I dropped my gaze to the linen napkin in my lap. I fiddled with the edges. “But then he died and we never got to go. I always swore I’d have them one day, when I had something big to celebrate.”

Dare covered my hand with his. “I didn’t know you were saving them to have for a special occasion.” He looked down at the food like he wanted to chuck it all back in the bag and hide it away.

I turned my hand so our palms touched and threaded my fingers through his. “This is the most special occasion I can think of.”

His neck reddened and he lifted his fork. “We should probably dive into this. The lobster has been in my trunk for a bit. I don’t want either of us being done in tonight from trunk lobster.”

I laughed and grabbed my fork, taking the first bite. I closed my eyes and hummed as the creamy, buttery goodness coated my tongue. “This is the best thing I’ve ever had in my life.”

He laughed and scooped half of the seafood dish onto my plate.

“Don’t. You need to try it too.” I tried to ward off his spoon.

“I did try it. It’s great, but I much prefer watching you enjoy it. Plus, there’s more than enough of the beef for me.”

It was on the tip of my tongue to argue with him, but then I had another bite and my taste buds won the battle.

After we ate our food, accompanied by even more music and a death by chocolate cake, we made our way over to the cozy nook in front of the screen. Dare took off his jacket and wrapped it around my shoulders.

I sat between his legs, leaning back against his chest.

The small projector hummed to life and the screen filled with a blank blue rectangle.

“What’s our movie for the evening?”

“Since you’re a classic action movie fan, I figured we’d start with the best sequel of all time.” He flipped over the DVD case and the half-cybernetic, half-human face looked back at me.

Doing my best Austrian accent, I punched the air. “Come with me, if you want to live.”

He laughed and pressed the mini remote, bringing the screen to life.

When the bowl of popcorn and goobers came out along with the cherry coke, I didn’t think the night could get more perfect.

Under the sea of twinkling lights, as Arnold lowered himself into the vat of molten metal, I could have sworn Dare brushed a tear from his eye. I snuggled closer against him as the credits rolled.

“I could watch the movie on a loop.”

“There are a lot of things I could watch until the day I die.”

I smiled. “How do you always know the right thing to say?”

“You’d be the first person to accuse me of that.”

“Maybe everyone else doesn’t know you like I do.” I wrapped my arms around his waist. The stone-cut muscle was barely softened by the smooth dress shirt.