Popcorn Love

Elena smoothed her hands down the front of her shirt as she stepped from her closet. “Okay, munchkin, what do we think?” she asked as she motioned to her outfit.

Lucas looked up from his place in the center of Elena’s bed, a giant coloring pad in his lap and a green crayon pinched between his fingers. He smiled at his mother and nodded firmly. “Pretty, Momma!”

When Lucas was a little over two years old, Elena came down with a terrible stomach virus and spent two full days in baggy sweatpants that no one knew she owned and a ratty Harvard T-shirt. He told her she was pretty more than once in those two days; Elena was convinced his opinion was biased by the fact that she gave him life and regular meals.

She offered him what she knew was a strained smile. She was more nervous than she was willing to admit aloud, but she couldn’t miss the way it showed in her body: her expressions were tight, and her movements lacked their usual finesse as she flitted around her bedroom and bathroom, readying herself for the date she had been both looking forward to and dreading.

The past three days had been utter torture. The stress over what to wear on a first date—to the zoo of all places—to which her toddler would be accompanying her was hell enough. Her brain had taken it a step further, though, and kept her spiraling through a constant mental cycle of questions, both hopeful and worrisome. What if the date went splendidly? Would they have a second date? A third? Would this actually develop into a relationship? Was Elena ready for a relationship? Was Allison? What if their social statuses got in the way of their relationship? What if they kissed at the end of the date? Would it lead to anything? Wait, no, Lucas would be there.

What if the date went poorly? What if they ran out of things to converse about? What if things were awkward? What if Lucas monopolized the conversation as he was prone to do? What if they had to eat zoo food? Elena didn’t know if she could eat a hot dog elegantly. What if someone fell into the gorilla pit? Okay, admittedly, that last one was a bit of a stretch, but Elena’s mind was a complete mess after three days of what-ifs. They had gotten more ridiculous by the hour.

After checking her reflection once more in the mirror above her vanity, she put on a few pieces of jewelry, two white-gold bangles her mother had given her, and a simple circle-pendant necklace. She then touched up her lips and crossed over to her bed.

Full lips twitched with a smile as she looked down at Lucas, his little face hidden by the overhanging brim of the light green and gray newsboy hat he had chosen to pair with his white polo, light green shorts, and white sneakers. The natural curl of his hair caused it to flip up just behind his ears and under the hat in a few places. It had tamed a bit in almost four years, but when he was first born, Elena had had quite the time with his headful of dark kinky curls, much like her own when fresh out of the shower. His hair now, though, was more like his father’s. It had lightened in color and was finer, less coarse than Elena’s, though her own was soft enough.

“Are you ready?” she asked. He tossed aside his coloring pad and jumped to his feet on Elena’s bed.

“Yeah!” He leapt onto Elena.

Elena chuckled as she caught him, letting out a soft grunt. He wrapped his thighs around her sides as she settled an arm under his bottom, and his right hand instantly found its way to the small hairs at the base of her head, hidden beneath her thick locks. “Are we gonna see monkeys?”

“We just might, my love.” They headed out of her bedroom and down the hall. “What else would you like to see?”

“Um.” Lucas tilted his head in thought, but then his eyes widened. “Dinosaurs!”

Elena laughed heartily at that. “I’m afraid there won’t be any dinosaurs, Lucas.” She grabbed her purse and car keys. “They are extinct, remember?”

“No bones?” Lucas pouted.

“No bones,” she confirmed. “We have to go to the museums to see the bones, remember? Zoos are for living animals.”

“Oooh,” Lucas said, wiggling around on Elena’s hip before she bent to settle him into his car seat. “Algators?”

“I’m not sure, Lucas.” She buckled him in. “Would you like to see the reptiles?”

“Yeah! Does Alson like algators?”

“She may, love.”

“Where is she?”

“We have to go pick her up,” she said as she loaded Lucas’s stroller into the trunk. There was no way he would stay on his feet the entire time, and she preferred him protected from the sun anyway. She also wouldn’t have to worry about him wandering off, or letting go of her hand, or being picked up by a stranger and whisked away.

“For our date?” Elena could hear him bouncing in his car seat. Since the moment his mother had picked him up on Wednesday evening and informed him of the weekend date, it was all he could talk about. Not a day went by that he didn’t ask her if it was time to go to the zoo with Allison.

Elena closed the trunk and moved around to close Lucas’s door as well. She leaned in before doing so and kissed his temple. “Yes, Lucas, for our date.”

* * *

Allison glanced down at her phone, her palms sweaty as she gripped the device tightly between her hands. She didn’t know why she was so nervous. They were just going to the zoo after all. Still, though, the moment she received the “we’re here” text message from Elena, Allison’s heart began to thunder so loudly in her chest that she was surprised people weren’t dancing around the dorm to the erratic beat.

“Okay, they’re here.”

“So go,” Macy laughed. “And Alli, don’t look so terrified. No worries, remember?”

“Right.” Allison nodded and took a deep breath. “Right.” She brushed her hands down the front of her white tank top before pulling at the open edges of her blue-and-white pinstriped button-up shirt. Running a hand through her hair, she glanced back at Macy.

Macy sighed. “Will you stop? You look great.”

“But like date great?” Allison asked. “I mean, I know we’re going to the zoo and I should be comfortable, but I still want to look, you know, presentable or whatever.”

“The ripped jeans are really working for you,” Macy said. “How you look isn’t going to matter, though, if you don’t stop yabbering and just go already.”

“Okay, okay,” Allison groaned. She grabbed her phone and sent a quick reply. “I’m going.”

“Good.”

Allison stuck her wallet in her back pocket and then headed for the door. Just as Allison opened it, Macy called out to her again. “Oh, and Alli?”

Allison turned back. “Yeah?”

“Try to relax. Use a little of that Sawyer swagger.” She reached over and grabbed something off of her bedside table and tossed it through the air. “And eat that.”

Allison caught the small item in midair and cracked up when she saw that it was a peppermint. She pulled the wrapper off and popped the mint in her mouth. “Thanks Mace. I’ll see you later.”

“Hopefully much later.”

Allison slipped out of the dorm, closing the door behind her.

* * *

“Sawyer swagger,” Allison muttered as she passed the elevator and shot straight to the stairs. She took them two at a time and did her best to take Macy’s advice and just relax. “It’s all good,” she told herself as she finally made it to the ground level. “She likes you. It’s good.”

Before exiting the building, she took a deep breath. She cracked her neck to both sides and smoothed her hands over her shirt once more, whispering “Sawyer swagger” to herself over and over. She then shook out her nerves and pushed open the door, stepping out into the bright sunlight of the late morning.

Allison only managed about ten seconds of her cocky little strut before she glanced up and stumbled to a stop. Elena was parked a short distance from the dorm and stood beneath the glimmering sun, leaning against the passenger door of her car. Allison’s breath caught so forcefully in her throat that she nearly choked.

Her heart hammered away as her eyes tracked the length of Elena’s body. The woman was practically painted into dark-wash skinny jeans, a simple white V-neck T-shirt that she somehow made look like a royal fucking gown, and black pumps with a shorter heel than Allison was accustomed to seeing Elena wear.

It was obvious that Elena had gone for that classic sexy look, while Allison had went more the route of effortlessly hot, and it almost made her want to laugh. They were so different. It was apparent in everything—their manners of dress, their manners of speech, their body languages, and their individual demeanors. They were in stark contrast, and, yet, they somehow always found a way to fit easily together; at least, they always had before. Allison was hopeful, and now maybe a tad confident, that it would be much the same this day.

“Hi,” Allison said when she reached the car.

“Hello.” They stared at one another for another long moment, until Allison finally just shuffled awkwardly forward. She wrapped an arm around Elena, hugging her, and was pleased when she felt Elena’s arms come around her a moment later to return the embrace.

“You look great,” Allison said as they pulled apart again. “I mean, really. Wow.” She glanced down Elena’s body again. “I’m surprised you even own jeans, but now I’m thinking that you should probably only ever wear jeans from now on.”

Elena smirked. “Thank you. You look wonderful as well.”

“Eh, I’ve got basically nothing goin’ for me but these abs, so I figured if nothing else, I couldn’t go wrong with a tight tank.” Allison blushed at her own words, wishing she hadn’t even said them. She cleared her throat and laughed awkwardly, expecting Elena to join in. Elena, however, merely continued to smirk at her.

Her eyes tracked back down to Allison’s abs, the indentations between the muscles clearly visible through the thin material of the white tank top. Her voice lowered an octave when she said, “You figured right.”

Allison swallowed thickly, heat ripping through her body at the sound of Elena’s voice. Before she could reply, though, a loud sigh sounded from inside the car and they both heard Lucas shout, “I’m here too!”

They laughed, and Elena surprised Allison by turning and opening the passenger door for her. “Uh, thanks,” Allison said. “No one’s ever opened the door for me before.”

Elena smiled and waited until Allison was seated before closing the door and leaning down through the open window. “You’re welcome,” she replied. “Oh, and you have much more going for you than just your abs, dear, though they are rather nice.” She winked and made her way around to the driver’s side.

Allison bit her lip and shook her head as Elena disappeared from the window. That woman was seriously going to be the death of her. She took a deep breath, and as Elena slipped into the driver’s side, Allison turned in her seat and smiled back at Lucas. “Hey little man!” she greeted. “You ready to see some animals?”

“Yeah!” he shouted. “You like algators?”

Allison sucked in a hissing breath and tilted her head. “Ooh, I don’t know, Lucas. They’re a little scary.”

The small boy giggled. “Me and Momma will hold your hand! Won’t we, Momma?”

“Absolutely,” Elena agreed as she pulled into traffic. She glanced to the woman beside her and added, “If you would like, dear.”

“What if there aren’t any alligators? Do I have to be scared in order for you to hold my hand?”

Elena kept her eyes on the road, but Allison could see the pink tint on her neck and cheeks. When Elena shook her head, Allison grinned like a fool.

* * *

Elena unbuckled Lucas from his car seat with only a bit of difficulty, and, as soon as she pulled him from the car and set him on his feet, Allison whistled loudly. “Whoa, Lucas, you look handsome, buddy.”

He beamed up at her and waited for Elena to prepare the stroller. “Thank you!” A faint blush touched his cheeks, making him somehow look even more like his mother than he already did.

“Who’d you get all dressed up for?” Allison asked, squatting down to be eye level with the kid. She poked his sides playfully, and he giggled and pushed her hands away. “The monkeys?”

“No.” Another giggle burst forth. “Our date.”

“Aw, really? You got dressed up for our date?”

“Yup!” He nodded. “I’m a gennlemen, right Momma?”

Allison swooned as Elena laughed. “That’s right, Lucas. You are a perfect gentleman.” Elena wheeled the stroller around and motioned for her son to climb inside. He happily took his juice cup from his mother as Allison buckled the strap around his waist.

“All right,” Allison said with a clap of her hands. “Are we ready, Vega family?”

“Ready!” Lucas boomed, and Elena laughed from behind the handles of his stroller.

“Lead the way.”

They took off as a unit into the zoo.

* * *

Lucas squealed and pointed every few minutes as Elena and Allison wheeled him from exhibit to exhibit, animal to animal. She made easy conversation with Elena about random things as they strolled along. They talked about everything from Elena’s lack of comfort clothes to Allison’s strange habit of brushing her teeth in the shower every morning. It was easily the most comfortable date Allison had ever been on, though there hadn’t been many.

They took a break after about an hour of walking to eat. They ate simple—chicken fingers and fries shared among the three of them. Allison cracked a joke about how Elena looked like she was eating escargot in a fancy restaurant and was pleasantly surprised when Elena teased in return that Allison looked like she had never eaten before in her life.

Once finished, Allison insisted on buying everyone ice cream. Lucas wanted chocolate, so she ordered him a small sugar cone with a single scoop of chocolate. Elena asked for mint pistachio, which earned her another teasing smile from Allison, and Allison went for plain old vanilla.

“I love ice cream!” Lucas cheered halfway through his cold snack, his cheeks, chin, and nose already covered in chocolate.

“Yes, we see that, dear.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Elena,” Allison said, her eyes glinting with mirth. “He doesn’t look to me like he’s enjoying that ice cream cone at all.”

“Oh, didn’t you know?” Elena asked. “You simply cannot enjoy ice cream unless it’s covering at least half of your face.”

Allison grinned wickedly. “Oh, well, in that case, you’re not enjoying your ice cream at all, are you? I don’t see a single bit of—oh wait.” She popped her hand over and jostled Elena’s wrist just as she went to take a lick, and Elena gasped when green ice cream smeared across her chin.

“Allison!” Elena’s hand instantly went up to cup around her chin as Allison buckled over laughing.

Allison couldn’t help herself. Elena’s expression was priceless, and she couldn’t stop the laughter as it bubbled up and out of her. She expected Elena to instantly go for the baby wipes in the stroller, ridding herself of the cold evidence of Allison’s betrayal, but, instead, Elena thoroughly surprised her.

“Well, I suppose you’re not enjoying yours either,” she said and launched forward, smashing the globe of her ice cream cone against Allison’s lips and nose. “Perhaps you should try some of mine!”

Allison’s gasp was even louder than Elena’s, but she needed hardly any time to rebound before she burst out laughing again. Green ice cream decorated her face. She could feel it freezing against her nose and smeared across her lips, and she couldn’t believe that Elena went there, but she was so glad. It was incredible to see this playful side of the usually tightly bound woman. Allison wanted to unravel her entirely and see all the quirky parts that she kept hidden.

Lucas’s high-pitched giggle echoed around them like a warm embrace as Allison glared at Elena’s mocking smirk and asked, “Oh, you think that’s funny, do you?”

“Quite.”

One fair hand shot out and latched onto Elena’s arm. Allison jerked Elena flush against her and asked, “First date kiss?”

Elena sucked in a sharp breath as their eyes locked, but laughed, the sound muffled, when Allison then pressed her ice-cream covered lips to hers. She nuzzled Elena’s nose with her own, covering its dainty tip with sticky green, all to Lucas’s great amusement.

“Alson! Don’t ‘tack Momma!”

Both Elena and Allison chuckled as they pulled apart. Allison smiled down at him. “Sorry, buddy. But she got me first.”

“Oh, I did no such thing! You started it.”

Allison shifted a little closer to her. “Fair enough.” She laughed.

Elena grabbed the wipes and passed Allison a few. She cleaned her own face and hands quickly, tossing the rest of her melted and destroyed ice cream cone in the nearby trashcan, and cleaned Lucas’s face as well. “What do you think, Lucas? I think Allison might like me a little.”

He nodded vigorously and smiled up at Allison who hovered over Elena’s shoulder. “Yup!”

When Elena peered over her shoulder, Allison mimicked Lucas’s response, nodding just as vigorously. “Yup!”