Page 2 of Ghosted By Texas

“Are you sure you don’t want to watch the romantic comedy?” I retorted as his grin widened while I teased him. “That sounded like a cheesy line from one.”

Austin – otherwise known as Mr. Texas – moved in closer and tucked the stray hairs of my too-long bangs behind my ears as he catalogued everything about me. “Is your hair normally darker?”

I nodded. “It was naturally blonde when I was younger, and gradually darkened until the only way it goes blonde now is with some chemical help and a lot of sunshine. I don’t get out in the sun as much these days, so this is thanks to chemical help. I guess I need to go get it touched up again.”

My cheeks heated with embarrassment as I realized he must have taken notice of the roots that had grown out just a tad too much, since I had to pay for books a few weeks ago when the semester started and couldn’t get the touch-up I needed.

“It looks good as is, but I bet you look just as stunning when it’s naturally dark.”

The heat in my cheeks was for an entirely different reason as his compliment settled in. Most men I’d dated had preferred the lighter hair and seemed displeased if I allowed my darker roots to show. It was encouraging that Mr. Texas didn’t feel the same.

“You know, normally I’m not a movie for a date kind of guy,” he stated as his hand engulfed mine and he tugged to get me moving in the direction of the ticket line. “Since this is our third date, I figured we should do something different, though.”

“It’s weird because the movie date is so cliché, but I’ve never actually been on one.”

“You’ve never been on a date to see a movie?” He sounded shocked by that admission.

“Nope. Never.”

“Huh, well, we’re about to change that and hopefully, it will be a night you’ll never forget.”

Austin was already well on his way to becoming a man I’d never forget. This was date number three, in less than two weeks. That was something unheard of for me. I was the date-around and never get serious girl. Sure, I wanted that romantic forever just as much as the next girl, but I’d never met someone who would fit the bill of the leading man in my romantic story. That changed when Mr. Texas came breezing into my life at the Halloween party I’d gone to on my birthday.

There was no way I could say no to a man who had seen me through that horrendous costume while surrounded by scantily clad angels, demons, and pirate wenches. It was weird to think that had been two weeks ago, because it felt like I’d known him forever. I wanted to punch myself in the mouth for feeling that way, because it wasn’t normal and felt more like one of those unrealistic romantic comedy movies I’d just avoided. I loved those movies when I was with my bestie, Clea, watching them. They wouldn’t do for a date though because I would compare what was going on with Austin to them.

Kind of like what I was already doing in my head.

“Do you want popcorn and a drink or something else?” Austin asked as we approached the counter.

“Can people watch a movie without the obligatory popcorn and soda?”

That grin that I couldn’t get enough of popped to full effect as he turned to order a large tub of buttered popcorn and two drinks. “Reese’s Pieces too, please.”

“Sure,” he agreed easily. “Can you add a box of the Reese’s Pieces?” He asked the girl working the counter who tripped over her own feet because she was too busy staring at Austin to function properly. Me too, girl. Me too.

“You’re not allergic to peanut butter or anything, are you?” I asked as an afterthought.

“Nope.”

“Good. Do you mind if we dump the candy into the bucket of popcorn?”

“Seriously?”

I nodded. “Trust me. It’s the best thing ever.”

“I’ll try almost anything at least once,” he answered, though the dubious look he threw at the box of candy said something entirely different.

“You won’t hate it,” I promised.

Once we took our seats, Austin hesitantly started to dump the candy into the popcorn. I took it from him, shook the bucket, then dumped some more and repeated the process a few times until the box of candy was empty.

“I see there’s a system.” He chuckled as he eyed the bucket in my hands. The answering grin and nod of my head confirmed.

“There needs to be equal displacement, otherwise it just all sits there on top and that’s no fun. Half the experience is dipping your hand in for some popcorn, once the lights go low, and ending up with a mouthful of salty-sweet goodness instead.”

Austin leaned in so quickly, it took me until his lips landed on mine to process the move. Once I did, I was already lost to his kiss as his tongue teased at the crease of my mouth until I opened and invited him to explore me further. He groaned and pulled away far too soon for my liking.

“That’s more my kind of a salty-sweet surprise, since we’re sharing the things that we love.”