Week 9 (Part 2)

Saturday evening

It is already getting dark, when we leave my house, and Jay leads me to his car, which is parked just across the street. It is a small blue convertible – looks pretty new, pretty fast, and very expensive.

"Nice car." I compliment his ride in my favourite colour.

"Thanks." Jay smiles at me. "My dad gave it to me as graduation gift, when I finished school. But to be honest, it is not the most practical car. As you can see, it's a two-seater, so I can never give my friends a lift. And the boot is incredibly small, I always struggle to fit all my stuff in there when I go home. When I brought that poster tube for Rufus with me, I even had to put it on the passenger seat." He gives me a sheepish look. "Ugh, I really shouldn't complain about having a car like this, you must think I'm nothing but a spoiled brat."

"Oh, don't worry. As you may remember, exactly that was my first impression of you." I wink at him.

Well, it actually was the second impression I had of him. My first thought, when he came into the comic book store just eight weeks ago, was that he was quite attractive...

"But then I learned that you're a nice spoiled brat." I tease him, as he opens the passenger door for me, and I give him a quick kiss on the lips before I get into the car.

Jay gets into the driver's seat and starts the motor. It is so much quieter than my brother's old car, so we keep chatting during the drive to Ninjago City.

"Would you mind if I open the roof?" Jay asks.

"Sure." I reply. "It is a nice evening. And I have never been in a convertible before..."

"Oh, this is by far the best bit of this car. Unless it is raining, I never drive with a closed roof."

"Now I know why your hair is always such a mess when you arrive the comic book store." I laugh.

Jay blushes. "I-I guess so. I really don't mind the wind. I've always preferred open spaces, and I love feeling a little breeze of air on my skin. But if you're not used to the draft, there's a cap in the glove compartment."

I open the glove compartment and take out a dark blue cap with a bright yellow lightning bolt.

"Cole and Sel gave it to me for my birthday." Jay explains. "My nickname at school was Flash Gordon. I used to be in the track team, you know?"

"I like it." I state, as I put it on. "How do I look?"

"It suits you." He smiles. "And it goes very well with the dress. I think you should keep it on."

"At least I could hide my face that way..." I mumble.

He puts one of his hands on mine and gives it a little squeeze. "I know this is easier said than done, but you really don't have to be afraid of this. Believe me, it's gonna be fun. And if you don't like it at all, you can just say it and I will take you home straight away."

I smile at him. "Thank you. I-I'll manage." I say, trying to sound more confident than I actually feel. But if I want to be a part of Jay's life, then I'll have to get used to this part of his life as well...

I lean back in my seat and, looking up at the starry night sky, I can feel myself relaxing a bit. Jay is right, driving - or being driven - like this is nice.

We soon arrive at the underground parking garage in the city centre, and Jay parks the car in a reserved space.

While the roof closes automatically, I remove the cap and check my hair in the little vanity mirror. As expected, Jay's previously nicely combed hair is a complete mess, but he doesn't seem to care. And neither do I, he looks a lot better this way.

"You ready?" He asks, before we get out of the car.

I nod. "I-I guess so."

"Then let's choppy-sock this lemonade stand." Jay says.

I giggle. "You have a strange sense of humour." And I like it.

"And you have a beautiful laughter." He replies and gives me a quick kiss before we get out of the car.

"Lemme just take a few things." Jay opens the boot – he is right, it is tiny – and takes two gift bags with the Starfarers logo from it.

"Leftover presents from the press screening yesterday." He explains. "I brought these for Lloyd and Brad."

The further we walk up the old rusty back staircase, the more I can feel his grip on my hand tighten, until we arrive at a strong metal door. It looks like a fire exit.

Jay lets go of my hand and takes out his phone to send a message from it.

It doesn't take long, maybe only two minutes, before we hear voices from the other side of the door. When the door opens, we can see two people smiling at us.

"Good evening, Mr Gordon." An elderly man in a red uniform greets my boyfriend.

"Thank you so much for letting us in, Simon."

"No problem at all, Mr Gordon." His glance falls on me. "And Miss...?"

"Uhm, this is Miss Antonia Smith. My girlfriend." Jay introduces us, a proud smile on his face. "Nya, please meet Simon O'Leary. He owns the Sunset Theatre. But at special occasions like movie premières he still likes to be the usher himself."

Simon and I shake hands before we turn our attention to Cole, who is dressed in a similar way as my boyfriend.

Jay gives him a hug. "Thanks for your help, bro."

"No problem, mate." Cole then smiles at me. "Hi Nya. Didn't want to take the main entrance, huh?"

I blush. "Is it that obvious?"

He shrugs. "Don't worry, it has happened to all of us before." He gives me an understanding look. "Everyone is already in the theatre. Your dad and the director are just giving the welcome speech, so we should probably get in before the film starts."

"Why don't the two of you go ahead, I'm gonna get us some snacks first." Jay says. "What would you like to drink?"

"Whatever you are having." I reply.

Jay's flatmate and I quietly sneak into the theatre and take our comfortable seats in the last row. A few places further down, I can spot Rufus and Lloyd, as well as a black-haired boy of the same age sitting next to my young friend, most likely his classmate and best friend Brad.

A pretty girl with pink hair is sitting between me and Cole. She smiles at me. "Hi. I am Seliel, Cole's girlfriend. You must be Antonia?"

"Yes, I am Nya." I smile back. "Nice to meet you, Seliel."

"It's great to finally meet you too, Nya. I've heard so much about you."

"Shhh." Someone in the row in front of us hisses.

Seliel chuckles. "As if those people were here for the movie." She smiles at me. "Let's talk later, okay?" The pink-haired girl turns away from me. She leans against her boyfriend, and Cole wraps his arm around her.

They both seem nice, I hope we can become friends.

Just as the film is about to start, Jay comes back, balancing two giant paper cups and a bucket of popcorn in his hands.

"There will be plenty of fancy food afterwards. But people still want popcorn for the film." He hands me one of the drinks before sitting down. "It's just coke. I never drink when I have to drive, that was not just an act for your brother."

"Thank you. Sorry you've missed the speeches because of me."

"That's fine, I've heard them way many times already."

I take a sip from my drink before I put the cup in the holder in my seat. I glance at Jay and find that he is looking at me.

"What?" I ask nervously, checking my dress for any spills. "Is anything wrong?"

Even in the dark room, I can see a light blush dusting his cheeks. "No, everything's alright." He smiles. "I am just glad you are here with me."

He puts an arm around me, and I snuggle into his side.

And this is the moment that I start to truly enjoy this evening.

At least for a while, I am going to forget about the formal event and just pretend that this is an ordinary cinema date with my extraordinary boyfriend (and with a bit of fancy 'dressing up', obviously).

"Me too." I reply.

And I mean it.

-----

This was just a little filler chapter, there will be a lot more happening (well, mainly a lot more talking) in the next chapter!