Damien was the first to pull away. “Ready for the movie?”
“Yes. What did you bring?”
He smirked as he walked over to the counter and handed me the DVD that was still in plastic packaging. “It’s your autobiography.”
“Firestarter. I should have known.”
“Have you ever seen it?” He smiled.
“Can’t say I have.”
“Neither have I. But it’s about a blonde who starts fires. So, I feel like I know her already.”
“Interesting.”
“Isn’t it?”
“Did you buy it?”
“Ordered it online the night we had pizza. I’ve been waiting for the perfect moment to break it out.”
“You would do that.”
“I like messing with you. But it’s all in good fun. You know that, right? I have fun with you, Chelsea.”
“The feeling is mutual…when you’re not scolding me,” I joked.
“Even when I’m scolding you, it’s for your own good.”
“I know.” I smiled.
As we sat down for the movie, Damien made himself comfortable on my couch, kicking his big feet up on the coffee table and laying his head back. I relaxed my body into my own side of the sofa, careful not to get too close.
Even though I’d always heard of this movie, I had no clue what it was about and was surprised to find it starred a young Drew Barrymore. The main character had the ability to start fires with her mind. It wasn’t my type of story at all, so I found myself daydreaming through a lot of it, sneaking glances at Damien as he ate his popcorn. He seemed into it. Was he serious? He appeared to be really enjoying this.
At one point, he turned and noticed me staring at him. “What’s the matter? You’re not into it?”
“This movie is not really my taste.”
“Why didn’t you say something?”
“You were taking too much pleasure in the whole idea of watching it. I didn’t want to hurt your feelings.”
He lowered the volume. “Want to watch something on Netflix instead? What do you feel like?”
I feel like making out with you.
God, that’s the only thing I feel like doing right now.
“It’s getting too late to start a new movie. It’s fine.”
“Well, I’m not keeping it on if you’re not into it.” He grabbed the remote and pressed stop.
It was suddenly quiet.
“Can I ask you something, Damien?”
“The answer is always yes, so stop prefacing everything with that question.”
“What was it exactly that you invented that allowed you to buy this building?”
“It was a type of headphone technology. Myself and a co-worker sold the patent for ten million.”
Say what?
“That is so amazing.”
“After taxes and divvying it up, it wasn’t that much money. I used my half to buy this building at auction and fix it up.”
“So, you invested all of it here.”
“Yup. And it pays off.”
“You were very smart to do that and not waste it.”
“I love that I can keep a few good people employed. That’s honestly the best part.”
“Murray had nothing but good things to say about you as a boss.”
“My job is easy. What you do at that youth center on a daily basis, shaping kids’ views of life and the world, opening their eyes to new things…that’s way harder than anything I’ve ever done.”
“It’s funny. There’s this teenage girl who’s been coming to me for relationship advice…me of all people.”
“Just tell her all the answers can be found in the unicorn,” he said, rolling his eyes facetiously.
That caused me to erupt in laughter. “I should have you go in and set her straight. Although, she might not care about Kai anymore once she became lost in your blue eyes as you were yelling at her to get over it.”
I immediately regretted the eyes comment. He simply smiled at me, looking like he didn’t know how to respond.
“Do I yell?” he asked.
“Only sometimes.”
We stayed making comfortable conversation on the couch for a while until he finally said, “Alright…so we’ve ruled out another movie?”
“Right. No movie. I think I’m gonna turn in.”
He lifted himself off of the couch. “That’s my cue, then.”
Damien bent down, ejecting the DVD from the player.
I walked him to the door. “Thank you for everything.”
He lingered before he said, “Your eyes ain’t so bad, either.”
I smiled and felt flush from the compliment.
He continued, “Your douchebag ex was right about one thing.”
“What?”