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Chapter Nineteen
As promised, Audrey picked Kylie up at seven o’clock. She left the house in skinny jeans, an over-sized graphic T-shirt, and a cable knit cardigan. She slipped into the back seat of Audrey’s car where Steph was already sitting. Jillene was in the passenger seat rubbing her large belly.
“Hey there sunshine, ready for some rom com bonding time?” Audrey asked as she drove away from Kylie’s house.
“You bet,” she said. “I’ve been working my ass off this week and could use some solid relaxing time.”
“Woo hoo!” Steph clapped.
“Here’s to fitting in as many Saturday nights out as I can before the baby comes!” Jillene pumped her fist in the air.
Kylie whooped as they took the main road toward Hampton.
Hampton was big enough for two movie theaters, and they chose the one that had the larger reclining seats. They all got their popcorn, candy, and oversized Cokes.
After getting to their seats, Jillene stood back up. “I should probably hit the bathroom before the movie starts.”
“You know what, I’ll go with you,” Kylie said.
As she waited outside the bathroom for Jillene, Kylie noticed someone had left a Hampton newspaper on a bench along the wall. She picked it up and checked if the careers section was still intact. She started flipping through the listings, mostly work for drivers of all types and some office jobs, but there were a few ads that might be promising.
“What are you looking at?” a voice came from over her shoulder, and she startled.
Jillene jumped back. “Sorry to scare you. Ready?”
Kylie nodded, and they went into the theater. The movie was everything she’d expected out of a romantic comedy. There was a meet cute, awkwardness, a misunderstanding, and of course at the end, the happily ever after. For the hour and a half, she completely forgot about the stress of the fair and what she was going to do about Brad’s offer. She simply enjoyed laughing along with her friends.
That was, of course, until the hero and heroine of the story finally had their long awaited first kiss. Then she was right back to the night before with her arms wrapped around Derek, his soft lips against hers. Given the burning in her cheeks, she was probably blushing furiously and hoped the darkness in the theater hid it. She couldn’t deny that she felt the exact same sparks the heroine on the screen must be feeling with her love match. Although, in Kylie’s humble opinion, Derek was much more dashing than the awkward hipster graphic designer in the movie.
Maybe dashing wasn’t the right word. Derek was tall and strong and confident, like a damn hero in his black O.P.P. uniform. She thought about the way his biceps had strained against the short sleeves of his uniform the other day and the butterflies in her belly went into a frenzy. She was swooning like a giddy teenager. That was probably what it was. He reminded her of being a teenager and all the hormones that came along with it.
On the ride home, her friends chatted about the movie. What they thought of the plot, should the heroine have made a different choice, was the hero really cute, and what about the subplot with the friend? But Kylie stayed quiet, turning over the events of the past twenty-four hours in her mind.
“Hey space cadet!” Audrey called from ahead of her in the driver’s seat.
“What?” Kylie asked. “Sorry I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Yeah, I’ll bet your mind was elsewhere,” Audrey said, luckily not giving Kylie away. “Jillene was trying to determine if she and Nick would make a good rom com couple.”
“Hmmmmm.” Kylie thought about it. “You’re definitely a case of opposites attract from what I remember of Nick in high school. Wait, how did you two get together anyway?”
“We both ended up in Hampton for college in different programs. I didn’t even know he was at my school for the first few months. Then we ran into each other at a mutual friend’s house party. He asked me out after that, and we’ve been together since.”
“You had a reconnection.” Kylie nodded. “Okay, yes. My vote is that you’d make a good rom com then.”
“Speaking of reconnection,” Steph eyed Kylie with a mischievous grin, “I heard you and Derek had your own connection on George Street last night.”
Kylie shot Audrey a look in the rearview mirror.
“Hey now, it wasn’t me,” she said. “I don’t spill secrets.”
“Gloria Stevens was out with her Pomeranian when she saw you two locking lips. She phoned my mom immediately, who texted me.”
“Oh crap.” Kylie leaned her head against the window. “Nothing in Camden stays a secret, huh?”
“Nope.” Steph waggled her eyebrows. “So, spill. What’s going on?”
She covered her face with her hands. “I don’t know!”
