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“I hoped you’d like it.”
She nodded, a small smile coming to her lips. “I really do. It’s simple, to the point, and beautiful.”
“Sort of like you. Those purple scrubs you have on bring out the colour in your eyes,” I said, knocking her shoulder with mine.
Instantly, her cheeks flushed, and she averted her eyes from mine.
“Do you have a break soon?”
She nodded, meeting my eyes. “In ten minutes.”
“Okay, how about I meet you in the cafeteria? We can talk about our next date.” I winked.
Once again, she smiled. “Sounds good.”
Bexley
Slipping from bed, I headed toward the shower. It had been a long week at work, and I was glad it was over. The only part that had made it pleasant was Hudson. Ever since he’d shown up and brought me that rose, he’d made a point of coming by and spending my lunch hour with me.
We’d had lunch in the cafeteria on the days it had rained, and outside on the days it hadn’t. He’d even surprised me with a hot picnic lunch one afternoon. The last couple days I’d worked the night shift, but that hadn’t stopped him. Instead of coming by, he’d called me during my lunch hour and we’d FaceTimed. I was seeing a different side of him, one I knew I’d get used to if I allowed myself to. Then, before we’d gotten off the phone last night, he’d asked me out on a date tonight. I didn’t normally do anything on my first night off, but I agreed anyway.
Halfway through the last part of my shift, I started coming down with the chills, so I ended up coming home a little earlier than expected and crawled right into bed. I was still feeling run down as I turned the shower on, letting it warm up before stepping in.
Once inside, I let the hot water run down my body. Hudson was picking me up around six and we were going to see a movie at the local theatre. I’d been so happy when he’d insisted on picking me up, even though I’d offered to meet him there. I hated driving at night now, so much so I’d started taking the bus to the hospital when I had to work nights. It added an extra forty minutes to the beginning and end of my shift, but that was fine with me.
Forty minutes later, we stood in the movie theatre waiting to get popcorn. Hudson seemed on edge.
“I forgot to tell you that you look nice,” Hudson said as he looked up at the menu behind the counter.
I looked over at him. I could see the tension in his face and in his shoulders. He hadn’t been like that at all during the week, which made me question if Maya wasn’t hiding somewhere.
I glanced down at myself. I was wearing my favorite pair of ripped jeans and a black long-sleeved blouse, something he’d seen me in a million times before but had said nothing.
“Thanks. I’m glad to see you in something other than your funeral suit.”
Hudson chuckled. “You’ll have to forgive me for that. Like I say, I really suck at this dating thing.”
“I’ll be the judge of that,” I replied.
“You will?”
“I will.”
We both took a step forward when it was our turn. Hudson ordered an extra-large popcorn and two pops, then looked over at me. “Did you want candy?”
“How did you guess?” I questioned, wondering if Maya had mentioned something to him about my love for something sweet and salty.
“I guessed?” He shrugged. “Grab whatever you want.”
Immediately, I reached for the chocolate M&M’s and placed them on the counter beside the popcorn.
“Good choice,” he said, pulling his wallet from his back pocket.
I wiped my eyes as the credits rolled. The ending of the movie was incredibly sad, and while I wasn’t one to cry at movies, this one had hit home.
We sat there as the theatre emptied. Once the last person exited the theatre, I went to get up, but Hudson shook his head, grabbed my hand, and pulled me back down to my seat.
“Let’s just wait here. We can finish the popcorn?” he said, picking up the bag and waving it in front of me, making me laugh as he pulled it away just as I went to grab some.
