30. Theo
THEO
Strawberry Springs Neighborhood Watch
Kerry Winsor: Do you ever feel like something is going on and you’re missing it?
Comments:
Atticus Thompson: No. We have lives and jobs, Kerry.
Kerry Winsor: And yet I see you online all the time, Atticus!
Jade Clark: Is it just me or is Kerry getting spicier?
Kerry Winsor: Mess with the bull and you get the horns! No one can bully me.
Jade Clark: Hey, remember the time a deer ate your underwear?
Kerry Winsor: SHUT UP, JADE!
I woke up pleasantly warm with a weight on my chest and the scent of vanilla in my nose. Slowly opening my eyes, I found Piper still lying on me, her hand holding my shirt with an iron grip.
Unable to stop myself, I pressed my lips to her hair. She let out a contented sigh, her hand tightening.
This was perfect. The kind of perfect that never lasted long.
I gave myself ten seconds before I pulled away. “Piper,” I murmured, “I need to get up.”
“No,” she muttered, snuggling in closer. My chest burned and I was tempted to stay forever.
“I need to get to the shop.”
She didn’t answer for so long that I thought she was plotting how to keep me trapped here, but then she let out a heavy sigh and moved away.
“Fine.”
“I’ll have coffee waiting for you.”
“That’s so hot.” Her voice was still sleepy and I couldn’t help but chuckle. “How are you not exhausted?”
“I’ve always been a morning person.”
“Fuck you.”
“Such language from someone so young.”
Piper reached for my skin and pinched.
“Ow! Hey! Rude!”
“You deserve it.”
A laugh escaped me. It had been far too long since I’d been like this with anyone. When I finally stopped, Piper stared at me.
“I’m guessing you’re awake now.”
“Mostly.”
I pressed a kiss to her cheek, resisting the urge to hold back. She didn’t flinch. She even leaned into it.
“Today’s a delivery day. Come downstairs for breakfast.”
“I will. Eventually.” Her head fell back onto her soft pillow. “I have a therapy appointment today, but I’ll be in after.”
It was nearly impossible for me to leave her, but I had to.
Summer humidity clung to me as I walked to the shop, and I knew that we were skipping spring and heading right into summer.
As I came around the corner, ready to get inside and start the coffee, I was surprised to not find Marjorie waiting for me.
Thinking she might be hiding like she usually did, I started to turn my head to search for her, and was met with a face full of grinning old woman.
“Jesus!” I yelled, nearly tripping over myself to step back.
“Any reason you’re in the same clothes as yesterday?”
I dropped the keys on the ground. “What? How could you know that?”
“Tammy may have said something interesting about you being at Center Point with Piper last night, and that she liked that black T-shirt.” Only her eyes shot down to gesture to what I was wearing.
“I-I have multiple black shirts.”
“You also came out of Piper’s apartment.”
“Where on earth were you hiding?”
She took a step back. “Behind the dumpster. I was hoping you’d come out through the shop’s back door and I could jump out to scare you, but when I saw you leaving Piper’s apartment, I knew I had to change tactics.”
I muttered “dammit” as I reached for my keys and unlocked the shop. I pushed inside, holding the door for her. “I spent the night there,” I finally announced.
“Did you now?” Marjorie’s grin only grew. “Do I need to give you the safe sex talk?”
Oh, God. Anything but that. “Nothing happened. I just slept there.”
“Interesting. Taking it slow?”
“Trying to.”
“You know, I’m happy to see you putting down roots. And apparently taking days off.” She gave me a smile that seemed genuine—yet another thing that was rare for her.
“It’s just one day off a week for the foreseeable future.”
She blinked. “What’s that? Are you actually listening to me?”
“I am.”
“Oh, wow.” She held her hands out and took a deep breath. “I need to take this moment in. Things never go like this for me.”
I rolled my eyes. “Yeah, yeah, you don’t have to rub it in. I do know I need days off.”
“What made you finally see the light? Was it Kelsey? Or was it someone else?” She practically sang that last part. She straightened up. “Now, let me give you some advice. Take interest in Piper’s interests. Like reading her books.”
I knew she wasn’t wrong, but I also knew that Marjorie had an ulterior motive. “You just want me to come by the library.”
“I do, but I also have a point. Do you think that I care about Henrietta’s dolls all that much? Well, now I do, but when I first heard about them, I didn’t know a damn thing about them. That’s part of love, meeting them in the middle and caring about what they care about.”
As much as they didn’t show their love in ways that most saw, I’d seen her practice what she preached.
There had been multiple times Marjorie told me something Henrietta had been talking about, even if it wasn’t her favorite thing in the world.
She tried her best to listen and take it all in, even if she teased her later about it.
“I’ll take all of that into account.”
Marjorie’s eyes narrowed as if she knew I was hiding something from her. I gave her a tight smile.
I had no idea why she cared so much. Marjorie enjoyed some gossip, but she kept a lot of things away from the town. She just seemed interested in getting to know me.
It was something I still struggled to understand.