Chapter Thirteen
I climbed down the steps and into the theater’s main lobby wearing my usual work uniform. I was still buzzing with curiosity over my mom’s reaction over the phone, but I was also beginning to feel guilty. I knew that she didn’t want to talk about it from the beginning, and yet I was willing to push her beyond her comfort zone for the sake of learning about Noah. That shouldn’t have been something I was willing to do; I should have much more interest in preserving her feelings, rather than pumping her for information.
Chelsea was sitting in the box office, and gave me a small wave. I smiled back as I dropped off my stuff. The Wonder Twins were busy setting up the concession stand, and Noah was nowhere in sight. I guessed he was either setting up the projectors or sweeping out the theaters. Miss H was in her office, as usual, doing whatever it was she did back there. I guessed she was writing a screenplay about her life as a stevedore on a Mexican dock, though I was pretty sure none of that happened.
“Hey guys,” I called out to Chuck and Mikey as I walked past.
“Yo,” Mikey said.
“Sup girl,” Chuck called out.
I laughed and kept walking. I poked my head into the smallest theater and saw Noah sitting in the second row, his legs kicked up on the seat in front of him, staring at his phone.
I walked down the row and sat in the seat behind him.
“Hello, stranger,” I said, dropping my voice low.
“Prostitution is frowned upon in here, sir,” Noah said, not looking up from his phone.
“Ew, are you kidding me?”
He looked back at me, grinning. “I said frowned upon, dots. I’ll look the other way for your sake.”
“Is that all you ever think about?”
He shrugged. “With you, it is.”
I blushed under his intense look. I couldn’t tell if he was still joking around, or if he was admitting something to me. Maybe it was a little of both.
“Okay, creep,” I muttered, looking away.
“That, right there. That’s why I can’t stop picturing those polka dots.”
I glared at him, suddenly annoyed. “Want me to do tickets again?” I said.
He shrugged, turning back to his phone. “Sure thing. Would you mind sweeping up theater two?”
“Yeah, sure, whatever.” I stood up and stalked off. I was getting pretty sick of him bringing up that embarrassing moment. Sometimes I thought he did it just to be a dick, since he knew it pissed me off. Maybe he really did only think about fucking me, but he could at least stop bringing up the embarrassing time I practically tackled him.
As I grabbed a broom and dustpan, I wondered what I felt more: flattered that he wanted me, or annoyed that could be the only thing he wanted from me. Truthfully, I couldn’t tell which was better. I hadn’t stopped thinking about his hands on my body, pressing me up against that brick wall.
I started sweeping up, distracted by the fact that Noah was only a few feet away. I imagined him quietly pushing open the theater door, sneaking up behind me, and fucking me right there in the fourth row. It was absurd, and I knew it. I was spending my time daydreaming like a little schoolgirl, just because I got a taste of his body. It was enough to drive me crazy, though. I realized how badly I wanted to see all of him, to see his thick cock, to run my fingers along its length, to taste his skin.
And yet there was his cool distance a few minutes ago. He was constantly vacillating between intense interest and vague dismissal, and I’d only known him for a few weeks. He was a mystery compounded by our parents’ drama, a mystery wrapped in an enigma. I grinned at my own stupid cliché.
The night began to speed by. Noah never came into the theater, never tried to grab me by the hips, and I hardly saw him for the first hour. In fact, when people began to filter in for the first showing, he was nowhere to be seen. He should have been running around supporting everyone, like he had every other night, but he was noticeably absent. That meant I had to do two jobs at once, both taking tickets and supporting the concession stand. I was practically running around like crazy, taking care of everything that I could. Chuck and Mikey helped out, and actually came out from behind the concession stand to make sure the projectors ran smooth. That was usually Noah’s job, but fortunately he had shown Mikey how to do it.
As the theaters filled and the shows began, I went back out into the lobby. As far as I could tell, Miss H hadn’t noticed Noah’s absence. Chuck and Mikey went back behind the stand, screwing around like usual. As I was sweeping up the entrance, I saw him come trotting down the stairs. I glanced over at the Wonder Twins, but they hadn’t noticed him yet. In fact, as far as I could tell, I was the only person who noticed Noah’s reemergence, and I was the only one who seemed to care. Annoyed, I threw him a pissed-off look, but he only grinned and shrugged at me, apparently not bothered that I caught him cheating out on the job.