Jan. Week 3: A Long Weekend-Movies...Daniel tries to get frisky during the movie.

Leah took a deep breath, bracing herself for the world outside. Then she squared her shoulders, shouldered her purse, and stepped out.

The theater lobby was in full swing: people clustered in shrieking flocks around the concession stand, couples groping each other in the dark corners, janitors pretending not to notice. Nobody seemed to care that two teachers—one, a notorious hard-ass principal, and the other, a pretty young woman with lipstick slightly askew—were emerging from the men’s restroom in rapid succession.

Still, Leah’s cheeks burned as she scanned for Daniel. There he was, waiting for her playing on his phone. Daniel looked up and caught her eye, his smile spreading wide and genuine at the sight of her.

She walked over, every step a conscious effort to keep her knees from buckling. Behind her, she could feel the heat of Mr. Howard’s gaze—she didn’t even have to turn around to know he was watching, waiting to see if she’d do or say something stupid. She ignored him, focusing all her attention on Daniel.

“Hey, sorry,” she said, giving Daniel a quick smile. “Bathroom lines are a nightmare.”

“You okay?” he asked, giving her a look that was both teasing and sincere. “You look kind of…flushed.”

“Long week. Long day. You know how it is.” she lied, then winced as she remembered what, exactly, had just made her flushed.

The two of them made their way into their assigned theater settling into their seats just as the opening credits began to roll. It was something loud and forgettable. Daniel leaned in and whispered a running commentary in her ear, poking gentle fun at the absurd costumes and the overwrought dialogue. He was so easy to be with, so warm and safe, that for a few moments Leah almost—almost—believed she could just be present in this moment, and not feel the ghostly events of her past looming over her.

But when Daniel kissed her, gentle and chaste, she almost recoiled, afraid he’d taste what she’d just done. She **** herself to kiss back, matching his affection, hoping he wouldn’t notice how stiff her lips felt. He didn’t seem to; he just smiled, squeezed her hand, and settled in for the movie.

She tried to focus on the movie—really, she did. But Daniel had a way of spreading his energy into a room, and now he was radiating a kind of nervous, hungry anticipation that made the superhero film on screen feel even more cartoonish by comparison. At first, he kept to just holding her hand, thumb brushing the back of her knuckles in slow, distracted circles. That was normal, safe, even sweet. But as the film continued he let his hand creep up her knee.

Leah glanced around. They’d intentionally chosen seats at the very back of the theater, removed from the cluster of moviegoers. The darkness cloaked them, but she felt hyper-visible, every giggle or whispered word echoing in her ears. Daniel snickered at a dumb joke on the screen, then leaned in, his breath tickling the shell of her ear.

“Y’know,” he whispered, his hand squeezing her knee, “it's pretty darn quiet in here.”

"You are SUCH a horndog you know that?" She suppressed a laugh, as if some ghostly audience member would hear her as she shook her head.

“You love it,” he whispered, a little more insistent now. He smirked, and squeezed again.

The film thundered on, bombastic and pointless, but Daniel’s attention was squarely on her. He nudged the popcorn bucket out of the way and turned toward her, eyes hungry with the kind of reckless abandon she’d always found both charming and mortifying. Before she could protest, he pulled her in, lips mashing against hers—clumsy, ****, and deeply familiar. She tasted the butter and salt on his mouth, and in some dark corner of her heart, she wished it was something stronger.

She let him kiss her, then kissed back harder, angry with herself for how easily she gave in. Daniel’s hand slid from her knee to her thigh, then up to her breast. The theater’s air conditioning had left goosebumps all along her skin, but she felt hot, a slow burn igniting in her belly and flaring outward.

“I bet the old couple up front can’t even see straight,” He broke away, grinning as he nodded toward their only witnesses. “We could literally fuck in here and nobody would ever know...”