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None of the actors or people working at the theatre are connected to Brumehill, so I guess she’s comfortable that being seen with me here won’t affected us trying to keep things quiet down in Cedar Shade.
There are some more people, friends or relatives or partners of some of the other actors, who are here just to hang out and watch the rehearsal. A couple recognize me as a Black Bears player, and we chat about hockey a bit.
It’s pitch-black after rehearsals when Olivia and I step outside the theatre onto the streets of downtown Burlington. It’s that early darkness of winter, where the sidewalks are still busy with people walking home from work and the streets are packed with the lights of commuters’ cars.
“Hungry?” I ask.
“Very,” Olivia nods.
We brave the icy wind for two blocks to head to a diner I noticed on the way here.
Linda’s Diner. It’s homey, the kind of place a diner scene would be filmed at in a 90’s movie. I like it immediately.
When we slide into the booth, my breath stalls in my throat. This is the first time Olivia and I are having a real sit-down meal together.
The thought makes an intense feeling hum through my chest. I realize with a rush of emotion that I’ll always remember this moment. I’ll always remember how I feel right now. How Olivia looks sitting across from me, with her brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, her pale freckles standing out more than usual, her bottom lip pulled thoughtfully between her teeth as she browses the menu.
No matter what happens between us, I’ll remember this moment. Linda’s Diner in Burlington, Vermont will always have a special place in my heart.
I realize I haven’t even taken a breath in a while, and when I do, chills skitter down my back as my chest expands on an inhale.
When I open the menu, I have the idea to order something I don’t eat very often. I want to order something that I’ll specifically associate with this dinner with Olivia at Linda’s Diner. Something that’ll spark memories of this night every time I bite into it from here on.
I settle on a chicken salad sandwich. It’s something I know I like, but I just never order it very often. It’s something I don’t have any specific memories associated with. Now, for the rest of my life, I will.
While we eat, I ask Olivia all about her upcoming role. I have to admit I don’t know shit about the theatre. Or about Shakespeare. I read Romeo and Juliet in high school, and in my freshman English class at Brumehill, I was assigned Othello.
I was such a fucking slacker my freshman year that I didn’t read it, but at least I kinda know what it was about.
Well, I know there was a character named Othello at least.
The drive home is another Taylor Swift car concert; but, uncharacteristically, I’m the one to turn the volume down right as the thick trees of the Vermont countryside give way to the snug college town of Cedar Shade.
There’s a certain item on my to-do list that I’ve suddenly got a real bad hankering for scratching off.
When we’re at a red light, I inject all the seriousness into my voice that I can when I say, “Olivia, I have a very important question to ask you.”
She turns to me, her features pinched in concern from my tone. “What?”
I let two beats pass as my eyes bore into hers with a weighty gaze. “Have you ever had car sex before?”
It takes another beat for my words to register with her, but when they do, crimson floods her cheeks. “No …”
A devious grin tilts my mouth. “Want to?”
Her lips twitch, heat igniting in her green eyes. “Yes.”
I incline my head to our left. “I don’t think anyone’s gonna be walking down that alleyway any time soon.”
She has a feline grin on her face while she rolls down the dim, narrow alley on the outskirts of town. “You sound like you’re quite the expert in finding places for car sex,” she says, a hint of sarcastic accusation in her voice.
“Believe it or not, you’re wrong. Never done it before.”
Her brow dances as she pulls to a stop. “So I get to take your car sex virginity?”
Her words catch me off guard, and I laugh. “That’s right. You get to defile me.”
There’s a feral flash in her eyes. “I like the sound of that.”
