Love Charms (38 page)

"Nah,"
he said.  "I'll leave it here.  Maybe you'll come back, right?  I mean,
it'd be nice to have a few customers again.  You don't have to pay or anything,
but it'd just be nice to have people around."

Evan
nodded, leaving it at that.  He left me and started shutting down his laptop
and packing it away..

"How
do you do it?" I asked suddenly.

Jonny
looked at me, confused.  "What do you mean?"

"Is
it just the popcorn?  How do you manage up here?  I know the popcorn is warm,
but I don't... it's so hard for me.  I do the same sometimes.  I eat soup or
beans or chili after I heat them up, but it's still hard and I can't eat a
lot."

"Oh." 
The zombie movie usher offered me a wry grin.  "For me, it's not much
different now than it was before, you know?  You get into a groove working at a
place like this and you end up doing everything without thinking about it
anyways.  I was kind of like a zombie before, so it works out.  I guess I'm
used to it."

I
looked at him, worry wrinkling my brow.  I liked Jonny and he seemed nice.  I
wished Evan and I could take him with us, but how?  He could come, escape, try
to be normal with me, except if he left the theatre and his popcorn machine,
he'd become just like one of the others.  Maybe it was for the best, but it
seemed so sad.

I
blinked away the last of the sleep from my eyes and stood up.  The theatre
chair seat flipped up behind me, settling back into place as if no one had ever
been sitting there.  Scooting around Evan, I stepped towards Jonny and gave him
a hug.

He
looked at me funny for a second, a confused smirk on his face, but then he put
his arms around me and hugged me, too.

"I'm
sorry," I said.  "We'll come back, though, alright?  I promise. 
Maybe you can watch a movie with us next time."

"Maybe,"
he said, squeezing me tight.  Our bodies pressed together, cool and pale, but I
didn't mind it; he felt like me, like maybe he was my brother or my cousin and
we'd just reunited.  "You feel a little warm right now," he added. 
"Not like Evan, but a little bit.  He seems nice, too.  You two be
careful, alright?"

Jonny
and I stepped away from each other, awkward and unsure.  We'd hugged, yes, but
I didn't know how to hug him, didn't know if I should have.  Maybe I shouldn't
have said any of that.  I had a bad habit of telling people too much and too
soon; with Evan, mostly, but apparently with everyone else, too.

"We'll
be careful," I said.

"We'll
come back soon, too," Evan said.  "I don't know when, but we'll come
back soon."

"Alright!"
Jonny said, raising his voice.  "Enough of this.  Too mushy for my
tastes.  I never liked romance movies much.  Too girly.  Let's change this into
an action flick.  How's that sound?"

Tossing
his bag over his shoulder, Evan chuckled.  "As long as there's no
explosions, I'm good with it."

"I
make no promises, good sir.  None at all."

* * *

Jonny
brought us to the projection room above theatre 8.  The steps were difficult
for both of us, but thankfully there weren't too many.  He opened the door and
moved his flashlight around the room, lighting the way, then pointed it to the
ceiling.

"Right
there," he said, shining the light on a string dangling from the ceiling. 
"If you pull that down, it'll lower a set of steps.  Kind of steep ones,
but not a lot so they aren't too bad.  Climb up and there's a panel at the top
that lifts away to get to the roof.  Probably latched and I haven't used it in
months so it might stick, but I think it'll open."

Evan
nodded.  "I'll go up first.  You stay here with Jonny until I get to the
roof, alright, Sadie?"

"Be
careful," I said.

Evan
swept me up into his arms and lifted me off the ground, pulling me against
him.  I gazed at him, unsure for a second, but then I laughed.  He muffled my
laugh with a kiss, pressing his lips against mine and exploring me with his
tongue.  My back arched and my body tensed under his warm aggression.

I
wrapped my legs around his waist and clung to his neck with my hands, savoring
every piece of him, every touch, everything.  I kissed him wildly and without
care.  My chest squeezed tight against his, breasts mashed between our bodies,
and I wanted more.  I wore pants now, but I didn't care.  I wanted them
off--Evan's, too--and I wanted him to lower me onto his erection and make love
to me right then and there.

Jonny
stood in the room, none too pleased with either of us.  "Uh, excuse
me?" he said.

Evan
and I froze mid-kiss.  I peeked one eye over to Jonny, who stood in the dark
with a flashlight shining on our feet.  Evan cleared his throat, sheepish, and
lowered me to the ground.  I fixed my shirt and apologized with a whisper.

"I
just, um, you know?  Wanted to make sure Sadie felt fine for the climb.  That's
all," Evan said.

"Thank
you very much, Evan," I said.  Then, perhaps unnecessarily, I added,
"You're so thoughtful."

"Thoughtful
my ass," Jonny muttered.  "This is a family theatre, you two.  For
families
."

"We
were trying to make one?" I suggested.

Evan
stared at me, eyes wide, grinning.  Forcing himself away, he pulled the string,
lowered the ladder-steps, and bounded up them.  He managed not to laugh for a
full ten seconds before the sound of it burst through the roof entry path and
echoed down to Jonny and I.

"You're
both cracked," Jonny said.  "I hope you know that.  Absolutely
cracked."

"Thanks
for helping us," I said.

"You
can still come back, of course," he said, to himself or me or no one. 
"Try to calm it down a bit, though?  I mean, it's cute and amusing, but
yeah.  Makes a guy lonely."

"Evan
has a friend," I said.  "She's not the friendliest yet, but maybe
she'll be nicer?  You might like her?"

"Some
other zombie?" he asked.

"No,
she's a human."

"Yeah,
well... I doubt it.  First off, I'm a zombie, and second, I'm a movie usher. 
I'm pretty sure neither of those are highly sought after in the
post-apocalyptic dating scene.  She wouldn't be interested."

I
shrugged.  "I don't know.  You might find someone else, too."

"It's
a nice idea," Jonny said.  "You two aren't normal, though, you know? 
Like... I think you're both nice, but I don't even understand how this works. 
It's great, don't get me wrong, but I think it's that one in a million chance. 
The type you only see in a movie.  Like some
Time Traveler's Wife
stuff
or something.  Except there's no time traveling and there's zombies
instead."

I
stared at him, smirking.  "I thought you didn't like romance movies?"

"I
don't!  That's not a romance movie, it's science fiction."

"What's
your favorite movie?" I asked.

"
Ghost
,"
he said immediately.

"That's
a romance movie!"

"What? 
You're crazy.  It is not. 
Ghost
is a paranormal thriller, through and
through."

I
rolled my eyes and giggled.  "Whatever."

From
high above, I heard a thick, heavy crunch, then a resounding thud.  Panicked, I
ran to the steps and looked up.

"That's
just the roof panel," Jonny said.  "It's always been loud."

Evan
yelled down.  "All set, Sadie.  Come up when you can.  Take your
time."

I
nodded and yelled back.  "I'm coming!"

"I'll
put the steps back after you're up, then I'm going to go let those others in. 
Just... you two be safe, alright?  You don't have to come back or anything,
just be safe."

"Thanks,
Jonny," I said.

I
climbed the steps until I reached the ceiling and the ladder rungs bolted into
the wall.  Wrapping my fingers around the first rod, I breathed in deep and
started up.  Below me, Jonny pushed the ceiling back into place, leaving me in
darkness.  Looking up, high above, I saw the faint silhouette of Evan's upper
body gazing down at me through the open roof hatch.  The moon gleamed bright
behind him, making the sky look dark blue.

I
climbed, slow and careful, keeping my attention on my hands and feet and the
ladder rungs beneath them.  If I fell, what then?  The shaft to the roof wasn't
too large, so I could lean back and rest if I needed, but that, too, was
dangerous.  If my knees buckled, if I dropped down, I'd fall into the
projection room.

Evan
wouldn't leave me.  He'd come back.  Which was fine for me, but bad for him,
because what if the others found us?  If they heard my fall, began searching
for the source of the noise, if...

I
kept climbing, making myself think nicer things.  I thought of Evan and our
date.  I remembered him feeding me a piece of popcorn.  He held it out for me
and brought it to my lips, then placed it inside my mouth, letting the tips of
his fingers linger, leaving a light warmth on my cool skin while the popcorn
dissolved on my tongue.  And he held me tight and we smiled and we watched the
movie.

Or,
we did that until we stopped and started doing other things.  When he snuck to
the floor after pretending to drop popcorn, then slinked between my legs and
pulled off my pants.  And then more things happened after that.  My cheeks
tingled with a blush.  I scrambled up the ladder, hoping to escape these
naughty, lewd thoughts.  Now was definitely not the time for them.

Maybe
Evan and I could make more lewd, naughty memories on the rooftop, though? 
Or... snap out of it, Sadie, I told myself.  This was life or death now, and
serious, but in the pit of my stomach, adrenaline and worry roiling inside of
me, it reminded me somewhat of an impending orgasm.  Obviously not exactly, but
if Evan touched me, pushed his erect cock inside of me, I was fairly certain
I'd be over the edge in a matter of seconds, pent up fear and excitement
finding release in my climax.

I
was probably a terrible person for thinking these things, but the ideas kept me
distracted while I climbed.

At
the end of the ladder, Evan held his hand out for mine and I took it.  He
helped lift me the last of the way, squeezing me tight and keeping me safe from
falling.  I climbed out and joined him on the roof, eying him with a mix of
anxiety and lust.

"Do
you need some time?" he asked.  "We can wait a bit if you want."

Below
us, sounding impossibly loud and close, someone pounded through the projection
room.  Noises of things being tossed over, flipped aside, searched through.

I
shook my head, shedding my carnal fantasies with a toss of my hair.  This
wasn't appropriate!  We didn't have time to wait.  "I'm fine," I
said.

Evan
nodded.  "I checked quickly before you came up and it looks like the way
is clear.  Let's climb down and get out before anyone notices."

Evan
tossed his duffel bag over his shoulder and held my hand, leading me to the
edge of the roof.  I looked over the side, judging the distance to the ground;
maybe about twice as far as I'd just climbed.  Twice as easy to fall, also,
with no wall to lean against if I grew tired.

Evan
held my hand tight, not looking at me.  I glanced towards him, smiling, hoping
to reassure him, but he still didn't look my way.  Instead, he just kept
holding my hand until he didn't; too long but not long enough.  The fading
press of his heat blanketed my cool palm.

"I'll
go first," he said, hoisting himself over the edge.  "Wait until I
get to the bottom, then follow after me, alright?"

He
sounded so serious.  I nodded.  "Alright."

Evan
descended, strong and capable.  I watched him go and leaned over the edge to
keep an eye on him.  Sure and steady, he moved along the ladder as if it were
the easiest thing in the world.

I'd
honestly never liked ladders too much.  I wasn't scared of heights, per se, but
I disliked them.  And now, as I was, I disliked them even more.  Climbing from
the projection room to the roof wasn't so bad, since I couldn't see anywhere
but up.  Here, though, I could see everything.

To
the left, right, and far in front of me.  Behind me and at the opposite side of
the roof I spotted a vague glimpse of the far outer edge of the parking lot and
a shadowy hint of the city beyond the movie theatre hilltop.

And
to the side, to the left again, I noticed one of the others.

The
cool, shambling man hobbled around the corner, having strayed away from the
rest.  He didn't notice Evan yet, but if both of them kept going the way they
were, they'd spot each other soon enough.  And then what?

Evan
was at the bottom and he turned to see what I was staring at.  He saw the man,
too.

"Sadie!"
he hissed, quiet but too loud.  "Hurry!"

"I..." 
I looked down, eyed the rungs.  I couldn't hurry.  This wouldn't work.  I
just... I just couldn't.