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Her expression went from pure elation to abject disappointment so quickly, I almost regretted the joke. I realized I could probably download the Notebook in a few short minutes if I tried right now. But I really, really didn’t want to try.

“Oh come on,” I said placatingly. “Die Hard’s gonna look awesome on the big screen! Besides, you’re not going to be watching the whole movie anyway.”

Claudia snorted back at me, almost scornfully. “I’m not?”

“Nope.”

“And why’s that?”

I looked at Brandon. He looked at her.

“Because you’ll be spending most of the movie in the back seat,” he said simply, “while we take turns screwing your brains out.”

Thirty-Two

CLAUDIA

The statement sent my pulse racing. It was so bold, so terrifyingly direct. And yet so incredibly hot… all at the same time.

“Ah,” said Colin. “There we go.”

He hit one more key, and the machine on the dashboard sprang to life. An image appeared on the big movie screen, fired through the windshield by the lens of the projector.

“Damn that’s cool,” said Brandon.

The movie took up only the bottom half of the screen, but that was okay because the top half was broken off anyway. It was a little blurry, and the screen a little stained in places. But it was watchable. And above all else, it was cute.

“You guys are adorable,” I told them. “Really.”

“And cool,” said Brandon. “Don’t forget cool.”

“Seriously,” I said, genuinely impressed. “I can’t believe you know all this stuff!”

Colin pressed a few more buttons. “I’m the nerd of the group,” he said, jerking a thumb at himself. “Don’t you know that by now?”

Brandon laughed. “He’s the brains. I’m the brawn.” He paused. “I don’t know what Hunter is…”

He’s the alpha… I thought but didn’t say.

The music started, and I snuggled in between them. Colin still had the car running. A warm steady heat washed over us from the dashboard vents as Brandon reached into the back seat.

“Popcorn,” he smiled, bringing out a giant movie-sized bag. “And…” he reached back again. “Candy!”

They’d thought of everything, my two sexy boyfriends. Brandon tore open a bag of Swedish Fish and offered me some. Colin, reaching down by his feet, slid open a small cooler filled with beer and soda.

“Let’s watch the beginning,” Brandon said excitedly. “The beginning is good!”

Finally they produced a long fuzzy blanket, and stretched it across the three of us. We were comfy. Cozy. But outside in the frozen darkness, the abandoned field of the ancient Drive-In looked like something out of a haunted house story.

Colin poked me. “Creepy out there, isn’t it?”

“Oh yeah.”

He leaned in and kissed me, so slowly and sensually I actually felt myself melting into the seat. His hand went to the side of my face, brushing my hair back over my ear, caressing me gently.

“Not in here,” he winked.

The movie played on, and for the first half hour we actually watched it. We munched on popcorn. Sipped our drinks. Beyond the glass, the icy graveyard that had once been a beautiful, thriving hot spot was now a ghost of its former self. But even surrounded by shadows on all sides, I felt safe and secure between them.