“Damn straight.”
Jessie laughed and Braydon released her. They were going to be late for the movie if they didn’t get out of the truck. Not to mention, the parking garage security guard was probably going to pay them a visit if they fogged up the windows.
Braydon climbed out and then held his hand out to help Jessie. She eased to the ground and he noticed she was careful to keep her dress in place. It made him smile.
SEVERAL MINUTES LATER, after the long walk to the theater from their parking spot and then after they ventured through the check-in process, they were finally being led to the theater where their movie was playing. They followed an usher to their seats, which were fairly secluded at the top of the theater in a small arrangement of fancy reclining chairs. From what he could tell, the theater was divided into two parts, the upper section and the lower section. From where he stood, he could see the standard movie theater setup in the lower section, rows of chairs side by side.
It was the upper section that had caught his attention when he had sought the place out. There were four rows, each consisting of three sets of double recliners with aisles separating each set. From the online map, Braydon had purposely selected the set that was at the top, mainly because there were only two sets left and the other was at the bottom. This definitely allowed for a little more privacy.
Jessie took the recliner closest to the wall, and Braydon sat down beside her. He kept his hand linked with hers, and it was a good thing his arms were long because he had to reach over the center divider to do so.
Another usher returned a few minutes later, squatting down near his chair as he began explaining the process. He took their drink order and left them with a menu. Braydon did a quick once-over and the extravagant crap didn’t sound at all appealing to him. “Find something you like?” he asked Jessie after he passed the leather-bound menu her way.
“I’m not even sure what half of this stuff is,” she told him, making him laugh.
“I say we grab something on the way back to the house. Unless you want something. I’ll give it a shot if you will.”
“I’m good with a burger and fries when we’re done here if you are.”
“My kinda woman,” he replied, squeezing her hand.
The usher returned with two glasses of water and took their menu after they informed him they weren’t interested in food. A few minutes later, the lights turned down and the screen lit up.
Before the opening credits had finished, Braydon had already slid his hand halfway up Jessie’s thigh.
And to his surprise, she let him.
“ANOTHER,” BRENDON SAID, slamming the empty shot glass down on the bar as the whiskey burned its way down.
Mack shot him a look that threatened him within an inch of his life if he did it again.
Brendon did it again just to spite the surly bartender.
“Damn it, Brendon. You’re cut off.”
“Fuck you,” Brendon slurred. “I said give me another goddamn shot.”
“No,” Mack stated firmly. “You’re done.”
“You’re damn right I am,” Brendon answered, forcing his feet to the floor and sliding off the wooden bar stool. He’d been sitting there for so damn long his ass was numb.
“Don’t you dare go out to your truck,” Mack called from behind the bar. “Let me call one of your brothers to come get you.”
Thankfully, the blood returned to all the necessary places as he made his way outside, completely ignoring the verbal tirade going on behind him. Mack could call his brothers, but he’d be long gone before then. His head was spinning just a little and he glanced at his truck, a brief moment of indecision stopping him in his tracks.
He was drunk. There was no doubt about that. He’d been at Moonshiners for the better part of the last three hours, and even when he’d pulled into the parking lot before the sun had started a slow descent in the sky he’d had a healthy buzz.
Now he was seeing two of everything.
Didn’t matter.
Fuck that shit. If he could walk, he could drive.
And as he climbed into his truck, he knew it was a stupid move. But he’d been making a lot of those lately.
What was one more?
JESSIE WAS GOING to spontaneously combust.
The rasp of Braydon’s work-roughened fingers against her thigh was making her crazy. The movie was only a quarter of the way in and he’d already inched his way up her thigh to the point that her dress was now dangerously close to indecent.
“There’s a blanket,” Braydon whispered as he leaned toward her.
Jessie peered over her shoulder, and sure enough there was a blanket folded on the arm of the chair. Debating whether or not to let go of his wandering hand, she finally opted to retrieve the blanket. It was that or possibly get tossed out for public indecency.