Beautiful Together (25 page)

"Well, I'm glad I could be here for such a huge milestone," Jesse said, pausing from dessert to wipe with his napkin and sip more wine. The second bottle was almost gone, and we were both quite drunk.

I couldn't stop smiling at Jesse. He looked so confident, so cute, so happy. And next on the schedule was
Blood Lake
, a movie that, although it was pretty silly, was still super important to both of us for obvious sentimental reasons.

After the check was paid—and Jesse had taken a snapshot of the receipt with his phone—we drunkenly stumbled back out into the emerging chill of the evening.

"I think we should walk a couple extra blocks," I said. "To burn some calories."

"I was thinking the same thing," he said with a smile.

Although it was tough due to our inebriation, we managed to get in a fifteen minute walk before arriving back at the theater. When we arrived, a line had already formed out front. The mood was great, everybody standing around smiling and laughing. Some people were even wearing
Blood Lake
t-shirts.

"Did we dress inappropriately?" I asked. "Should I be wearing a blood-soaked t-shirt too?"

"What, like a bloody wet t-shirt competition? If you did, you'd win for sure." He shot me a sleazy wink and I cringed.

"That's disgusting, Jesse," I said. "I would
never
do that."

"What about for four million dollars?"

"No way!"

"What about
five
?"

I figured out what he was up to and crossed my hands over my chest and started giggling. "Hey, you're not pulling that one on me! I'm smarter than that. I'm done answering questions for tonight, good sir."

He shook his head. "I would definitely do a bloody wet t-shirt contest for five million dollars. As long as it was like, animal blood or something. I think you're crazy."

I scoffed. "Well, I happen to think
you're
crazy too."

"Then maybe we're perfect for each other," he joked.

"Yeah, well, maybe we're both too crazy to figure it out." I stood there grinning like an idiot. I just couldn't stop smiling.

"I like that blouse you're wearing anyway. I don't think a bloody t-shirt would look better. Maybe you are right about all of this."

I blushed, surprised by the abrupt compliment. "Thanks," I said. I decided to return the favor. "I think you look hot as hell in that black jacket."

"And just how hot is hell?"

I winked. "Seriously hot."

We continued goofing around until we finally reached the front, bought our tickets, and then headed into the theater. It was a packed house, but we managed to find two seats together on the balcony, the view at a weird angle, but still good.

The inside of the building was really cool, the rooms asymmetrical and odd. It was old, filled with relics from so many years before. The walls were lined with faded paintings. There were actual stages in front of the movie screens, meaning that plays probably took place here as well. Or they used to take place.

"I would ask if you wanted popcorn or candy," Jesse started, "but I think I already know the answer."

I patted my overstuffed stomach. "I'd explode if I ate anything else."

"And I'd hate to be right next to you when
that
happened."

A few minutes after we sat down, the movie began. It started with several trailers for other old horror movies from around the same era, all of them featuring a psychotic killer, a bunch of naked girls, a bunch of sex, and a bunch of bloodshed, sometimes in that order, sometimes not.

Everyone was whistling and acting rowdy. We joined in too, cheering and shouting, emboldened by our inebriation.

After the trailers, the movie began, and instantly, I recognized the opening scene in which a ditsy—and
very
busty—girl and her boyfriend head into the woods for a picnic and dive into sex even before eating. And in the middle of their passionate act, they're brutally murdered with an axe.

The nostalgia hit me like a sucker punch when the title came on the screen and that familiar spooky theme began. I almost felt like I was going to cry. I looked over at Jesse Evans, my old friend who I never thought I'd ever speak to again, my old friend who had disappeared from my life for so long. For too long. He seemed so happy, so satisfied and calm.

He looked just as happy as I felt.

We were reunited, watching this trashy old movie together in London after a chance meeting in the middle of the night. Tears actually
did
form in my eyes, but I didn't cry beyond that. I wiped them off on my sleeve and then tried to get back into the movie.

I had every reason in the world to feel happy.

"Too bad we don't have any M+M's and popcorn," Jesse said during the middle of the show.

"Shut up," I said, my stomach still ridiculously full. I regretted my gluttony—but only a little bit.

Everything happened exactly the way I remembered, even though I hadn't thought about the movie in years. I still knew how every scene was going to play out as soon as it began.

"I love this part!" Jesse shouted as the killer chopped off another poor boyfriend's head with a machete. Blood sprayed out like a fountain.

"Eww," I whined, half-closing my eyes. It wasn't realistic at all—well, I guess I wasn't totally sure since I hadn't ever witnessed a real life decapitation; I was totally fine with that—but it was still gross. It seemed like they were using gallons of fake blood for every single slice.

Jesse just kept laughing and laughing. And it was contagious, because I laughed too. The movie was hilarious now, and the funniest part of all was that it had actually been a little scary for me back when we watched it as teens.

That seemed utterly impossible now. This was
ridiculous.

Near the end, I found myself feeling a little fatigued, so I rested my head on Jesse's shoulder. It felt so comfortable, so natural. He put his arm around me and drew me close to him. Honestly, it was like we were sitting on the couch in my basement again, not in an art-house theater in London.

Everything was the way it used to be.

The night felt utterly perfect. We had gotten just as close as we were before in only one day, after so many difficult years apart.

Maybe even
closer
.

"That was awesome," he said after the end credits rolled. "It's so stupid, but it's
so
good."

"I know," I said. "Can you believe that we used to be freaked out by that kind of dumb stuff?"

"Well, maybe
you
were," he said. "I never was."

"Bullshit. I clearly remember you being scared the last time."

"I think your brain is clouded by alcohol," he said with a laugh.

"Maybe
yours
is," I snapped.

He paused and then shrugged. "Well, you got me there."

I took his arm and we walked through the night, strolling aimlessly. Neither of us mentioned a destination.

"Places close so early here," Jesse remarked randomly.

"I know! Especially compared to New York City. If you don't know exactly where you're going, you might end up somewhere that stops serving drinks at ten."

"Bars close at four there, right?"

"Yep."

"They close between one and two in Boston. I wish they were open later, but you can't have everything."

"It's not like your fridge closes early," I joked. "There's always another option for booze."

"True," he said. "But that's only if I remembered to restock it."

We continued walking, conversing only when new topics arose. Periodically, we stopped to rest in parks, sitting on cold benches to rest our legs. My phone trilled, cutting through the silence during one of the stops.

I yanked it out of my purse—it was Arielle:

Her: Are you having fun? ;)

"Anything important?" Jesse asked as he gazed out into a very green, very wide open space.

I punched in a response before speaking:

Me: I'll be home soon. I'll tell you all about it! :) I had a great day!

"Just Arielle checking in on me," I said. "I think they're surprised I was actually gone all day."

Jesse laughed. "Yeah, well, it's been a busy day."

I moved closer to him, trying to steal some of his warmth. "Thanks for everything," I said. "That was super nice of you. This has been one of the best days I've had in a long time."

"Oh, don't worry about it. And I think so too."

After that stop, we continued onward, navigating through wide, spread out areas of houses and businesses. It was so unlike NYC I could barely believe were in a huge city.

We were a couple of foreign explorers with no particular agenda or goal, wandering, enjoying. And then we rounded a random corner, and Jesse stopped dead in his tracks.

"Holy shit," he said. "That's my hotel." The building was huge, the hotel facade glowing in the night. Even more impressive than it had looked during the day.

"Did you secretly lead us back here?" I joked. "Were you looking at directions on your phone?"

"You're the one who was leading the whole time!" he quipped. "
You
called the shots."

I smiled. "I guess you're right."

"C'mon," he said, taking the lead. "I want to show you my room. It's a really cool suite. And I've got some alcohol up there."

I shrugged. I had already said yes to everything else today, so why not this? Arielle and Amy could wait a little longer. "Yeah, okay."

"Great." Jesse took me by the hand and led me through the courtyard area. We quickly headed through the lobby and then jumped into the elevator. The architecture was just as cool as he had promised, and the modern renovations blended everything nicely.

The elevator ride to the third floor was quick. Before I knew it, Jesse was guiding me down the hallway and into his suite.

"Sorry, it's a bit messy," he said as he flipped on a light.

There were some clothes and papers scattered around on the floor, but it was nothing major, especially not compared to the beauty of the rest of the room. "This is impressive," I said.

"It's a
premier suite
," he said, "which happens to be the lowest of all their suites actually. And it's still the nicest hotel room I've ever stayed in."

He closed and locked the door as I walked around the room. There was a full living room area, a personal bar, a huge TV hidden inside a cabinet, plenty of furniture for sitting, fake fruit in a basket on the table. The carpet was striped and it kind of created a weird optical illusion if you stared at it for too long.

The bed was huge. By the time I had returned my eyes to Jesse, he had already tidied up the mess on the floor.

"It's even better that it's free," I said. "Can't beat that."

"I already opened the rum," he said, "so I'm just going to drink that until it's gone. Okay with you?"

"Sure. On the rocks, please."

"Coming up." He headed toward the bar and grabbed some glasses while I sat down on the couch. It was very comfortable, unusual for hotel furniture. When Jesse came back, he set a drink in front of me on a coaster.

"Thanks." I picked it up and took a sip as he sat down beside me with his own drink.

"No problem. I didn't even think about the fact that we're also
drinking
together. I made such a big deal out of weed, but it's not like we even drank together either."

I giggled. "I guess not. I mean, we're both adults now, right?"

"Last time I checked," he said.

"And so now, I partake occasionally. Quite occasionally."

"Me too."

We joked around and finished those first drinks. And then he poured two more and we continued the same routine. The aura in the room was incredible, and I couldn't just blame it on the alcohol.

After my second drink was nearly gone—and I was seriously feeling the rum—I panicked. "Oh shit," I said. "It's already after midnight, isn't it?"

"Yeah," he said, his words a little slurred.

"The trains already stopped running then. Dammit." I had lost my primary method of transportation home, and the alcohol was making me more emotional. I fought hard not to cry.

Jesse instantly took my hand, cradling it in his own. "Naomi, it's fine. I'll get a cab for you. It's my fault anyway."

"Seriously?" I asked, feeling instantly assuaged. "But they're so expensive here."

"Don't sweat it," he said. "It doesn't matter. Just let me know when you wanna leave."

I laughed. "Thanks. Sorry for freaking out." I leaned against him, my body so light from the alcohol. It felt good to be close. I kicked off my shoes and put my legs up on the couch and remained propped up against his shoulder.