Aiden thought telling his parents he had a girlfriend and asking if he could have a ride to the movie theater had been awkward, but the ride itself was much worse. Hanna had her parents drop her off at Aiden’s house, and then both Aiden’s parents drove them to the theater.
His parents kept trying to start conversations while carefully avoiding questions about what Hanna was. Aiden knew they wanted to know, but either they didn’t want to be rude by asking outright, or they were afraid to really know, or both. With Hanna in the car, it was like slow torture.
It didn’t help that Hanna didn’t go into detail about how she and Aiden met. Aiden took her lead and avoided talking about Conner or how he’d abused her. She was Aiden’s first girlfriend, this was his first date, and with all this heaped on top of it, he wanted to sink into the seat of the car and disappear.
Every time he wondered if this was a bad idea, Hanna would smile at him and he’d forget about the embarrassment for a moment.
Once in the theater, they split up and Aiden breathed a sigh of relief to finally be away from his parents. “I can’t wait to get my own car.”
Hanna laughed. “It was kinda awkward.”
They stepped into the dim theater and made their way to a pair of empty seats with a good view. The movie had been out for a couple of weeks, so it wasn’t packed. With the drinks in the cup holders and the popcorn bucket on his lap, he reached out for her hand. Her shy smile made his stomach flutter as she took his hand.
“This is nice,” she said in a hushed tone. “I’m not worried about making you mad.”
Conner. That asshole. “You never have to worry about that, or about me hurting you. I would never hurt you.”
She squeezed his hand and leaned against him as the previews started.
It was hard to concentrate on the movie with her so close. She took her hand away to eat popcorn and leaned forward to take a drink from her cup, but she always settled back against him. He thought about how nice it would be to watch a movie at home where the couch would be much better for cuddling. Then he thought about his parents hovering around, and it soured the idea. Too bad he didn’t have an amazing setup in his room like Dylan did.
When the movie was over, she shifted to look at him. “I liked it.”
What he remembered of the movie had seemed to be good. “Me too.”
Her expression sobered. “Hey, can we stay a minute? I need to talk to you about something.”
“Sure.” His stomach tightened.
Hanna waited until most of the people had left. “So, um, my parents don’t know I’m on a date. They think I’m at your house to study.”
“Why didn’t you tell them?”
She looked at the floor. “I’m only supposed to date werewolves.”
“Your parents are like… racist?” His words echoed in the empty theater.
Her face scrunched up. “It’s not the same. Well, I guess maybe it is, kinda. It’s complicated.”
“So your parents approved of Conner?” That made his stomach turn, full of pop and popcorn.
She turned, eyes wide. “They didn’t know he hurt me. I never told them. It took almost a month for me to tell them we broke up, and I wouldn’t tell them why. I made up a story that he dumped me so at least they’d think he was a jerk.” She swallowed. “I don’t think he’s admitted to his parents why we really broke up. I’m worried that my parents will talk to his parents… The packs are allies. Oh God, this is such a mess.”
“Hanna.” He took her hand. “I won’t let anyone hurt you.”
“I’m worried that if they find out, they’ll be so ashamed of me.”
“Why would they be ashamed of you? Conner hurt you— it’s his fault.” If her parents were like that, no wonder she put up with Conner’s abuse. Did Shadow Valley have some kind of Child Protective Service?
“It’s not that. They’ll be upset that I didn’t fight back. That I didn’t kick his ass the first time he hurt me. They want me to be strong, but I’m just not.”
“Hey, being violent and physically tough isn’t the only way to be strong.” He put a hand on her cheek, thrilling at the touch even during such a serious conversation. “I don’t like to fight either. I have panic attacks in gym because I’m so afraid of magic.”
“But you don’t seem weak.”
“Neither do you. If you’d told me last year that you were a werewolf, I would have been terrified. Well, actually I wouldn’t have believed you, but if I had, I’d have been scared.” He’d been scared of everybody when he first came to Shadow Valley, but it was surprising how fast he started seeing his fellow students as normal. Even though he was afraid of magic, he wasn’t afraid of the people. With Dylan around, he wasn’t even really afraid of bullies like Conner.
Hanna smiled, ducking her head. “I forget that to the outside world, I’m a big scary monster.”
“Although you’re very pretty for a monster.”
That made her laugh and she kissed his cheek.
His heart raced as she pulled back, wondering if he should kiss her lips. What would a real kiss be like? Warm and soft and wet probably. Then a rumble interrupted him as a worker wheeled in a garbage can to clean the theater. “I guess that’s our cue to leave.” He was disappointed but also a little relieved.
As they walked out, he said, “Hey, what about the ride home? My parents are supposed to drop you off.”
“I told my parents they would. They think we’re coming from your house and your parents are being nice to take me back. It just means we can’t hold hands or kiss or anything. Actually, it would be best if you stayed in the car.”
Forbidden love was the kind of thing that sounded good in a story but was much less fun in real life. “But then my parents will think it’s weird. You saw what a big deal they made out of this being my first date.”
Hanna nibbled her bottom lip. The sight made him warm all over. “Maybe you could give me a good-bye kiss in the car? Before we get to my block?”
That sounded fantastic until he remembered that meant he’d be in the car with his parents. Having his first kiss with them watching was too embarrassing. “On the cheek? Not that I wouldn’t like to… I mean, I would, but my parents will be right there.” He made a face.
“I guess you can save that for later. We’ll have to find a way to be alone.” Whether it was deliberate or not, her voice dropped on the last word, and it sent a pleasant shiver through him.
Definitely something to look forward to.