She looked between the message and him. The space between them was cavernous, and she wanted Zane back by her side. Wanted to bury her face in his chest again. She shook aside the longing. This was sport sex, and they were in the middle of nowhere. It wasn’t like they were going to cuddle after. “He wants to know if you asked me and what I think. Asked me what?”
He clenched his jaw.
She didn’t like the reaction, but she wasn’t letting herself pretend they were a couple. Another friend asked for her attention. “I can find out from him.”
“He’s got midnight premier tickets tonight for the new superhero movie. When I was on my way out, he asked if we wanted to go.”
She’d been to all of those movies with Archer. She’d completely forgotten about this one. “Do you?”
“You’ve seen all of them, and I know you weren’t just being polite.”
“We’re all going, right?” She texted a reply to Archer as she spoke. They were acting normal. That meant she’d go.
Zane pursed his lips, and then a smile forced its way out. “Of course.”
Chapter Eleven
Hottofriendin two-point-three seconds. Riley had filled the empty space with chatter since they left the clearing forty-five minutes ago. Every time Zane glanced at her, she was staring out the window. He gripped the steering wheel and kept his attention on the parking lot, scanning for a spot in the sea of cars. It was probably a good thing they decided there wasn’t enough time to stop for dinner. He was tempted to skip the movie and rediscover the moment they had up the clearing, but he knew Riley was looking forward to the film.
She was out of the car the moment he parked, a skip in her step as they made their way to the theater. Except he saw the stutter to her gait, as if she was trying too hard.
He wanted to wrap his arms around her and hold her close and tell her whatever it took to calm her down. Except that wasn’t his role or his right. Spending time with her when she was diving straight into the world around her and laughing and living was respite for Zane. It chased away the dark shadows always lurking at the front of his mind, and made him think life went on.
The way her mood shifted to awkward and unsure after they had sex, or when he pushed her too hard to pursue her dreams, made the demons and doubts race back. Not only because his mind was free to trip over the past again. Her change in behavior haunted him with a single question—Am I being selfish again?Nudging her toward discomfort just to distract himself?
He shook the thoughts aside, though not as effectively as he had the last few times, and focused on Riley again.
Her forced skip slowed when Archer came into view. She crossed the last few feet to him, already talking, a lilt to her voice. “I can’t believe you got tickets. You. Rule. Me.”
Relief trickled through Zane when she didn’t throw her arms around Archer’s neck, but he still wished she wasn’t so on edge.
Archer shoved his hands in his pockets, looking between the two of them sheepishly. “It didn’t make sense to ignore this one. I’d have been wounded if you couldn’t make it.” He fixed his gaze on Zane for a minute, eyes hardening, before turning back to Riley. “Tori’s holding our place in line. Did you already eat?”
“I’m good. I don’t think I could stomach popcorn this late at night.” Riley spun so she faced them both, and reached for them but dropped her hands at the last minute. “Let’s go watch someone sexy and arrogant with as much brains as balls save the world.” She walked backward, talking and glancing over her shoulder occasionally to keep from running into something.
“Did I miss something between you two?” Archer stepped closer to Zane, voice low.