I felt…cherished.
After the credits rolled and the lights came up, I stood, still a little dazed.
Lucian didn’t let go of my hand until we were out of the theater. Then he smiled and motioned toward the concession stand.
“Stay here. I’ll get us something sweet before we go.”
I nodded and watched him disappear into the crowd. My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I stepped aside near the wall to check it.
It was Maya: So? Did the movie set the mood? Did you two make out in the back like horny teenagers?
I laughed despite myself and started to type a reply when I heard a voice behind me.
“Hey. You here alone?”
I turned, surprised to see a tall, lanky teenager-maybe seventeen-grinning at me like he’d just won the lottery.
“Um. No,” I said politely. “I’m waiting for someone.”
He looked me up and down, then leaned against the wall beside me. “Boyfriend?”
“Sort of,” I replied.
He chuckled. “You look too hot to be with a ‘sort of””
I blinked. “Excuse me?”
“I mean, not in a creepy way,” he added quickly, his gaze leering. “Just saying. You’re like smoking-in a MILF kind of way.”
Do Chapter OB FIRST DATE
I stared at him, mouth slightly agape.
“I’ve always had a thing for older women,” he continued, undeterred. “Age is just a number, right?”
“I think,” I said carefully, “that you should go find someone closer to your age.”
He laughed like I’d just flirted back. “What, you don’t like compliments?”
I was about to shut him down-gently but firmly-when a familiar voice sliced through the air, smooth and venom-laced.
“She likes compliments, just not from someone young enough to be her fucking son.”
My stomach plummeted.
I turned slowly to see Kieran standing just a few feet away, arms crossed, dark eyes drilling into the teenager like he was about to Shift and eat him whole.
And there goes my perfect day.
KIERAN’S POV
‘I should have stayed at home.’
That thought repeated like a dull drumbeat as I stood near the concession stand, hands in my jacket pockets, pretending to inspect the overpriced popcorn.
I wasn’t even hungry. I was supposed to be out clearing my head-burning off steam after yet another exhausting round with Celeste, who was trying to spin my life into yet another
PR stunt.
It had taken all my willpower not to smash in the skull of the pasty-faced cameraman she’d invited over to shoot a Day in the Life video of reunited mates.
But instead of driving aimlessly as planned, I found myself taking the familiar path to
Griffith Park.
While I was still berating myself for coming to Sera’s house, an annoyingly familiar Aston
Martin pulled into her driveway.
And when I saw him escort Sera to his car, as she clutched a huge flower bouquet, all bets were off.
And that’s how I ended up trailing Lucian Reed’s stupid red sports car through the streets of LA like some lovesick lunatic.
I should have called it quits when they walked into the theater. I should have turned the fuck around and gone anywhere but here.
Instead, I bought a ticket to whatever show they were seeing and sat two rows behind them, close enough to observe, far enough not to be seen, completing my descent into deranged stalker.
Pathetic.
At first, I convinced myself it was harmless curiosity. Making sure she was safe. Lucian might’ve been polished and charming, but I still didn’t trust him.
Except…
He wasn’t doing anything wrong. He didn’t even put his arm around her when the lights dimmed, and the movie started-some overly sentimental romance if the piano score was anything to go by.
I tried to watch, to focus, but all I could see was them.
They weren’t touching, or talking, or doing anything other than watching the movie (which was better off showing on Pornhub than at a respectable cinema).
And that should have made me happy, but I kept glaring at the sliver of space between them where their shoulders brushed when one of them took a deep breath.
And then came the moment that snapped the last thread of my restraint.
Lucian reached over slowly and took her hand. Sera didn’t flinch-didn’t hesitate. She let him hold it. A second later, he turned it palm-up and pressed a kiss to her knuckles.
She didn’t pull away.
That was the moment I stood up and stormed out of the theater like a bomb about to detonate.
My vision burned from irritation and fury and a raw ache I didn’t have a name for.
The cold night air hit me like a slap. I leaned against the building wall, dragging in a deep breath and forcing my thoughts into order.
I had no right to feel this way.
Sera wasn’t mine anymore. Hell, she never really was-not in the ways that mattered.
I’d never loved her like a husband should love his wife. Never taken her out on a date or bought her flowers.
She deserved this-to be with someone who cherished her and took care of her.
Good. That was good.
I’d moved on now; I was with Celeste. I shouldn’t have cared what Sera did in her spare time or who she did it with.
So why did it feel like I was being gutted from the inside?
I was about to leave-keys already clenched in my fist-when I heard the voices.
Loud. Unruly. Male.
My gaze flicked toward the theater doors. A group of teens loitered by the entrance, laughing and jeering among themselves, their attention fixed on one of them who had peeled away.
My brows arched when I followed their line of sight.
He stood too close to Sera where she waited near the theater, Lucian nowhere in sight.
His body language screamed cocky as he leaned in, arms crossed like he owned the place, smirking down at her as he said something I couldn’t hear.
But I saw the way Sera stiffened, saw the tight-lipped smile and the tension in her shoulders.
I was moving before I even made the decision.
I was within earshot as, the boy laughed like Sera had cracked a joke.
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