t have a ticket, stuff like that. It wasn’t anything new, but it was good to have a refresher. Tearing tickets was probably the easiest job in a movie theater, which was probably why he had me doing it. He walked me through the actual theaters themselves, and talked a little bit about them.

I was impressed by his technical knowledge, although I knew I shouldn’t be. His father was a hotshot movie producer, and he was a film major. We bantered back and forth some more, and although everything seemed to take a sexual turn, I found myself blushing and laughing instead of getting annoyed. There was something about his charm that I was finding hard to resist, even if he was being a total jerk.

I was reminded all over again how easy talking to Noah was. Even when he was going over boring routine stuff, he still managed to crack a joke and make things seem natural. Being close to him for so long made my heart hammer in my chest. I began to forget about the drama, about the secret feud between our parents, about his bad reputation, and enjoyed being near him.

Eventually, the crowds started showing up, and I got down to work. It wasn’t exactly difficult, tearing tickets, and I quickly fell into a routine. Once the crowds passed through, and the films started, Noah and I met up and went over the logistical stuff while the Wonder Twins continued to basically do whatever they wanted behind the concession stand. I didn’t see or hear much from Chelsea, which pretty much reinforced my theory about her.