As the bookstore locked up for the night, Thomas and Veronica made their way out the back entrance where her car was parked.

  Thomas glanced at her. “Do you know what kind of movie you’d like to see? It has to be PG. I think we can choose from Look Who’s Talking, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, or The Little Mermaid. I was thinking Look Who’s Talking.”

  Veronica shook her head. “Nope. Wrong theme for a first date. Kids? Someday maybe. But I think I want something romantic.”

  Thomas hesitated. “I’m not sure about the new one, but if you’re talking about The Little Mermaid—the original story wasn’t exactly romantic.”

  She gave a playful shrug. “This is Disney. It has to be romantic. Plus, it’s a cartoon—it won’t feel too serious.”

  Thomas chuckled. “The version I saw as a kid was a cartoon too, but it had a pretty dark vibe. But hey, if you think it’ll be good, I’m in. That means the mall. We could grab something from the food court. There’s that good pizza place and the Chinese spot too.”

  Veronica smiled. “I don’t really care. I just want to see the movie.”

  Thomas grinned. “Then to the mall we go.”

  They parked near the theater and went inside to check the showtimes. They had two options: one showing in 30 minutes, and another a little over two hours later.

  Thomas turned to her. “So, how long do you want to wait?”

  Veronica gave a small sigh. “I just want to see the movie.”

  Thomas laughed. “So I guess it’s popcorn and nachos for dinner.”

  Veronica nodded. “Let’s just get our tickets.”

  They bought their tickets and were heading in when someone called out from the snack counter.

  Employee behind the counter: “Hey, Thomas! Where’ve you been? I heard you quit, but no one knew why.”

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  Thomas smiled, surprised. “It’s great to see you! Yeah, her best friend got me a job watching her grandparents. It’s actually working out great.”

  Veronica looked between them. “Wait, how do they know you?”

  Thomas glanced at her with a soft smile. “I was working here when I met you and Shoshana.”

  He handed the tickets to the usher and they entered the theater, finding good seats as the previews started. In the darkened room, Thomas reached over and gently took Veronica’s hand. They sat quietly together, enjoying the film.

  When Kiss the Girl began to play, Thomas leaned in close and whispered, “May I?”

  Veronica smiled, whispering back, “You better.”

  They shared a soft kiss, then returned to holding hands like it was the most natural thing in the world.

  As the credits rolled, they walked out hand in hand, heading toward her car.

  Veronica nudged him. “How about we go back to my place? We can check for leftovers… or ice cream.”

  Thomas grinned. “You know, that sounds pretty perfect.”

  They pulled into the garage and stepped inside. Her mom, May, was finishing up something in the kitchen.

  Veronica called out, “Mom, do we have any leftovers? Or ice cream?”

  May smiled at them. “Let’s have ice cream and you can tell me how the date went. Sweetheart, don’t take this the wrong way—but you seem a lot happier than you did with Mark.”

  Veronica laughed softly. “It’s definitely different from Mark.”

  May gave her a curious look. “Did anything happen?”

  Veronica lit up. “He kissed me during Kiss the Girl.”

  May’s eyes widened. “He did?”

  Veronica laughed again. “It was great. Totally spontaneous. It felt right. And the way he asked—‘May I?’—it wasn’t pushy. It felt like he respected me. I told him, ‘You better.’ Then we just went back to holding hands. Like it was the most natural thing in the world.”

  May chuckled. “Wow. Sounds like I’m going to need to talk your father into double dates—if this guy’s that smooth. I love your dad, but his romantic timing leaves a lot to be desired.”

  Veronica grinned. “Did you know Thomas was working at the theater when we met him?”

  May looked at him with new curiosity. “Why’d you quit?”

  Thomas shrugged. “My bike had a flat, and I felt like I had to keep a promise I made to Shoshana—to help look after her grandparents.”

  Veronica rolled her eyes affectionately. “No, she guilt-tripped you into it. Thank goodness for that.”

  May raised an eyebrow. “Do you think this might go somewhere?”

  Veronica laughed. “Not while Dad keeps joking about marrying us off just to have Thomas as a son-in-law.”

  May smirked. “I doubt he means it like that. But you know when he gets home, he’s going to want to hear this whole story.”

  Veronica grinned. “So where is he anyway?”

  May started scooping the ice cream. “Helping someone out. But don’t worry, I’ll make sure he hears every word. Especially the part about Kiss the Girl.”

  Veronica gave Thomas a sidelong look. “Tell Dad to be careful—he might start getting book orders just so people can play cricket.”

  May burst out laughing. “Now that’s a story I need to hear.”