Shake Me Awake

“I’ll get it!” Ronnie hollers as she heads for the door. I’ve been back in my room on the computer while she’s been doing some laundry. Yeah, we are some pretty exciting people for this to be our Friday night. “Spencer, it’s for you,” her voice mockingly echoes throughout the hallway.

Ugh, now I have to get up out of my warm, comfy spot to… “Oh, hey, Kent,” I say as I stumble to the door. “What’s up?” This out of the blue. Wait, did I make plans that I forgot about? I’m sure there is a questionable look on my face as I am obviously not sure what he is doing here. Poor guy’s got his hands packed full of junk.

We have been hanging out here and there for about a month now. Mostly just seeing each other in passing after work in the complex, but sometimes we’ve grabbed some coffee, or gone to see a new movie. We’ve gone out to each with Ronnie and Lukas a few times; they seem to get along pretty well. We’ve even stayed up until the wee hours in the morning just talking about our lives. It’s been really nice.

“Hey, Spence, thought we could have that movie night we’ve been talking about. Got some popcorn, a couple of horror flicks, and M-“

I cut him off before he has the chance to finish. “M&M’s for the popcorn. My favorite,” I can’t help but smile wide. He’s right though. We have been talking about having a movie night one of these days. We are both such big movie freaks that it was bound to happen at some point.

I had told him that I wanted to have a horror movie marathon one night, just to see how many I could get in before I freaked myself out and had to go to bed. So, he’s a listener, eh? Good to know.

“Oh, definitely; come on in.” I usher him in as I take the goodies from his hands and head to the kitchen to ready the popcorn.

“I figured you had drinks.” He says as we make into the kitchen.

“You know I always have drinks.” I’m unwrapping the popcorn when I hear Ronnie yelling inaudible words at us through the hallway. She finally makes her way into the kitchen, out of breath, purse in hand, and in entirely different attire than she was just moments ago.

“So, I’m gonna go. Got those, um, things I gotta, you know, get done.” Her words fumble out of her mouth as she gives me a ‘don’t have too much fun’ look, eyes going back and forth between me and Kent.

“How did you get changed that fast, Ron?” I can’t help but chuckle.

“Psst, I’ve been ready to go for a while now, I just, um,”

“Yeah, okay. Have fun getting your things done, dear.” I shoot her a smile as she dashes out of the apartment door. My eyes meet Kent’s and we both let out a laugh.

As we are waiting for the popcorn to finish, we’re both leaning against the counter tops. Not saying much. Just letting the room fill with comfortable silence for a moment before I think to ask about our theater options for the evening. “So what movies did you have in mind?”

“I thought we’d start with A Haunting in Connecticut since you love the freaky demonic stuff so much.” A smile curls at the corners of his lips as I let out a light chuckle. Man, this guy really does listen.

“You bet I do. That stuff is the only thing that actually freaks me out; the real stuff.”

“Then I figured we’d look through your collection next. I know it’s kind of early in the evening, but I didn’t want you falling asleep on me in the second movie.” He said with a smirk as I retrieve the popcorn from the microwave.

We finish up in the kitchen, beers, popcorn, and candy in hands, and make ourselves comfortable on the couch. We both feel comfortable enough with each other to sit in close proximity without issue. I already told him that I’m a cuddler when it comes to watching movies, whether it’s with Ronnie, or my favorite Superman blanket. But I am not going to let myself sit any closer to him. I know myself too well, and if I do, then I’ll be all up on this guy during the really scary parts.

I wrap myself up in my blanket after I’ve readied the DVD player and grab the bowl of popcorn, dumping the bag of M&M’s in it and mixing it up.

A light chuckle escapes from Kent as I ready my snacks. I raise my head to meet his gaze. Oh, those eyes again. They look even better in the dime light of the TV. Now I’m really glad I turned the lights off so he can’t see me blushing. “I can’t believe you eat your popcorn like that. I thought I was the only one who preferred my chocolate and popcorn together.” We exchange smiles just as the movie begins.

***

Five hours, two and a half movies, one bowl of popcorn, and two drinks each later, and I’m still struggling to fight the urge to inch closer to him. Do not, I repeat, do not do it, Spencer. You don’t want him getting the wrong impression. After all, he was the one to mention the ‘friends’ thing first. You’ve got a great thing going here. Don’t screw it up.

It’s now ten o’clock and we’re watching The Devil Inside. I keep fidgeting in my seat, trying to focus on the movie, and not the fact that there is a nice, warm body not two feet away from me that would be so much more comfortable than the end of this couch.

“Spencer,” it almost comes out as a whisper and removes me from my hard concentration. I do not dare reply as I turn my gaze to meet his. I’m afraid of what I might say. Hey there, buddy, can I lay all over you and it not be awkward…at all?? Yeah, okay, thanks.

“Come over here,” he continues to whisper with a light gesture his way. His voice is warm and inviting. Oh crap!

I only look at him. I just want to make sure I heard him right. “What?”

He opens his arms to me, “Come over here, babe.” What a smile. “I know you want to. You’ve told me before how you love to cuddle when you watch movies. I’m surprised you’re not over here already.”

After I realize that he’s serious, I shyly scoot myself over to rest just under his arm. My body against his side as his arm wraps itself around my shoulder. After a moment, he gently places his hand against the side of my head, nudging it to rest on his shoulder. With a light sigh, I oblige. This is so much more comfortable. Now if we could only finish this movie without any awkward conversation that would be great.

“Do you ever think about love, Spencer?”

Or not.

His voice is still quiet when he breaks the silence.

I keep my voice low as I respond, “Love? Sure I do. Why?” I keep my eyes on the screen as we converse. It will help fend off how awkward this could get.

“I don’t know. I’ve been thinking about it lately. What do you think about when you think of love?” His voice is serious, and I can tell that along with myself, he is no longer fixated on the movie showing before us.

“My parents mostly. They have the cutest relationship I think I’ve ever seen. I want exactly what they have some day.”

“What about their relationship makes you want what they have?”

I snuggle a bit more into my blanket as I reply. “Well, they are completely happy together. Twenty-five years of marriage, and they still can’t seem to get enough of each other.” A small smile forms on my lips as I think about my parents. “They trust each other, they laugh together a lot, and they’ve been best friends since before they were married. I think that has a lot to do with why their relationship is so great now.”

“Really? You don’t come across that very often.”

“I know. They do everything together.” I let out a small laugh as I continue. “When one of them finds something new or cool, like a new place they want to go on vacation, the other is the first person they call. They have the best times together.” When I finish I lift my head to look at his face. He’s staring blankly ahead.

“I don’t think I realized it until just now, but that’s what I want too.”

Silence befalls us briefly as we both think about the conversation. That was a strange movie interruption.

“Kent, what got you thinking about love?” My gaze is now turned back to the movie; however, I’m far from paying attention to it.

He starts fidgeting with his left hand while his right hand starts to rub my shoulder abstractedly. “I don’t know. It’s just that I’m getting older and my family is starting to bring it up more often. I guess sometimes I start to think they're right.”

“You’re only twenty-six, Kent.”

“I know. The thing is I can’t be with just anyone. I’m not the kind of guy who can date a girl, just to date her, even if I don’t see a future in it. It sounds stupid; I just can’t get into it. Believe me, I’ve tried.”

I think for just a moment before I speak; thinking back on how that has been part of my thought process since high school.

“It’s not stupid. To be honest, I was the same way all through high school. I only dated guys that, as bad as this sounds, fit my ‘criteria’ in the kind of man I wanted to be with. I never dated just to say that I had a boyfriend. You just waste each others time, I felt.” I reposition my legs so that they are now tucked under me. Once I’m comfortable I continue. “Yeah, you have fun times together, but is it really worth it to get attached, and then months down the road break it off because it’s not going anywhere? Then, what if you can’t be friends because it was a bad break up or it’s awkward? Then all the fun times you had together can’t be shared as good memories.” Okay, so that was more of a rant then a response.

I turn my head to look up at him with a shy smile as I realize how that must have sounded.

He returns my gaze; a look of slight relief on his face. “That’s exactly how I look at it.” When he finishes he gives me a slight smile and turns back to the TV.

Before I can look away, I notice the look of question slowly start to appear on his face. “Wait, criteria?” A slight chuckle escapes from the both of us as he turns back to face me.

“Oh, no! Well, yeah, I guess you could say that. I threw it out the window a long time ago though. Don’t worry.”