When he did as I said and stopped by the curb, I unbuckled my seatbelt and turned to him.
"Wait five minutes. I'll be right back."
Without waiting for an answer, I got out of the car and hurried to the shop I'd just seen. I rushed inside, grabbed a beanie, shoved it onto my head, picked a pair of sunglasses in the size I wanted, paid, and rushed back just as fast.
He was on the phone when I got in, but the moment he noticed me, he ended the call and hung up. That felt suspicious. He frowned as soon as he saw me.
"What is this look? Are we robbing a bank?"
I pulled the sunglasses over the beanie and looked at him tiredly.
"Don't be dramatic, Hotshot. And if you weren't rich and this reckless, we probably would rob one."
His frown relaxed into an amused grin, and I stared at him blankly.
"What's funny?"
"You just said you'd rob a bank with me if I wanted."
I frowned this time.
"That's not what I meant! I didn't mean it like that!"
"Relax, Sunshine. Robbing banks isn't on my agenda. For now."
When he laughed and started the car, I fastened my seatbelt with grumpy muttering and turned to the window.
Getting between this guy's brain and his ego was harder than graduating top of the class.
Minutes later, I realized where we were and turned to him in disbelief.
"You dragged me out of the house looking like this just to come to the mall?"
"Yes. Now get out."
He pocketed his phone and stepped out. I pulled my beanie lower, put my sunglasses back on, and got out too. The moment we entered the building, I regretted not choosing lighter lenses. I could barely see two steps ahead.
Still, knowing how pale I looked without makeup, I didn't want to take them off. I wasn't overly fancy, but that didn't mean I liked going out looking careless.
I followed Kerem without knowing where we were going, noticing that everyone we passed was staring at us. Everyone? Correction—every woman. And honestly, they weren't wrong. If I saw a man that sexy, I'd look too.
That didn't stop me from being annoyed, though. Not out of jealousy—I just hated drawing that much attention.
I glanced at Kerem and scowled. Had he dressed on purpose? He looked even more attractive than usual.
"Take those sunglasses off! You're going to trip and break something!"
"I'm fine. Leave me alone."
"Why are you even wearing them?"
"Because I want to, Hotshot!"
He sighed hopelessly and turned forward. I smirked and kept walking. For some reason, the moments when he gave up arguing with me were my favorite.
When we reached the top floor and entered the cinema area, I was surprised.
"Sit here. I'll be right back."
He pointed to the waiting area and headed toward the ticket counter. I sat down, confused. Why were we at the movies now? Shouldn't we be at home, waiting for news from our friends and discussing what to do if something went wrong?
It was still early evening, and there was time before they went to the station. Kerem had even called Demir after breakfast and said they'd gone over every detail of the plan—but it still wasn't enough to calm me.
Unable to help myself, I'd called Demir too. He'd promised to bring my friend back safe and sound. I trusted him—but before hanging up, he'd mentioned a "surprise" waiting for Aylin and "testing her skills," which made me uneasy.
Whatever he was planning, he'd better not put my friend in a difficult position—or I wouldn't hesitate to jump him and rearrange his face, no matter how much bigger he was than me.
"Come on. The movie's about to start."
I nodded at the sight of him standing in front of me with an enormous tub of popcorn and drinks.
"Kerem, I like movies, but wouldn't it have been better to stay home and wait for news?"
"Waiting at home wouldn't help anyone, Duru. And when we get out, they still won't have gone yet. At least this way, time passes faster."
"Alright. Let's go."
Once inside the dark theater, I took off my sunglasses and shoved them into my pocket. We grabbed the 3D glasses from the attendant and followed Kerem to our seats. Noticing they were the special couple seats, I grinned. Watching movies in these was incredibly comfortable—and fun. Who cared about the intention?
I took off my coat, placed it beside me, and immediately grabbed the popcorn from Kerem.
"What are we watching?"
"In the middle of the ocean."
I nodded stiffly, turned away, closed my eyes, and cursed silently.
Damn it.
If there was the ocean, there were definitely terrifying sea creatures.
I could watch haunted houses, possessions, or massacre films without blinking—but sea creatures were different. The fact that he'd unknowingly chosen the one theme that could scare me was proof enough of my terrible luck.
And it was in 3D.
Perfect.
What were my odds of surviving this movie without giving him material to tease me with?
I felt his hand on my shoulder and turned.
"You okay?"
"Hm? Yeah, yeah. I was just thinking about the others."
"Relax, Sunshine. It's starting."
Easy for you to say, jerk.
When I turned forward, the ads were ending—and I had never wanted a film reel to snap beyond repair more in my life.
When the end credits rolled, I let out a deep breath and lowered my feet. As I put my coat on, I tried to ignore the man beside me laughing so hard his shoulders were shaking—but I snapped.
"Stop laughing, Hotshot! You're driving me insane!"
"I still can't believe you were scared of this movie."
"What did you expect? To enjoy watching a whale the size of a house kill people?"
"You still didn't need to jump and bury yourself in your seat every time someone fell into the water."
"Ugh! Are you done laughing now? Can we go?"
"One last thing."
He suddenly grew serious and leaned closer. I leaned back and frowned.
"What? Why are you looking at me like that?"
"When you're scared, you're really cute, Sunshine."
Between the darkness of the theater and how close he was, I didn't know which made his simple compliment hit harder—but my heart was racing again.
"So I made the moment permanent. It wouldn't be fair if only I got to see it."
He pulled back and held up his phone, showing me the photo he'd posted. My hands flew to my face as I stared through my fingers at the horrifying movie—me looking like the dictionary definition of a wreck. My eyes widened, and I lunged for his phone.
"Kerem! Delete that right now!"
"I told you when you threatened me, it wouldn't go unpunished."
"Do you hold grudges like a camel or what? That was ages ago!"
"The most important rule of revenge is knowing when to strike, Sunshine."
"You are seriously messed up."
Groaning, I pulled out my phone and opened my own account. Seeing the likes and dozens of comments was enough to make me want to disappear forever.
"Come on. The next showing's about to start."