Sunday, November 25, 2007

We tumble to the ground and then...

Ten years ago found me working in a movie theater, quite possibly the best job I ever had even if it was shorter lived than I would have liked. Everyone who worked at the theater was cool even though our ages varied widely. This was the time in my life that I really began to strike out on my own and wanted to live my own life for myself. It was working at the theater that I met him. Sparky had just turned 18 and I was a bit more mature 23. He was shorter than me, thin but not skinny, toned but not buff, dark hair and deep brown eyes. When not working he work loose jeans, tight long sleeve thermal with a graphic tee over it, metalic silver marble necklace, and a beanie. And the sexiest shit-eating smile. I can't exactly say what it was about him that drew me to him, but I fell for him, and hard. But since I had not yet come out, I kept my secret crush to myself.

Sparky was taking film classes at a local JC and for one of his assignments had to write a paper on a director he admired. He chose Kevin Smith of "Clerks" and "Chasing Amy" fame. Lucky for him I'm a big Kevin Smith fan and I offered to help him research and write the paper, well, and to just spend time with him alone. Sparky was a bit of a slacker (think booze and pot party boy) and had waited until the last minute to write the paper so we only had the night to finish it. I drove down to the theater as he was just closing up the box office and concession stand and we began the project.

The first couple of hours were pretty productive, as we used the computer in the office and pumped Sublime and Matchbox 20 over the lobby's overhead speakers. I was powered by just being near him, he was energized by the endless supply of Pepsi just outside the office door. I knew that Sparky didn't feel for me the way I felt for him, he had a girlfriend and they'd been together for more than a year. But we did have a special bond that neither of us shared with anyone else on the staff.

The short hand marched around the face of the clock several more times and with each passing hour our productivity decreased and the punchiness set in. With one page to go the first daylight began the appear in the East. A warm light began filling the lobby. Paper done. Save to disk. Print. As the printer whirred to life Sparky bolted from the office, challenging me to try to catch him. Drunk on lack of sleep I stumbled into the vast lobby not sure which way he took off in. I heard a theater door close down the hallway to the right and I took off in hot pursuit. Rounding the corner I was faced with 9 doorways and possible places he could he hiding. I started with theater number 10, the smallest one. Nada. I ran back to the hallway and into theater 9. I turned on the cleaning lights, but they revealed the auditoriums vacancy. Soon I was in theater 8, then 7. With each one my adrenaline began to increase. Just as I entered theater 6's right corridor, I heard something come from the other corridor and returned to the entrance to find him darting out into the hallway, his short but strong legs pumping him forward as fast as they could. My longer stride helped me catch up to him. Just as I was about to tag him, his Adidas sandal slipped off and he stumbled. I tried to catch him but he took me down to the floor in the process.

We tumbled to the ground, rolling over and over each other. When we stopped I was laying on top of him, our faces inches from each other. I could feel his breath on my face, the warmth of his body beneath me, and smell the scent of his skin. Time seemed to stand still as we laid together, melting into each other, silently looking into each other's eyes. Slowly, cautiously, our faces neared, hearts beating faster, our lips so close to making the contact I was dreaming of, longing for, praying for.

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Worst thing about today: Dozing off while watching Beowulf in 3D
Best thing about today: Back to back Futurama on Adult Swim

2 comments:

  1. Loved this! Well done.

    I dated a guy in high school who worked at the movie theater. There was one (1) auditorium. Remember life before multiplexs?

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  2. Yeah, I actually love single screen movie theaters. To this day, my dream job would be owning/running an old fashioned movie palace. *Sigh*

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