Entwine by Rebecca Berto Read Free Book Online Page A

and Him, she had to wonder. Of others’ perceptions. Of his perception. They walked to their cinema, which was about halfway down the line of doors. Sarah kept her eyes on the dark blue carpet, splashed with little white and deep red white stars. Luckily, he didn’t catch her gaze. He held out his hand for her and, instead of smiling thanks, she let herself take in the way his shirt creased over the contours of his arm, and the size of his hands. She allowed herself to smile before moving in and feeling him like a ghost behind her, teasing herself with his scent.
    She knew from experience the ads were likely to go on for fifteen minutes, and safe in the darkness of the cinema, she allowed her thoughts to drift.
    What did she know of him? Sitting, waiting, the exhilaration from their meeting sliding, she wondered why he was with her. It didn’t make much sense. The boy and the girl on an awkward first date routine? Plenty of sense. But Sarah was an awkward, first-day-at-her-real-job girl, twenty-two and plain kind of girl. Her hair wasn’t silky and straight, or luscious and curly. Rather, it was an in-between wave that didn’t know what to do with itself every morning. Its shade was a mocha brown, and her eyes were a pale grey. She had a few freckles on her nose, but she didn’t see them, apart from when she had to lean in and layer on her mascara. She wore a B-size bra; plain and small.
    Even if she didn’t know much about him, she knew he was too good for her. It wasn’t that Sarah had low self-confidence. It was just fact. The self-assurance about him gave an extra depth to his sexual tones, and was far greater than Sarah knew she could ever exude. The strong cut of his jawline made her want to stare for the moment he worked it, just to see the way his tendons would move. His hair didn’t say “cute boy”, but it didn’t say “hard-ass biker dude”, either. It said “man”. She could see wisdom in the way he would do something. The way he’d flip open his wallet and peer in, taking time to choose the right note or card. Or just now—how he held out his hand, letting her in. The last time that had happened, Sarah was on a date in high school with Nicholas.
    Young boys and gentleman , Sarah thought. They were the two types of men for that sort of gesture, which made a shiver run down her spine. How old was he—because he certainly wasn’t a cute little boy. He looked twenty-eight, but she knew he could be a bit older than that. Maybe thirty-two.
    That’s not too old for me, is it?
    Sarah had been in her own little head, occupied by her own little thoughts for the whole fifteen minutes as the big curtains swept back and the lights dimmed further. The movie was about to start.
    “You ready?” he asked her.
    “If I say yes now, it doesn’t mean I can’t blame you later if I hate it.”
    “It’s a Statham. That isn’t possible.”
    “Hey,” someone called behind them. The voice was deep, disgruntled. “It’s very possible to kick youse out. Shut up.”
    With that, he leant in next to Sarah. She was about to settle back, kick off her shoes and wait for the movie to start, but he wasn’t done yet, clearly. With the light from the screen just playing on the edges of his lips, they were all she could see and think.
    “True, what’s to hate?” Sarah whispered, feeling her breath, hot, between the space of her lips and the side of his. “Cars, action … sex.”
    “That’s what interests you, ey?”
    Sarah crushed her eyelids together and hoped he wouldn’t notice. Damn, she was digging a mighty fine, deep hole for herself. Right now, she’d gladly curl up and reappear once he had left.
    Why did she suck at being calm and sexy near him? She was sure her hands would shake if she tried to hold them still, and her heart sure was doing an unhealthy amount of beats per minute.
    She gulped. “’Spose.”
    He traced her jaw with his finger as he said, “Do you have a boyfriend?”
    “Um, I,”