by Cara Adams
“I’ve arranged for the movie you wanted. It should be here tomorrow, so what time on Thursday would suit you for us all to watch it?” asked Taliesin, smiling back at her happily.
“Helena often works back late, but seven thirty should work. Do you want me to text her?”
“If you could ask her tonight that will be fine. As soon as it arrives, I’ll add it into the schedule. Not at the time we’ll see it, that’ll be just us, but I’ll show it a couple of times so anyone else who wants to see it can come.”
“That’s a good idea. It’s quite a popular movie. I’m sure some people would come and watch it again,” said Heather.
Sam took a step closer to her, leaning on the counter. “About our special movie session. Our date. Do you think Helena would like it if we invited Ieuan as well?”
Heather hadn’t been expecting that. Ieuan was the mall electrician and he seemed to spend a lot of time checking that all the lighting and electricity sockets in Helena’s beauty parlor worked properly. She knew Helena liked him, even though, as far as she could tell, nothing had gone any farther than talking occasionally between them. But yes. Maybe if they were sitting side by side in a movie Ieuan might get up his courage and ask her out.
“Yes. I think she would.”
“All right. We’ll see you on Thursday just before seven thirty then. It’ll be in theater four.”
Heather nodded. “I expect the best seats in the house,” she teased them.
“Nothing but the best,” Sam replied, staring so deeply into her eyes that she shivered. Those dark brown eyes of his were mighty potent.
She leaned on the counter, watching Sam and Taliesin walk away, only shocked out of her reverie by the ringing of the telephone and remembering Barry wasn’t there to answer it.
But later, as her fingers worked to make up a giant sheaf of plants for a conference, she couldn’t help wonder what Sam would think about the afternoon she’d planned for herself on Sunday. For a long time she’d wondered how people jumped in and out of car windows.
Naturally she’d practiced climbing in and out the windows of her own car. The front passenger seat was the easiest one to get in and out of. But she’d never actually done it with a moving vehicle. On Sunday afternoon the mall closed at four so she and Helena had organized to meet on the fifth level of the parking lot and Helena was going to drive her car very slowly while Heather tried to run to the car, jump up, and slide through the window. It was going to be so much fun she couldn’t wait to try it.
* * * *
“You do realize you are totally insane?” Helena called to Heather. Heather just grinned back at her friend. Heather was wearing athletic shoes, and under her jeans and sweater she had skateboard-riding knee-and-elbow protective pads. Even if she fell she wouldn’t get hurt. Not that she expected to fall. She’d practiced running up to her car and jumping though the window and could do it perfectly every time. When the car was stationary. Now it was time to level up and use a moving vehicle.
“Maybe I should be wearing the elbow pads in case you hit me,” added Helena.
“I did think of that. That’s why I’m going to attempt the backseat. There’s less likelihood of bumping into you there. I think it does take me more than just the passenger seat width to get right in.”
Helena drove to the far end of the parking lot and then drove very slowly back toward Heather. Heather studied the speed of the car. They’d agreed to go very slowly at first, but she could run much faster than that. Nevertheless she began running as the car approached her, aimed her body exactly at the backseat window, jumped, put out her arms as if she were diving into a swimming pool, and slid through. She banged her shins on the window on the way in, but she landed on her belly on the backseat perfectly.
“We did it. That’s awesome!” she yelled to Helena. Helena stopped the car and turned around to high five her.
“You scared the shit out of me for a minute there, but then you popped right through the gap.”
“That’s awesome fun. Do you want to have a turn?” Heather asked.
“Hell no. I’m not the one with a death wish. But I’ll drive for you again if you want a second turn.”
“Oh yes, please. You can go just a smidge faster. It was easy to judge the gap that time.”
“Are you sure?”
“Definitely.”
“All right then.”
Heather climbed out of the car—via the door—and walked back to her starting line as Helena drove back to the far end of the parking lot. The car was moving discernibly faster this time, but Heather still felt confident she could time it right. She ran, jumped, dived, and was through, once again banging her shins on the edge of the window even though she’d remembered to pull them in faster this time.
“That was so much fun. I need to practice getting my legs in faster, but it’s not hard at all to jump in.”
“I’ll take your word on that. I’m not trying it any time soon.”
“Thanks, Helena. I really appreciate you driving for me.”
“Honey, you’re one-hundred percent crazy but I love you anyway.”
Heather hugged Helena and Helena climbed out of the car so she could get in her own car to go home.
I need to buy some shin pads. And I need to practice some more. But oh wow, that’s even better than running downstairs!
Heather couldn’t remember when she’d started playing games that gave her an adrenaline rush. Possibly all her life. But she only knew that even ordinary things could be used to bring that sense of living on the edge and danger. She even had a T-shirt that said, “If you’re not living on the edge, you’re taking up too much space.”
Heather had enjoyed the dancing classes at the mating party. She was too busy in her role as a florist to attend more than one class a day, so she’d automatically chosen the hardest, most advanced class to attend. It was a huge workout, but it gave her the sense of action and challenge she needed.
Here she could go to some of the classes at the fitness center but because of the demands of her store, early morning or late evening classes didn’t really fit in with her schedule. Running downstairs, however, could be squeezed in whenever she had a delivery to one of the upper floors of the professional suites and she was sure she’d find some other things to try out as well. She’d started watching YouTube videos of people who ran and jumped up walls and between rooftops. Of course she wasn’t stupid. She wouldn’t begin with rooftops, but running and jumping were her kind of thing after all, even if she didn’t officially follow parkour or free running programs.
* * * *
Sam couldn’t remember being this nervous about a date since he was in college. He’d had his entire apartment cleaned, even the closets, his curtains and windows washed, everything. This morning he’d put fresh linens on his bed even though he had absolutely no belief Heather would even come up here for a cup of coffee, much less climb into his bed. But the Boy Scout motto was to be prepared, and he was doing his very best to think of every possible contingency. He’d bought three different kinds of coffee beans, three different types of tea, and a whole passel of craft beers and sodas.
He’d raided the cool room at The Steakhouse and brought home a platter of cheese and crackers, a platter of fresh fruit, and a decadent triple-chocolate mud cake. As far as he could see, he had every option he could imagine covered.
Except, of course, the one where Heather refused to come back to his apartment.
Sam had left Danny in charge of The Steakhouse for the night, and couldn’t even spare any energy to worry about what was happening at his precious restaurant. All his mind was focused on how this evening would unfold. Would Heather be disappointed with the movie? Were her hopes about how it would play out on the big screen overambitious? And what about Helena? How much did she like Ieuan? If that pairing turned out to be a disaster, the entire evening could end up on the rocks.
Sam stared down at his shiny black dress shoes. He’d deliberately c
hanged out of his steak house uniform to underline the fact that he was going on a date. That this was separate from his working day. But what if all the others turned up in their regular work clothes? Like most of the Hanson Mall uniforms, they all wore black pants. Heather and Barry wore black T-shirts or sweaters with “Heather’s Flowers” in white across their backs. Sam’s uniform was almost the same, only “Sam’s Steakhouse” was in red and on the front. The cinema staff used the Hanson Mall uniform, as many of the young people working there also worked shifts elsewhere in the mall.
His feet were pacing up and down out front of the cinema complex, but his mind was racing all over the planet. Sam forced himself to stand still and stop stressing. Tally appeared coming from the direction of the professional suites. Sam smiled at him. That answered one of his questions anyway. Taliesin had evidently showered and changed because he was now in navy jeans with a moss-green button-down shirt.
Tally waved in response and stopped beside him. “I can’t believe I’m so excited about a date. I mean, I know we’ve both wanted to get to know Heather better since, like, forever, but still, I can’t stand still or concentrate on anything. And it’s not as if I care about the movie.”
“I know. I won’t be watching the movie either. I’ll be watching Heather.”
“Me, too. Seeing a person’s reactions to a show they’ve asked to watch can be far more exciting than the movie itself. I fucking hope she does like it though.”
Sam laughed. “Well if she doesn’t we’ll just have to find another one she wants to try.”
Ieuan arrived next and apart from saying hi, stood silently with his hands in his pockets. Sam noticed he was wearing different clothes, too, which was a relief. But he was a bit surprised that Ieuan wasn’t talking to them. Usually he was the chattiest of men. But then Sam realized likely he was as nervous about the evening as they were.
There was so much that could go wrong. Just about anything, really. And he was so desperate for everything to go right. If tonight was a failure it’d make it so much harder to get Heather to agree to a second date. Yet if tonight was a success they were well on the way to spending more time with her, talking to her about all the things that mattered to them, and perhaps inviting her out to the BDSM club. That was something he and Taliesin agreed would be an ideal step forward in their relationship. BDSM was pretty much the elephant in the room. It was something both of them liked and wanted to have as part of their lives, but they wanted Heather more than they wanted sex toys. Ideally they would have both Heather and BDSM, but for now, it was strictly one step at a time. And if tonight was a bad experience, their hopes of any kind of future with Heather were going to take a hell of a lot of more work to bring to fruition.
Beside him Tally straightened up and Ieuan’s head rose. Sam jumped to attention. Fucking hell. Legs! Heather had legs. The most amazing ones he’d ever seen. Long, straight, tanned, making her look several inches taller than she usually did. Both women were wearing above-the-knee skirts, cute tops, and high heels. Not ludicrously high, but high enough to make it really hard for Sam to drag his gaze up from Heather’s legs to her face. She was laughing at him. Well fair enough. He deserved it. But, wow!
Tally gathered the group and led them into cinema four. As soon as they were settled into their seats, the lights dimmed, the curtain opened, and the movie began. Sam was really impressed that there weren’t any advertisements. He supposed advertisers weren’t interested in buying time for half a dozen people. Except that sometimes only half a dozen people turned up to watch a movie near the end of its run anyway, and there were still a truckload of ads. Sam shrugged. It was all good. No advertising today, and he and Tally were one either side of Heather, with Ieuan and Helena sitting in front of them so they all had the best seats in the cinema.
Four hours later, Sam was still avidly watching Heather’s face. Her expressive countenance had run the gamut of every possible emotion, but now he could tell she’d very much enjoyed the movie. Actually, he’d liked it, too. It was a brilliant movie and just as good now as when it was made all those years ago.
The first time Heather had leaned forward and spoken to Helena, he’d nearly had a heart attack, worried she hated the movie, but fortunately their comments to each other had been positive. Even now Heather’s good humor was intact. “Hell! Look at the time. And we thought the Lord of the Rings trilogy was long!”
Tally smiled at her. “That’s why movies used to have an intermission in the middle so people could stand up and stretch. Now cinemas have comfortable seats and most movies are only a couple of hours long.”
“Plus it helps to know the cinema manager who sends in his staff with soda and popcorn partway through,” added Heather, smiling at Taliesin.
That had been a smart idea of Tally’s. They’d taken some munchies in with them, but the movie was so long they’d really appreciated it when the staff member had appeared with the snacks. Also, thinking about it now, maybe that’s why there was no advertising or movie trailers at the start. The movie was plenty long enough already.
Sam and Tally stood up and turned Heather to face them both. “Will you come for a coffee with us now, please?” Sam asked her. Tally had done all the work to plan and present the movie. The next part of the evening had been all his arrangements.
Heather looked from Tally to him and back again. “All right. But I can’t stay too long. I have to go to the flower market first thing in the morning.”
“As soon as you want to leave, we’ll escort you to your car,” Tally promised her.
Inside, Sam was punching the air and leaping for joy. Yes! She’d agreed to let them speak to her in private.
* * * *
Tally heaved a sigh of relief. He’d loved planning the evening with the woman he hoped would be his. Of course, he didn’t know her very well as yet, but he’d been highly attracted to her for a long time and everything new he learned about her just made the attraction grow stronger. But he’d still been on edge hoping she’d enjoy the movie and the company. He had to admit he hadn’t watched the show much at all. He’d been too busy watching her. Her face was both mobile and transparent, all her thoughts written there for him to read so clearly. And she’d loved the movie. So it was all good.
Now he could relax and hope she stayed and talked with them for a few minutes at least. Not that he’d push her to stay longer. He’d given her a promise. But even fifteen minutes would help him learn more about her as a person. Suddenly he wanted that so much. He wanted to know why she chose to work with flowers. He wanted to know why she ran down the stairs. Did she have siblings? Were there more people around the neighborhood with the same wild mop of short brown curls and sparkling hazel eyes? Did she perhaps have a father or brother who’d come after him with a shotgun if he kissed her? Yeah. That one he really needed to check up on soon.
Heather waved to Helena, and Tally gave Ieuan a thumbs-up, wishing him well for the rest of the evening. Sam and Tally walked either side of Heather into the professional suites where Sam hurried ahead to swipe the doors open. “Aren’t we going to The Steakhouse?” asked Heather.
“It’ll be closing in a few minutes. I could stay there as late as I wanted to, but it’s not fair on the staff,” said Sam.
“Of course. I should have thought of that.”
It’d been a while since Tally had visited Sam’s apartment. When they spent time together it was mostly at The Steakhouse. But he was very aware of how shiny clean the entire apartment was. Sam had evidently had the cleaning crew in here working extra hard. All the apartments were exactly the same, designed for a single person who would mostly be elsewhere in the mall.
The living room had a kitchen area, the bedroom was a comfortable size, and the bathroom was larger than a hotel bathroom but not exactly spacious. The understanding was that the manager living in the apartment would have an office in his store, so there was no need for space for a computer or office desk, and that he’d use Gareth’s Laundromat,
so no need for space for a washer and drier. Even the kitchen was designed for a person not planning to host parties. There were dozens of meal choices out in the mall if someone wanted to entertain.
The apartments were ideal for a busy werewolf. Actually, living in the mall was perfect. Everything a man might need was right here, from clothing to household items, food and entertainment. Not to mention the cleaning crew to have it all sparkling clean when a wolf wanted to invite a special guest to his home.
Sam took the platters of food out of his refrigerator, and showed Heather the options for tea or coffee. “Or I have some craft beers and a range of sodas,” Sam said.
“Do you always have so many different things? I’ve never seen so many choices except in the grocery store,” said Heather.
“I wanted to be sure there was something here you like. You’re very important to Taliesin and me.”
“I like almost all coffees except the very bitter ones. I like green tea, chai tea, and the traditional ones like Earl Grey and English breakfast. I don’t know anything much about craft beer but I’m willing to try them. And with soda I’m a Fanta kind of girl.”
“Is that because of their image as a fun drink?” asked Tally curiously. That would make sense, as anyone who ran down the staircase had to have a yen for danger and adventure.
“Possibly. But it started because I loved the orange flavor, and then I discovered I liked the other flavors as well.”
“What else do you like?” asked Sam, pointing to the platters of food.
“If I was being sensible I’d eat the fruit. But I’m more likely to have a slice of the chocolate mud cake.”
“Why not both? There’s no need to restrict yourself,” said Sam.
With both him and Sam there with her, Tally wondered whether the idea of both would strike Heather the way it aroused him. Both of them loving her, kissing her, touching her, driving her wild with need as they cranked her desire up higher and higher. Then both of them fucking her until she screamed in release after release. Tally’s dick was as hard as a rock and it was just as well he was sitting down so he could widen his legs and wiggle his ass to give the poor aching rod a bit of space.
