Right before school started back up and we both had to go back to teaching, Claire and I decided to drive east across the state to one of the last drive-in movie theaters around. We'd talked about going for years, but we had just never gotten around to it. In high school I worked at our local movie theater, and although I never had to work at the drive-in, I could still get in free. Claire and I saw several movies out there in the back of her truck, and a few of them we even watched. Just like our home-town drive-in before it closed, this one plays two movies back to back. The first move tonight is the new Spider-Man film that came out last month. After that is some war movie by an overrated director with a pop singer pretending to be an actor.
We decided to take the new vehicle we bought since we could put the seats down in the back, lift up the tailgate, and watch laying down. After paying, we drive onto the gravel and look around for a place to park in the dying light. Claire chooses a secluded spot in the back row. It isn't packed by any means, but there are quite a few cars there and more are coming in. The place won't fill up though. There's a reason there are that many of them around anymore. Claire leaves to get popcorn from the concession stand in the middle of the area. To save money, we'd brought our own drinks and candy, but like most people Claire has an obsession with movie theater popcorn.
While she's gone I open the tailgate and put the back seats down. I put a blanket down so it will be a little bit softer to lay on. I move the cooler with our drinks and candy in it so that it is handy and accessible. I'm just turning off the dome lights so they aren't on all night when Claire returns. We sit on the bumper for a little while watching the people move around. One car drives several loops trying to find the closest possible spot refusing to give up and acknowledge they can't get as close as they want. The movies don't have an official start time since they just start once it gets dark enough. We snack on the popcorn and talk about how we're not prepared for school to start next week. No matter how much we prepare (or I don't prepare) we never feel ready for a new school year which is probably because we take our jobs seriously. Soon the sky is dark enough and the thin beam of light from the projector shoots out and the screen fills. The sound isn't great as it spreads out into the air, but we can still make it out. The previews that run before the movie are old because they are the same ones that were on it when it came out a month ago. One of the nice things about a drive-in is that you can talk through the whole movie and pretty much no one cares. There are a few cars near us, but no one is directly in front or beside us so no one will notice us talking.
After three commercials, the film finally starts and Claire puts up the popcorn for a while. I realize I forgot to grab the pillows and get up to fetch them from the front of the car. I also grab myself a can of Dr Pepper. Claire asks for her water. Once I return, we lay down in the back and she snuggles up to me. However, it is short lived because it is August in Kansas and even though the sun has set it is still way too hot and humid. Instead, we hold hands and watch the movie. We saw it when it first came out, but it was fun seeing it again. We can hear the sound of children playing underneath the sound of the movie and the insects make their annoying calls into the air. The first film ends and Claire leaves to go to the bathroom and refill the popcorn. It is fairly late now and many of the cars pack up and leave either not wanting children to stay up too late or to not subject them to the next film. I take off my shoes and socks to get more comfortable. I'm taking off my belt when Claire comes back.
"Going to take it all off?" she asks, setting the popcorn bucket down and climbing into the back with me.
"It was digging into me and I got sick of it," I say referring to the belt.
"Maybe if you gained some weight you wouldn't have to put it so tight," she replies and grabs the belt. She whacks me gently with it in the stomach.
"It's not my fault," I protest. "I've been eating three times a day. It's not my fault I have a fast metabolism. If I stop running, I'll get to a healthier weight but be less healthy."
"I was just teasing you. You're getting abs and that sexy V."
"I have no abs," I say.
She responds by putting her hand on my stomach and squeezing. Of course, I do have some abs, I just don't have definition. She just thinks she sees it. She puts her hand under my shirt saying she needs to get a better feel. She tells me she can totally feel my abs, and I just shake my head. She runs her hand up to my chest and plays with my small amounts of chest hair before running her hand back down. As she pulls her hand out of my shirt, she makes sure to brush up against my crotch which is unusually subtle for her. Normally, she'd just grab my junk.
The previews for the next film start and we watch them while eating more popcorn and drinking more soda. It has gotten a little cooler now. I'm still borderline sweating because of the heat, but Claire shivers and scoots closer to me. I shake my head and she either doesn't notice or chooses to ignore me. I'm reminded of when we would go to the drive-in in high school and sit in the bed of her truck. The temperature would drop just enough for dew to start collecting on things, but we wouldn't notice as we tried to see how long we could make out without stopping. The answer was often basically the entire movie. Now, I can't imagine kissing for that long and not getting it on, but back then we didn't have sex yet.