We shared popcorn

The screen went black as the orchestra’s score rang out the final resounding theme, and the end credits began to roll. I stretched with an audible groan. How long had we been sitting here? I’m pretty sure the movie was three hours long. I rubbed one eye vigorously with the knuckle on my thumb. My contact lens was stuck to my eye and now I am wondering what I missed because I’m pretty sure I fell asleep for a little while.

The stretch and the groan were matched by the lanky man to my left. I met his gaze and he smiled warmly. I’m pretty sure this is the first time I had even noticed he was sitting there. Strange, since I seem to try and pick out any decent-looking guy in a crowd. He was exceptionally tall and thin, with short blond hair that seemed to be thinning prematurely in the front, based on his youthful yet stubbly face.

“Long movie, but worth every minute!” His eyes crinkled and his lips parted into a grin. “Did you like it? I think you zoned out a little for a while.”

Oh great, I thought to myself. Maybe at least I didn’t drool or snore. “Yeah, it was pretty good. Not quite what I expected after seeing the last one.”

His grin turned into a chuckle, and he threw his head back with a quick laugh. “Well, I hope you saw more of the last one than you saw of this one! I’m just glad you snore pretty quietly.”

I gasped, feeling my face warm slightly and a heavy feeling in my chest. “Oh no, I’m so sorry.” 

He grinned again. “No worries! It was cute, actually.” He set a half-finished bag of popcorn in my lap, and I scrambled a little grasping it. “This is yours, by the way. You moved a little in your sleep and the popcorn spilled over on me.”

My face reddened again, and both hands involuntarily covered my mouth as a whispered expletive escaped. “Why am I like this?” I cracked in a dry voice. I tried to cover my embarrassment with a laugh but only a little air wheezed out of my mouth. I looked down to see him catching the bag of popcorn that was falling from my lap once again, only losing a few pieces to the sticky floor.

He met my eyes with a smile and surprisingly looked a little flushed himself. He rubbed the back of his neck where his short blond hair met his skin. “Really, it’s not a big deal. Please don’t think I’m weird, but when I caught the bag, I just went ahead and held it. And then I ate a few pieces.” 

“A few?”

“Heh heh, okay, yeah…about half the bag.”

I laughed a little easier now. “Do you…want the rest?”

“No, no! It’s all yours!” He pushed it back into my hands as we both sheepishly smiled. 

After a few awkward seconds he cleared his throat. “Honestly, I accidentally started eating it. It was a few pieces that fell over on my hand, so I figured I would just go ahead and eat them. And then all of the sudden my hand was in the bag. It felt a little like we were sharing it.” 

“Oh,” I whispered. I began to shrink back into the Dreamlounger a little.

His eyes widened and his hands swiftly drew up to his chest in a defensive position, nervously shaking his open palms. “No, no! I mean, nothing like that…” and in a swift motion his right hand shot out and knocked the popcorn off my lap. It hit the floor and exploded open, its contents rolling down the incline of the floor to the next set of seats.

We both paused for a moment with a gasp when we realized what had happened and simultaneously jerked our heads up with a second pause, followed by laughter.

He cleared his throat with a shaky laugh. “I am so sorry. That was weird. I mean, who does that? You know, eating someone else’s popcorn?” 

“I know, I was a little thrown off by that, but it was the sharing thing that got to me.” I leaned down to pick up the bag. “I usually don’t come to the movies to share my popcorn, especially with a stranger. And usually not while I’m sleeping.” I gave him a smile. “Really, it’s okay.”

He sighed with relief and let out a low whistle. “Whew, sorry about that.”

A rustle near my feet surprised me and I jumped a little. “Whoa, what?” 

Apparently the lights had come up during this exchange and the seats were all empty; the rustling at my feet was the edge of the usher’s broom. 

“Sorry, movie’s over,” the usher squeaked.

“Yeah, sorry man,” the lanky guy mumbled as we both moved out of the way of the popcorn mess, trying to not meet his gaze to see what was sure to be judgment on both of us for making a mess on the floor.

I started to walk toward the theater door. Why am I still holding this stupid bag of popcorn? I start to lift the lid to the trash can by the door when I hear the lanky guy running up. 

“Okay, sorry, I know I’m probably being so weird right now,” he reaches over and holds open the lid of the trashcan. “It’s just been a while since I’ve gone out and talked to anyone, and now I look like a creep.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “Okay?”

He shifted uncomfortably for a second. “Are you going to throw out that bag of popcorn?” 

Oh.

I slowly hand the bag to him. “Yeahhhh you can have it.” Quickly spinning on my heel, I turned and started heading out the door.

I walked a few feet away, still shaking that strange exchange off. Who shares popcorn with strangers? It wasn’t even sharing…why did I say that? That was his word. He helped himself to it. I wasn’t even awake. I decided to slide into the ladies’ room to make sure I wasn’t being followed. Why do I feel so uneasy about this? Was it because I don’t remember seeing him when I got there, and suddenly he was next to me and eating my bag of popcorn? Yeah…that’s probably it.

I washed my hands and splashed a little water in my face to wake up for the ride home. As I exited the restroom into the main lobby of the theater, I saw the lanky guy by the door talking to one of the employees, who appeared to be the last one out the door. Half of the lights in the lobby were turned off, and the whirr of the slush machine and soda dispensers were making a terrible harmony with the buzz of the lights that remained. I straightened up and started to make a beeline for the door. 

The lanky guy turned a little to face me, and I saw he was leaning on the top of a broom. That’s interesting, I thought. What’s he doing with –

“Hey! Finally heading out?” He called out to me with a grin that made his eyes crinkle once again. 

“Yeah, um, sorry,” I responded, and at that point I noticed the ring of keys in his other hand. I sighed just enough to release the pressure in my chest. “Are you locking up to clean?”

“Haha, yes I am.” He set the keys down on the counter next to a wet cleaning cloth. “Hey, listen. I hope I didn’t come off as being too weird in there. I just can’t shake the feeling that I startled you. I guess this is why I don’t ever come out of the booth.”

“Oh, so you clean and run the movies?” I could feel my head cocking to the side involuntarily in interest. 

He snickered. “Yeah…I do a little of everything. I own the theater. And two up north.”

I felt my face flush and the air in my lungs felt a little thick. “Oh, I didn’t…”

“No harm taken!” he exclaimed jerkily, and dropped the broom on the floor. It smacked in the silence and then bounced at the tip a few times before coming to rest an inch from my toes. We both looked down at the broom and then at each other. I don’t know who started laughing first.

His eyes teared with laughter and embarrassment. “I probably should explain. I inherited three movie theaters when my dad passed away. I live nearby to stay close to this one…it was my favorite growing up! Every once in a while I’ll start the movie, and then sneak in the theater to catch one. I never get to sit with anyone.” He sighed wistfully. “I don’t get out much to meet people, I guess. I don’t have a lot of friends to invite. So I sat near you, and I was hoping to just strike up a conversation. I never intended to freak you out, and I accidentally ate your popcorn, so it probably looked pretty strange.”

My heart sank. I just thought he was a weird dude. He’s actually just awkward like me.

His face softened. “Look, I would understand if you never wanted me to talk to you again, but I would love to sit with you at another movie…for real and with permission this time.”

I must have looked pretty stunned, and I realized that my mouth was just gaping open enough to give an “uh-huh” before blinking a few times and relaxing my shoulders. “I mean, um…yeah. Yes. I might like that. But can we maybe grab something to eat before that, too? I’d maybe like to get to know you first. All I know is that you like popcorn.” 

He smiled. “How about something more than popcorn, and something I didn’t catch falling out of your lap just seconds before?”

“Sounds good. Let me just…”

I started to look in my crossbody purse to grab a pen to give him my number. My ticket stub fell to the floor. I leaned over to grab it at the same moment he started to pick up the broom. Our foreheads collided with a knock.