Investigating the Hottie (13 page)

“C’mon guys.” Meg interrupted and pulled on Jenny’s arm. “We want to get good seats.”

I’d forgotten about the seating situation.

I fell into step with Will. I really didn’t want to get stuck sitting next to Jenny. Especially if Will was on her other side. She’d probably find a way to get scared or something.
Oh Will, hold me. I’m so terrified.
Barf. 

Will looked at me funny and I realized I’d wrinkled up my nose and made a face at the imaginary scene in my head. That should pretty much lock in his opinion of me as a weirdo.

His lips turned up at the corners, and his blue eyes sparkled.

I couldn’t help smiling back. I shrugged my shoulders.

He held the door for me and we followed the others in. “Maybe you were right about Jenny,” he said in an undertone.

“You think?” I tossed my hair for emphasis.

Will bought my ticket, so I got the refreshments. We stood in line forever for popcorn and drinks. Then, when we’d all gotten what we wanted and were finally ready to go get seats in the crowded auditorium, Jenny and Meg decided to stop at the restroom.

“Wait here,” Meg ordered. She handed Colin her colossal Diet Coke.

“Aww. Come on,” Colin protested, but he took the drink.

They disappeared into the bathroom, and the guys looked at each other. “Leave ‘em?” Colin asked.

“Leave ‘em,” the others agreed.

“Guys, are you sure?” I asked, feeling guilty.

“They’ll find us,” Will said.

“C’mon. We’ll never get seats if we wait any longer,” Mark added.

“Should I wait for them?” I asked Will, hoping he’d say no.

He just rolled his eyes and grabbed my hand to pull me along with the others. Unfortunately, he dropped it once I started following.

Mark climbed to the back of the crowded theater. He walked down a row that obviously didn’t have enough seats for all of us. Kyle followed him.

“We’ll sit back here,” Will said, pointing to the row behind.

That left two seats beside Colin for Meg and Jenny.

Will and I got to sit next to a couple about Christie’s age. Away from the gang.

Chapter Eleven

I tried to keep from jumping up and down because I was sitting with Will. This was so not good for helping me fight off this crush! On the other hand, it was turning into my first pseudo movie date, and how could that be bad?

He motioned for me to sit down and seated himself next to me. I set my drink in the armrest. Then, I risked a glance at Will and smiled.

“So you aren’t mad about blowing off the computer project?” he asked over the blare of the previews. He really had beautiful eyes.

Not really. Not anymore.
“No.” They were like the ocean in the Bahamas. Not that I’d been there. 

Meg and Jenny filed into the row in front of us. Jenny hmmmphed and Meg smacked Colin.

“Ouch,” Colin yelped.

“You were supposed to wait for us,” Meg scolded.

Jenny glared at me before she sat down. I guess she couldn’t figure out a way to flirt with Will during the movie while sitting in stadium seating with her back to him.

Meanwhile, I was stressing. I’d never sat with a guy at a movie before. It wasn’t like sitting with my friends where I could just relax and kick back. I realized that Will would notice every single move I made with the seats so close. Every sound, every movement. I hoped he couldn’t smell my breath. I hadn’t checked it lately.

It wasn’t easy to try to look casual while not moving or breathing. I settled down in my seat a little, completely conscious of Will beside me. The woman on the other side was just as close, but she could have been on the moon for all I noticed her. She didn’t matter. Will did.

I swear I could feel him next to me even though we weren’t touching. It was like a magnet or something between us. I wondered if he felt it too.

My arm bumped his. “Sorry,” I whispered. How embarrassing.

“S’okay.” He moved a little in his seat.

Then, the movie started. Thank goodness. I was too uncomfortable to make small talk. Did Diet Coke make your breath better, or worse? Maybe I should have ordered Dr. Pepper instead. Would that have worked better?

I tried to focus on the movie. The big action scene at the beginning should have caught my attention. It didn’t.

I shifted a little in my seat trying to get comfortable. When I moved my arm, I bumped into Will again. Crap.

Slowly, I started to move it away, but he took my hand, moved it back towards him, and threaded his fingers through mine. Oh my God! I was holding hands with a boy. Not just a boy. Will Middleton, total hottie.   

I was holding hands with Will!

I tried to act nonchalant. Cool. Casual. Meanwhile, electricity raced from his hand through my arm. I couldn’t believe the people around us didn’t notice, or feel a shock, from the energy we were giving off.

Gathering courage, I sneaked a look at Will. He was focusing on the screen, but when I turned back to the movie, he squeezed my hand a little.

I squeezed back.

His hand was big and warm, and his skin felt really nice against mine.

Then, I remembered my contact lens. This would all be on video. I had to remember not to look at him and not to look at our hands. This was my business. No one else’s just mine.

I saw Colin lean over and give Meg a quick kiss. What if Will kissed me? I really wanted him to. Especially considering how great it felt to hold his hand. Holding his hand was better than that feeling when M&M’s slowly melted in my mouth. Kissing him must be
way
better than chocolate. 

If he kissed me, I’d have to close my right eye. Then, no one would see. I probably should just close both eyes. After all, he might think just closing one eye was weird. Which it was. Or it would be if I didn’t have a camera in my right eye. Which was also weird. But hey, I was a spy.

Oh no! It suddenly hit me! I was a spy. A spy spying on Will. I was supposed to investigate him and possibly send him to prison. Instead, I was holding his hand and totally falling for him. I swear it was almost enough to make me pull my hand away. Almost. But his touch felt so amazing.

At first, my mind reeled from the complexity of it all; then, I started feeling sluggish and fuzzy. And I think it was from the reaction my body was having to his. Now I totally understood the word “attraction.” Like magnets attracting metal or vice versa. It was like a strong force beyond my control. Something chemical or supernatural or something.

Of course, I had no idea what was happening in the movie even though my eyes hadn’t left the screen in a long time. Luckily, I didn’t care.

Will scooted down further in his chair next to me, so I did the same. Now, this was comfortable. If only I could put my feet up on the seat in front of me. Too bad my shoes might pull Jenny’s hair.

I grinned because Meg and Jenny would die if they knew.

Amanda Peterson holding hands with a hottie. And there was no one I could tell. I didn’t drink another sip so I wouldn’t have to pee and miss a single second of being with Will.

When the movie ended, Will let go of my hand. His friends stood up in front of us. I looked at him, and he gave me a kind of shy smile. It couldn’t have been his first time holding a girl’s hand, could it? At least I knew it had affected him too.

Mark and Colin started talking immediately as we walked out of the auditorium. Jenny kept staring at me, which freaked me out because I felt like she knew. Did I look like someone who’d just spent two hours holding hands with someone I totally had a crush on? Maybe.

“Have you ever seen anything so awesome?” Colin said excitedly, still on a testosterone high from all the action.

“Cool. Will Smith rocks!” Mark said.

They turned to Will, but he didn’t answer.

“Dude,” Mark said. “Didn’t you like it?”

“Oh, yeah. Awesome.” Will sounded a little distracted.

They must have noticed because they looked at him funny and Colin punched him. I concentrated on being nonchalant and sophisticated.

My cell phone rang. All of the others whipped out their cell phones to turn them on.

“I never remember after a movie,” Kyle said.

I stepped a few feet away and answered the call.

“How was the movie?” Christie asked.

“Good.” I took another few steps. “I knew you were watching me.”

“Not really. I’m busy here at the opening night geek gala. Actually, I’m just being grumpy and rude. Meanwhile, my smart phone alerted me to a jump in your pulse rate, so I checked in.”

“Pulse rate?” Was nothing sacred?

“I’m sure your heart was compensating for that long walk down the aisle in the movie theater. Funny though, how other things can trigger that reaction. Like . . . boys.” Her tone was teasing.

Luckily, she didn’t see me blush. “I wonder what your heart rate did when Nic kissed you the other day.”

“Will kissed you!” Her voice was so loud I was afraid the people around me would hear it.

“No. I just mean . . . Forget it.” I cringed at her laugh. “I’m fine and thanks for checking in. Gotta go, bye.”

“Sorry,” I said, walking back over to the gang. “My aunt.”

“Does she always check up on you?” Meg asked.

“She’s not so bad,” I said.

“My parents trust me,” Jenny interjected snottily. “But I guess if you don’t go out much, or if you’ve given them a reason not to trust you, then they might be that way.”

“Jen,” Meg cautioned.

I smiled because Will hadn’t heard her, and I was so close to being out of this place.   

Then, Colin swooped in and took Meg in his arms. He laid a big kiss on her.

Mark yelled, “No way, Dude!”

Meg smacked Colin. “You know how I feel about PDA,” she snapped, adjusting her sweater.

“I know, but the guys had a bet. Kyle said he’d give me half of the winnings, so we just made twenty bucks.”

“Kyle,” Will said. “How could you?”

“Really?” Meg opened her arms wide and hugged Colin. “Then pizza’s on them.”

“Yep.” Colin looked pleased with himself.

“Cool.” Meg beamed. She really was pretty when she wasn’t sneering at me.

 “Who’s up for pizza?” Colin asked.

“I can’t,” Will said. “I have to get home.”

I was really sorry to hear that. I didn’t want our pseudo, not a date, but kind of a date, to end.

“We could run you home later, Amanda,” Jenny said. “If you’d like to come with.” She batted her eyelashes in my direction.

I looked over at Will. Jenny would love that.

“It’s up to you,” he said.

No way was I subjecting myself to more time with Jenny. “I probably should let Will take me. I don’t want to push my aunt too far this week.”

“Oh that’s right. She’s already had to check up on you once.” Man, that Jenny could be malicious.

We said goodbye, and then Will told me that he had promised to come home early to hang out with his grandmother. “She gets restless, and Mom’s at work.”

“You make it sound like you’re babysitting your grandmother,” I said. The idea made me laugh.

He didn’t say anything.

Sitting next to Will as he guided the car through the dark streets, I felt terribly adult despite the fact that my heart was still racing. My mother would never let me out alone with a boy. I could only go out with “a group.” But I was wired for video and sound and monitored by Christie and Nic so I was totally safe being out with this guy even though he could maybe, possibly, okay fine. He probably was a criminal.

A hot criminal.

The walk to the door was horrible, because I wanted him to kiss me, but I was, to be honest, completely terrified that he would. Plus, we’d have video for sure even if I remembered to close my right eye.

I didn’t think Christie would mind my, ahem, new approach to the investigation, which given time, I’d really like to call “Romancing the Hottie.” I mean, after all. I’d get the information we needed either way. But the other part of Christie, the aunt who’s known me since before my birth part, might have a problem with it.

And the video part bothered me. I mean, the last thing I needed was to be part of some kind of training video on how not to kiss.
As you can see here, this young lady completely botched the kiss. Don’t do it this way. Let me show the footage again. See. Completely bad kisser. Take my advice. Don’t muck it up like this young lady, Amanda Peterson, did. That’s Amanda Peterson,
 

A-M-A-N-D-A P-E-T-E-R-S-O-N. Amanda-

“Amanda,” Will was saying.

“Oh,” I realized I was staring into space. “Sorry. Just thinking about something.” Duh.

He looked at me with those big blue eyes. “I’m really glad we went to the movie.”

My stomach flip-flopped. “Me too,” I said. I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. So much for sophisticated.

Then, I noticed that he was blushing a little too. Cool.

After being so close in the movie, it felt like we were a million miles apart, but I couldn’t think of any way to get closer. I didn’t have the nerve to reach out and take his hand.

“Well, I guess this is it,” he said motioning to my door.

“Yeah,” I said.

He stood there. I stood there.

Then, he said, “Amanda, I—”

And I never heard the rest because Nic opened the door. “Hi, guys!” His voice rumbled deeper and louder than usual.

I totally knew he was interrupting on purpose.

“How’d the project go?”

“We went to a movie instead,” I said, not in my nicest voice.

“Really?” He opened the door wider. “Well, I guess you’ll have to work really hard tomorrow, huh?”

I glared at him, but he was a trained federal agent after all, it took more than that to get to him. Besides, he wasn’t looking at me, he was trying to melt Will with his stare.

 “So, Will, is your mother going to be home tomorrow to supervise while you’re working?” Nic really violated our space with his outstretched arm holding the door.

“Nic,” I pleaded.

“No, but my grandmother will be,” Will assured him.

“Okay, then.” Nic stood right where he was.

“Okay, then,” I said.