CRUSH (24 page)

I groaned audibly.

Clay gave him a stormy glance, but Hunter only
looked mildly amused as he slid past him and came over.

“So, I was told to report to you—that you
were my trainer.” He winked, and I couldn’t help staring. I hadn’t seen these
ugly polo shirts look this good on anyone before. Jon should’ve started him at
the ticket window. He’d have packed the house.

“Why didn’t you tell me you got the job?” I
asked.

Clay gave a huff and left the room.

Hunter shrugged. “I didn’t know until a couple
of hours ago. I thought I’d surprise you.”

“Well, you did.” I glanced at the door Clay had
left through.

Hunter followed my line of sight. “Look, Cami.
I didn’t think he’d be working tonight since you said you didn’t get scheduled
together much anymore. I swear I’ll be on my best behavior. I’m not trying to
rock the boat.”

“So you’re saying you didn’t try to get this
job because I work here?”

“No, I’m saying I only took this job because
you work here. I don’t really need the money, but I like being with you, and I
hate it when you’re at work.” He slid a glance over my form before returning to
my eyes. “That is when I usually get into trouble you know—when you’re
not around.”

This was something I hadn’t thought of. If he
was here working, he wasn’t out partying with a bunch of losers. Suddenly,
things seemed a little brighter.

“Are you trying to make amends?”

“I am.” He stepped closer. “I’ll do anything I
can to prove you can trust me.”

There were so many questions I wanted to ask,
but now was not the time.

“See that utility cart over there? Grab it.
We’re going to load it up with our supplies for the night.”

He grinned and winked. “Yes, ma’am.”

I couldn’t help the little flutter in my chest.
I wasn’t going to lie to myself—I’d never looked forward to a shift as
much as this one.

“I don’t know if anyone told you, but part of
our employee benefits is that we can have all the free fountain soda we want.
We can also have one small bag of popcorn per shift. Anything else you want
during your break you have to pay for.”

“Sounds good.”

I opened the closet Jon had just been in. “Most
of our cleaning supplies are in here. Occasionally, we may run out of stuff.
Our backup supplies are in a storage room in the attic. I’ll give you a tour of
everything after we are done loading the cart.” I lifted a dustpan that was
hooked to a long-handled broom. “Most of the time we’ll be walking around with
these, cleaning up trash and popcorn spills. We’ll use them to clean the
theaters after each show too. The shows are timed on rotations so we can easily
move from one to another. The bathrooms have to be checked every hour and then
cleaned again at closing so they are ready for the next day.”

“Got it,” Hunter said.

I pulled the supplies out one by one and showed
him where they went on the cart. “We’ll need to move quickly after each movie
so the patrons can begin seating for the next showing. The rest of the time
will be pretty easy, and if we have a fairly clean crowd, things can even get
slow.”

“I don’t have a time card yet,” Hunter
interjected. “Jon told me to have you write my hours down for tonight and sign
them off, and then he’ll get me one made up.” He handed me a piece of paper
with a time written on it. “This was when I got here.”

“Oh, okay.” I folded it and slipped it into my
pocket. “Let’s go to the attic then.” I smiled mischievously. “They say it’s
haunted, you know.”

His interest was immediately piqued. “Do they
now? And who is they?”

I giggled as I led him out the door and down
the back hallway to a wide set of stairs. We slowly walked up them. “All the
employees. I think Jon is the only one who isn’t afraid of coming up here by
himself
. This building is old, and there used to be a
private theater up here for the family that originally owned the place.”

“What happened to it?” he asked curiously.

“Oh, it’s still there, but it’s locked up.
Apparently, the owner back then came in and found his wife dead in one of the
seats with a movie still playing. The story goes that he was so
distraught,
he locked the theater and never let anyone use
it again. Many employees have claimed to hear strange noises or smells, and a
few have said they’ve seen the ghostly apparition of the woman herself. They
say she’s wandering the theater looking for her husband.”

“When did this supposedly happen?” Hunter
asked, seeming very intrigued with the tale.

“In the nineteen fifties, I’m told. Someone
came in later and did the renovations, adding all the extra theaters to it. It
used to be one big one downstairs and this smaller one upstairs.”

“Hmm. So they use the smaller one for storage
now?”

I shook my head. “No. The theater remains
untouched. It’s kept locked. Even Jon doesn’t go in there. He says it’s to
remain undisturbed out of respect for the dead.”

“So there must be some truth to the story.”

“Yes. It was an ancestor of his.”

“Interesting. You’ve never seen the inside of
the theater then?”

“Only in pictures. I’ll show you the album
they’ve kept of the building’s history.”

Hunter chuckled. “It is kind of spooky. Maybe
they should call in the ghost hunters.”

“Laugh all you want now,” I said, grinning.
“It’s not so funny when you actually experience something.”

“You’ve seen the ghost?” His eyebrows rose in
speculation.

“No, but I’ve heard the strange noises and
smelled weird things on occasion. Things I couldn’t explain away.” Goosebumps
prickled over my skin as we reached the top of the stairs, and without
thinking, I reached over to slip my hand into his.

“Why, Ms. Wimberley, I do believe you are
crossing the bounds of appropriate behavior with a coworker. I may need to fill
out a sexual harassment report.”

“You’re right. I should let go.”

He gripped my hand tighter. “I don’t think so.
You should let me hold it . . . for safety reasons of course.”
His eyes twinkled mischievously, and he winked before glancing down the
hallway. “Let’s do some exploring later, if we have time, and see if we can
stir up the ghost.”

I shook my head. “You have absolutely no
respect for this story, do you?”

He shrugged as he glanced around. “I’m not
trying to discount anything. I’m just being practical. Most things can be
explained away if they’re researched enough. Has anyone tried to find out what
might be making those noises and smells? Do they ever check the theater to make
sure it remains undisturbed?”

“I really have no idea. I’m sure there has been
some mild investigating by management after the staff complained about it, but
I couldn’t tell you.” I pointed to a set of old, carved, wooden doors depicting
cherubs frolicking on them. “Those lead to the theater. The plain door at the
far end of the hall is the storeroom.”

“It’s kind of like stepping back in time up
here,” Hunter said as he observed the old red and gold wallpaper and cream
moldings lining the walls, along with the art deco wall sconces. “Is this all
original?”

“It is. Even the carpet.”

He glanced down at the red carpet that was
still plush where it ran down the edges in to the very worn center. “I bet it
looked really nice back in the day.”

“The album is on the shelf just inside the
door. They’re black and white, but you’ll get the idea.” I watched him while we
walked and started giggling. “Are you sniffing the air?”

He grinned. “Yes, I am. You said people smelled
weird things when they were up here. I’m just seeing if I can too.”

“And?” I paused, crossing my arms as he moved
toward the double doors that lead into the theater.

He turned to face me. “I got nothing.” He
sighed heavily, looking disappointed.

I laughed. “Most of us run through this hall,
not wanting to be here by ourselves very long, and you’re standing there
trying
to find something. Aren’t you
scared?”

He gave me a look of scorn. “
Puh-leeze
. Why would I be afraid when I have you to protect
me?”

I snorted and started laughing hard. “You must
be really hard pressed for protection these days.”

He smiled widely and walked over, stroking his
fingers over my lips. “I’ve missed hearing your laugh lately.”

My smile slowly slid from my face. “Things have
been a little stressed.”

He nodded. “I know, and I’m sorry. If you
really want me to back off, Cami, I will. Tell me now and I’ll steer clear, but
if that’s what you want, you need to know I’ll still be watching out for you.”

This was my moment. If I really wanted him to
leave he would go. He meant it.

“Hunter, I’ve never wanted you gone. I just
wanted the truth.”

“And I want to give it to you, really, I do.
I’m just asking you to trust me for a little longer, okay?”

I could see the sincerity written in his eyes.
I wanted to believe what he was telling me.

“You know what? I owe you an apology. In the
very beginning I said I wanted to get to know you better, flaws and secrets
aside. Then when things got crazy, I backed out on that. I’m sorry. Take all
the time you need. I’ll be here if and when you’re ready to talk. Until then
I’ll do my best to trust you.”

He relaxed visibly. “Thank you. You have no
idea what this means. I’ll try not to disappoint you.”

Hunter-

“Kiss me,” Cami said.

“I can’t,” I replied, trying to hold back a
grin.

“Why not?” She looked worried.

“Fraternizing isn’t allowed at work.” I
chuckled as I walked away, heading for the supply room door ahead of her. “I
can’t get fired—I just started.” I twisted the doorknob and entered the
darkness, feeling the wall as I searched for the light switch.

I was attacked from behind as Cami barreled
into me, launching
herself
onto my back.

“What are you doing?” I asked, unable to help
the chuckle that escaped me. “Now is not the time for piggyback rides. Where’s
the blasted light switch?”

She slid off me. “It’s right here,” she said,
grabbing my hand and guiding it to the right spot. I flicked the button but
nothing happened.

“Hmmm. That’s weird.” She tried clicking it
several times too with the same result. “Well, I guess we’ll prop the door open
with this popcorn bucket, and I’ll try to show you some things using the light
from the hall.”

I slid the object she pointed to in front of
it. She slipped her fingers in mine and proceeded down the aisle ahead of us,
pointing out the general location of all kinds of items, from food to cleaning
supplies. When we reached a darker corner behind one shelf, I pulled her into
my arms and pressed my lips to her softly. “Sorry, I couldn’t wait any longer.
I thought you’d fight harder for one.” I nudged her nose with mine and released
her. “I’ll let you get back to whatever you were showing me.”

She launched herself at me again, kissing me
hard, and I chuckled as I opened my mouth and she slipped her tongue inside. I
liked her aggressiveness. I answered by pushing her against one of the shelves,
and several boxes clattered to the floor. We both stopped to look.

“Oops,” I said, not really caring we’d just
made a mess.

She laughed and kissed me again.

My hands slid down to her hips, cupping her to
me.

All of a sudden the lights came on, and we
broke apart.

“We’re back here!” Cami called out as she
quickly bent to pick up the boxes that had fallen. “We couldn’t get the light
to work, and we knocked some stuff off in the dark!”

There was no reply, and I stepped around the
corner to see who’d come in.

“There’s no one here, Cami.” I swallowed
thickly and glanced at the fluorescent light fixtures. “Have they ever done
this before?”

“Not to me they haven’t.” She paused, looking
up, her eyes wide with hesitation.

I turned and helped her restack everything.
When we were done, she grabbed my hand and squeezed it.

“Let’s get out of here,” she pleaded.

I nodded and she practically dragged me out the
door and down the hallway. I couldn’t help turning back to see if there was
anything there. There wasn’t, but the light had turned off again.

“Has anyone ever told you how sexy you are when
you’re sweeping up popcorn?” I leaned against the dimly lit wall inside the
theater watching her as she finished the last row.

She snorted. “It’s just the mood lighting in
here. It makes everything look that way.”

I glanced toward the door to make sure no one
was coming in for the next showing. “I highly doubt it, but I can say it’s
putting me in the mood for something.”