“Cougars Inc.”
“All right, talk to you later.”
“Bye,” she replies before hanging up.
Fortunately, there’s just one theater close by that most of the kids at our high school usually go to.
“I’ll see you there,” Jayden says.
“Sweating much?” I ask.
“Not enough. She’ll be thrilled when I show up, anyway. Gotta know your girl, bro.”
I chuckle. “Whatever.”
About fifteen minutes later, Jayden and I buy tickets to get into the theater and find our girls. We step into the dim glow of the theater, the air thick with the crunch of popcorn and the slurp of sodas. I squint until I spot Serenity’s silhouette. Jayden and I move toward their row; he slips past the girls and sinks into the seat beside Melissa.
I drop into the seat next to Serenity, casually draping my arm over the back of her chair.
Noré, who’s sitting between Melissa and Serenity, shakes her head and turns back to the screen. Serenity gasps, her eyes locking on me. “What are you doing here?”
“Watching a movie with my girl. You tried to ditch our date. We’re going to dinner right after.”
“No,” she snaps sharply. “Shush,” a voice hisses from behind us. I glance back with a smirk. “Don’t shush my woman.” The guy grumbles but settles back into his seat. I lean close to Serenity’s ear, whispering, “You’re going to pay for that stunt today.” She shudders beside me, eyes glued to the screen. I adore how she reacts—my woman wants me. Soon enough, I’ll give her exactly what she craves. An hour into the movie, after several attempts to move my arm from her chair, she finally tires and accepts it’s not going anywhere. Everyone in this damn theater will know she’s mine. When the credits roll, I entwine our fingers and pull her up, practically dragging her out as she kicks and screams. “Ni-co, let me go,” she growls through clenched teeth.
I toss her trash in the garbage can, tuning out her rant. People nearby watch and whisper as my girlfriend acts like I have fucking cooties.
Pulling her into my side, my nose grazes her ear. “Quit pretending you don’t want me to touch you. The more you resist,the more I’ll do it. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure to touch you exactly where you want if you behave like a good girl.” I chuckle, pressing my lips softly to her cheek.
Kids from school walking into the theater grin, wave, and call out, “Oh my God, I can’t believe Nico is actually in a relationship.”
I run a hand over the back of my neck.
It’s just six months that you’re in-in-in a relationship.
Serenity’s gray eyes bore into the side of my face as we near the exit.
“What is it?” I hiss.
She wiggles her button nose in that way I fucking adore, though I’d never confess it to her.
“Something’s off with you,” she says, looking at me through long brown lashes. Serenity tosses her thick brown waves over one shoulder, shaking that heart-shaped face.
Her full, pink bow-shaped lips press into a line. She’s breathtaking—and all mine. I’d never let Rod lay his filthy hands on my woman.
Yeah, you claimed her because you didn’t want another guy to have her. Call it selfish. So what?
“You know what? I’m not interested in hearing it. Let go of my hand. I want to talk to my friends.”
A group of girls from the cheer squad approaches Serenity, Noré, and Melissa.
Jayden grins like the Cheshire Cheetah, his arm locked firmly around his girl’s neck. And my girl is trying to slip away from me as fast as she can. I know exactly why she’s running. She doesn’t want to surrender to me.
Four of my teammates step into the theater.
I grip Serenity’s hand tighter, dragging her close against my chest. Her eyes widen like saucers.
“What do you think you’re doing?”
