I love the movies. I've rarely missed a new release since I was old enough to go to the movies alone and buy my own ticket. Over the years, there's been winners and losers. However, most were just mediocre. It didn't make much difference to me. I just loved the cinema, sitting in the dark, nibbling on the required popcorn and letting my imagination wander into the movie until I became a part of the script.
Starr and I worked together as accounting clerks in a downtown wealth management firm, since neither of us was able to pass the Uniform Certified Public Accounting exam after graduating from school.
We laughed a lot about our names. We agreed that we could have been headliners at a Portland strip club. "Starr and Tiffany: see all of them and see them often." We didn't know why our mothers chose names with such obvious connotations but we believed we'd both be making more money in Portland than where we were.
Starr and I spent considerable time together, frequently having lunch together and an occasional outing on the weekends. Thursday night, however, was a permanent date for us. Every Thursday night we went to the movies. We went to the same theater and sat in the same seats, a ritual we followed religiously even when it meant we saw the same move two weeks in a row.
That worked terrifically for over three years until Starr accepted a new position in Oregon. She was very circumspect about the details of her new job. That, plus the fact that she has an incredible body, led me, and others, to speculate about how close to Portland was her job in Oregon.
Starr left on a Friday. The following Thursday, I went to the movies alone. I was lonely and the movie was barely mediocre. If it hadn't been for the gentleman sitting next to me, it would have been a complete bust even though he ignored my presence.
The following Thursday, the movie was an improvement and I sat next to the same gentleman as the previous week, an incredible coincidence that made the evening a success for me.
Another Thursday and another movie. Only this time, deciding to go wasn't easy. The movie was another of those space monster movies with lots of special effects and computer generated imagery with lots of blood, guts and extensive property destruction. I'm a sucker for every visual trap film makers use to scare movie goers. In other words, it was a piss my pants horror movie.
Going to a pisser movie with Starr eased my tenseness. She'd hold my hand and absorb some of my fear. Enough so that I could keep my pants dry. However, not going would spoil my perfect attendance record. So, like every other Thursday, I went to the movies. Same seat. Same gentleman sitting next to me.
Within ten minutes, the movie had every nerve in my body on alert. I gripped both of the seat arm rests and held on as if my world was going to end. The first sudden transition caused the bucket of popcorn in my lap to leap a foot in the air and fill the air with buttery snack.
Then a miracle happened. The gentleman next to me put his hand on top of mine on the arm rest. He never said a word. He just rested his hand on mine. The touch alone was enough to drain a significant amount of tension from me. It is not an exaggeration to say that his simple act of kindness made it possible for me to sit through the rest of the movie.
He kept his hand on mine until the movie ended. No attempt to hold my hand or touch me further. Just a casual resting of his hand on mine. When the move ended, he removed his hand and left the theater, just like every other Thursday, without a word or nod of acknowledgement.
I walked home, calmer than I could have expected. I held my hand across my body as if it was some sort of shrine. I went to bed that night dreaming of the man I knew only by his shadowy profile sitting in the seat next to mine.
The movie the next Thursday was a romantic comedy starring some of my favorite actors. I was looking forward to a light and pleasant evening eating popcorn at the movies. I hadn't given much thought about the gentleman in the seat next to me.
However, he was there, sitting in his usual seat almost as if he was waiting for me. I settled in my seat, watched the movie and munched my popcorn. At one point, I put my arm on the armrest between our seats. Instantly, his hand was on top of mine. It wasn't a scary movie and I didn't understand why he did it, unless he wanted it to be there. More than just on top of my hand. His fingers curled under my hand and actually held my hand. I did nothing to discourage him. I left my hand on the arm rest and let him hold and caress my hand.
When the movie ended, he let go of my hand and left like every other week. I walked home floating on air. I have no idea why. The man who held my hand for ninety minutes had no name and no presence other than a shadow in the seat next to me but his simple act of kindness somehow lifted my mood.
I thought about the movie the next Thursday for an entire week. Actually, I thought about the man in the seat next to me. When Thursday night arrived, I hadn't a clue about the movie I was about to watch. It turned out to be a film-noir mystery drama that required significant attention to grasp the plot. When the movie ended, I didn't have a clue about the plot or the actors.
About ten minutes into the movie, the stranger next to me was holding my hand on the arm rest. For reasons I still can't explain, I removed my hand from the arm rest, dislodging his hand in the process and put the arm rest up and moved closer to him. I put my hand in my lap and his hand fell softly on my thigh.
I almost wet my pants although for a different reason. I knew I had invited further contact when I put the arm rest up, but his hand on my thigh still had an emotional response to his touch. We watched the rest of the movie like that, at least I think he did. Occasionally, he would squeeze my thigh or move his hand in a short stroke on my thigh on top of my dress. Every squeeze, every stroke invoked an electrical charge up my leg and around my midsection. When the movie ended, I had my hand on top of his and was moving it in longer strokes on my leg. Then we left the theater separately just like every other Thursday evening.
Another week, another Thursday, another movie. I had been distracted all week and dreamed about the possibilities each night. This time, I didn't give a crap what the movie was. I was going to the movies to sit next to the mysterious gentleman who was willing to stroke my thigh last week.
I went to the theater, bought my ticket and my popcorn and went inside. My gentleman was already in his seat, the arm rest was already up and he seemed to be seated off center in the direction of my seat. I sat off center in the direction of his seat with our hips almost touching.
I nibbled at my popcorn until the lights dimmed and the movie started. His hand was quickly on my thigh, over my skirt, repeating the motions I had encouraged the previous week. In response, I put my hand on his thigh over his pants. When he took a short stroke on my thigh, I took a short stroke on his thigh. When he squeezed my thigh, I squeezed his thigh. When he took a longer stroke on my thigh, I took a longer stroke on his thigh.
When my legs separated slightly, so did his. When his hand rubbed my inner thigh, I rubbed his inner thigh. And then, the movie was over and we went our separate ways, until next Thursday.
The more I looked forward to Thursday, the further away it got. When it finally came, I rushed home after work, took a shower, put on a short, above the knee skirt that rode higher when I sat down, an Oxford shirt and my best bra and underwear. I walked purposefully to the theater, bought a ticket and popcorn again and headed for my seat. I was the first to arrive. The previews hadn't even started. I put up the arm rest and sat close to the still empty seat next to me. I told myself repeatedly, not to be over anxious without success.