A friend invites you to come to the movies. You waver at first, not knowing any of the other guests very well, but agree to go when you hear that Tom is coming. For the rest of the day, you can’t concentrate on anything else.
That night, you sit through dinner at the pizza place, awkwardly trying to fit in with the group. Time crawls by. When you finally get to the theater, you casually try to get the seat next to him, but someone else is faster. You sit somewhere else and watch the movie, half interested; out of the corner of your eye, you watch his reactions.
After the movie, your group moves outside, and, one by one, everyone leaves, until it is just you and Tom. Your mom hasn’t come yet. He tells you he’ll wait with you until your ride comes.
To fill the time, you start talking about the movie:
“How crazy was it when…”
and
“It reminded me of this one book…”
He looks up: “I love that book!”
A conversation is sparked.
Time passes.
Suddenly, you get a text.
Mom: Need a ride?
You smile.
Not yet.