The movie nights were allowed ‘til nine and then her father, or Mitch’s, or Chase’s, would take them home.
Lame, but the parents had their rules. She imagined if she ever had a daughter, she’d be the same. She looked through the horror section hating every one he picked up.
“If we’re watching six then we can only have one horror, and we can only watch it tonight,” she said.
“You’re such a wimp.”
She shrugged her shoulders letting him pick a haunted house story as she moved over to the chick flick section. Leah glanced over the movies wondering which one to pick when a guy cleared his throat. She glanced up seeing a guy looking at her. He had blond hair that reminded her of Mitch’s, but this guy had the boy-next-door look about him. Mitch always looked like he’d rolled out of bed messy. She thought it always looked hot.
“Hey, what is a pretty girl like you doing in a video shop?”
Fucking lame.
She rolled her eyes going back to looking at a movie. “I think the answer to that is obvious, seeing as I’m in a video store.” Leah ignored him, picking up a box and reading the back. She scrunched up her face and put it back.
“You know what I meant. A hot girl like you shouldn’t be watching videos.”
Putting a hand on her hip, she glared at the man. From the way he was looking her up and down, she knew exactly what he thought she should be doing.
“Excuse me,” she said, brushing past him.
Glancing over at the horror section she saw Chase was no longer there. She moved through several selections of films, reading them and putting them back.
“How would you like to go out sometime?” Her video stalker was back with the smooth words.
“I wouldn’t.”
She found two she couldn’t decide between. The guy reached out toward her. She knew he was going to stroke her cheek in some creepy kind of way. His touch never came. She felt Chase behind her. His scent invaded her nostrils, and his presence couldn’t be mistaken for anyone but Chase.
“She’s taken, mate. Back off.” Chase wrapped his arm around her waist then looked over her shoulder. “What did you pick, baby?”
Ignoring the man in front of her, she showed him the two cases. “I don’t know which one to pick. Do you think you’d be able to stomach two?”
“Sure, here is what I’ve got.”
“Sorry, man. I didn’t mean anything by it.” The man held his hands up and disappeared toward another aisle.
“I leave you alone for two minutes, and you’ve got men panting after you.”
“Not on purpose.” They made their way over to the counter.
“Hi, Leah, how are you?” Willy, the owner, asked.
“Great, Willy. You?”
“Slow at the moment. I imagine it will pick up later.”
She nodded, pulling out her card. “This here is my friend Chase. Chase, this is Willy.”
The two men shook hands.
“I’m sorry about that guy hassling you. I’d have said something, but I was busy up here,” Willy said.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve got my own little protection man right here.” She paid the bill, and they were outside heading back to his car.
“He seems nice,” Chase said, getting into the car.
“Yeah, he stopped carding me after my sixth visit. I love going to this video shop. Most of the time there isn’t anyone lurking in the aisle for a date.”
Chase pulled out of the parking lot, and they made their way back to their apartment. The drive was a long one. The city was busy on a Friday night. She didn’t want to live in the city for the rest of her life. Leah liked the thought of being in the country and being able to work from home. She knew her dreams were a long way off, but she’d never give up hope.
Mitch’s car was already parked in his space when they made it back. Out of all three of them, Leah was the only one who hadn’t gotten her licence. She was not destined to be behind a machine. Mitch or Chase picked her up to drive her to school or she rode her bike. Her biggest failing was in driving a car. She wasn’t embarrassed by her failure. The only time she’d been embarrassed was when Chase and Mitch had gotten cars for their birthday when she unwrapped a bicycle. For a joke her parents had put stabilisers on the back.
Fortunately, none of her life had been hindered by her lack of a licence.
Chase parked the car, and they both got out. They keyed in the code to their building and grabbed their mail from the boxes before walking up the stairs to their apartment.
Mitch was on the phone as they entered their apartment.
“We’ll make it down in a few weeks. I know, Dad.” Mitch rolled his eyes pointing at the phone.