Free Angel of Mine by Jessica Louise

her skin, but not quite close enough to drape my arm around her. Squashing down my disappointment, I tell myself this is probably a smart thing, at least until I find out if her mum is home. Trying to be sly about gaining this information, I question, “Would your mum like to come watch the movie with us before I press play?”
    Ally seems clueless as to the real reason I asked, and she replies, “No, she’s out at the shops, she’ll be back later.”
    We sit back, and I discover this movie isn’t as pathetic as I thought it would be. I even find myself laughing at times. We slowly inch closer together but still aren’t touching. Honestly, I don’t mind since I’m having so much fun.
    Picking up a piece of popcorn, I throw it towards her mouth. It ends up hitting her on the nose. She turns to me with a slightly shocked look on her face. “Hey, what was that for?” She sounds a little miffed. Her hands are on her hips and she is staring me down, demanding an answer. I’m not intimidated in the slightest though. On the contrary, I find it extremely cute.
    “Oh come on, don’t tell me you haven’t seen the classic date move where you throw popcorn in each other’s mouths? You own a billion romance movies. It has to be in one of them?” I can literally see this information processing in that sweet little head of hers as her eyes become distant.
    Without warning, she throws a piece of popcorn at my face. Laughter bubbles up my throat, impossible to contain and before long, we are both in hysterics, throwing the delicious snack back and forth at each other.
    “I don’t know about romantic, but this certainly is entertaining, even though it is a little childish,” Ally manages to relay between bursts of giggles. The laughter sounds like pure joy and my ego swells with satisfaction that I caused it.
    “Childish? I’ll show you childish.” Leaping towards her, I grab a hold of both her wrists in one hand and pin them above her head, then with the other I start to tickle her with no abandon.
    “Mercy,” she yells as she squirms beneath me. “Mercy, mercy, mercy.”
    Dropping her wrists, I ease back off her. “So the tickling is a date move you have seen then?” I smirk. She must have seen it to know the word ‘mercy.’
    “Yeah,” she answers breathlessly. She looks stunning, laying back with her hair splayed around her, even with the popcorn in it, no, especially with the popcorn in it.
    Gently brushing the pieces of food away, I pull her up and tuck her into my side. My arm drapes comfortably around her where it stays for the rest of the movie.
     

     
    After the movie, we wander outside to stretch or legs in the fresh air. The oaks that are prominent in most streets of this town are present here, but just a little bit sparser than everywhere else. Spinning in the sunshine, I bask in its warmth. It’s so nice out here I was even able to take off my hoodie. It won’t be long until winter is here and a cold chill will take over our days.
    There are two boys throwing a baseball back and forth to each other on the street. Another is sitting on the branch of a tree that is by the roadside watching them. He appears to be the younger brother of one of the boys throwing the ball.
    A rogue ball goes sailing past my head so fast I actually hear the wind as it whips by my ear. I turn to retrieve it for them, only to find Theo has already caught it. He throws it back, and I take the opportunity to admire the muscles in his arm flexing, Yum .
    We go and sit on the kerb and watch them play. When I was younger, I used to look out my window and watch the other kids playing happily on the street and in their front yards. I remember wishing I could join in, or that I had a brother or sister to be able to play with at least inside the house. My father left just after I was born though and Mum never remarried, let alone dated, so there was no chance of that happening.
    Glancing at the little boy up in the tree, I wonder