“Mmm, well this wannabe writer thanks you,” I reply around a mouthful. The croissant is gone within the minute and I crumble up the napkin, wiping my mouth to brush away any lingering crumbs. “I forgot to eat dinner.”
“Happy to be of service,” Ronin says, his face slightly flushed.
I glance down at my notepad and smile. Ronin has always been the one taking care of me. Whether it was bringing me a care package after I got my first period, making his grandfather’s hangover cure after a night of partying, or sneaking me extra coffee and snacks while I’m working, Ronin has always shown me how much he cares with every small, purposeful gesture.
“Alright, so,” I draw out the last word. “Meet-cute.” I tap my pencil against my lips, thinking. “Okay, how about this? The couple already knows each other, but they aren’t close friends or anything. They each wind up at the only inn in a nearby small town—for reasons I’ll figure out later—and there’s only one room available.” I slap my hand down on the counter. “They have to share, andboom, they fall in love.”
Ronin chuckles. “Does that sort of stuff ever happen in real life? Like imagine actually going to an inn and sharing a room with someone you barely know just because it’s the only one available.”
“Of course it doesn’t happen in real life, but that’s why it’s fun!” I cry. “Readers want an escape from real life when they open up a book, especially a romance book. They want to feel those first-love butterflies, those moments of tension between two people before they kiss. Believe me, the one-bed trope is a classic for a reason.”
I flip my notepad closed. “Imagine the scenario,” I continue, propping my elbows on the counter. “Let’s say the guy has had feelings for this girl for a while. Maybe he sees her at church every week, but is too shy to talk to her. Or maybe she goes to the same place to eat all the time because she knows he works there. And then,magically,fate intervenes and they are handed this opportunity to get to know one another.” I wave my arm in front of me. “Book magic.”
Ronin leans back against the bar behind him. “Well, you’ve got me sold. When does this book come out?”
I laugh. “It’s just an idea. If the short story proves decent, I don’t know… Maybe I’ll explore our fated couple more.” I take a drink from my latte. “Anyway, I should head out. I’ve spent enough of my day here bothering you.” I hold up the drink. “Thanks for the coffee, though.”
Ronin pushes away from the counter and catches my other arm, his fingers wrapping gently around my wrist.
“Hey, wait. What are you doing tonight?” His touch is whisper-soft, and he doesn’t let go.
I pretend to think.“Hmm,probably just another night hiding in my room because I’m a twenty-nine year old living with my parents,” I joke. “Maybe watch a movie or try to get started on this story.” I eye him warily. “Why?”
Ronin leans in close. “Well, I have it on good authority that there was aLord of the Ringsmarathon at the drive-in over in Callahan.” He raises an eyebrow at me, which is incredibly sexyand has my heart racing in response. “It started earlier today, but if we leave now, we can catch the last movie. It should be starting around eight.”
“Well, you had me atLord of the Rings. Let’s do it,” I agree.
Ronin’s face breaks into a smile, one of the ones that I love so much. The wide grin transforms his face, the openness in his expression lending a youthfulness to him. It reminds me of when we were young, how he would gift me this smile anytime he was unabashedly happy. Each time he grants one to me, I feel like it’s mine. Nobody else gets these smiles, only me. I grin back, and he releases his loose grip from my arm.
“Let me just grab my stuff and we can go,” Ronin says. “We’ll take my truck.”
An hour later, I find myself seated in the bed of Ronin’s dark blue pickup truck, the window to the cab open so we can hear the car speakers. I’m propped up against some pillows we picked up from Ronin’s house on the way here. A blanket is draped across our laps as we sit side by side.
I’m not sure if this is a date or just two friends hanging out to watch one of their favorite movies. It kind offeelslike a date, and the way Ronin has been watching me since we got here tells mehefeels like it’s a date, too. I wish he had been more clear when he asked me to come here with him. I pull my coat tighter around me, trying to warm up, and focus on the screen instead of dissecting our situation.
Even still, we sit in companionable silence as we watch the movie. After a while, Ronin asks me if I’m hungry, and I nod.
“Good thing I brought snacks,” he says, pulling a bag over to us. He dumps out the contents and I laugh.
“You came prepared! Did you just have all of this at home, you weirdo?” Different boxes of candy litter the space before us, and I pick up a box of Cookie Dough Bites. “Has anyone ever told you that you can’t live off of junk food? Do you even know how to cook? How do you feed yourself, Ronin?”
He rolls his eyes at me and I stick out my tongue. “I have a stash of movie candy. It’s not that weird,” he replies, laughing at the expression on my face telling him thatyes, it is kind of weird. “My grandparents and I come here a lot. It’s sort of a tradition we started over the last few years. I like to stock up on our favorites.”
“That’s actually very sweet,” I say, tearing open the box. “Thank you for bringing me here. I haven’t been to a drive-in movie in a long time.” I pop a cookie dough bite into my mouth.
“Thank you for saying yes,” Ronin answers.
We stare at each other for a moment before we focus on the screen again.
More silence settles between us before I break it once again. “So, Grandma Nora mentioned something to me in December that I’ve been wondering about ever since,” I start, turning to Ronin. We both rest our heads against the back of the cab.
“Yeah? What’s that?” he asks quietly.
“She mentioned that you were looking to buy the diner,” I say, studying his face lit up by the bright movie screen.
Ronin smiles. “Grandma has always been terrible at keeping secrets,” he chuckles. “It’s not really a secret, anyway. Yeah, I’ve been asking Will about selling the diner to me for a while now.”
“What makes you think he even wants to sell it?” My hands play with the fringe on the blanket covering our laps.
