18. Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Eighteen
Kai Moreno
“I’m about to tie Beau Drewitt up in the storage closet.”
Iswear Beau has rearranged the same stack of fucking books six times.
Maybe seven times, even. I lost count around the time he started straightening the same spine twice like it had personally offended him.
The man is vibrating from one side of the store to the other and I’m just standing here behind the counter watching him spiral.
What am I supposed to do? Get him a blood bag?
Tell him to count back from ten like my therapist taught me?
I pop yet another piece of gum in while watching him.
At this rate, I’ll have finished this pack by the end of the day. Better than cigarettes, right?
He keeps pretending he’s not spiraling, which somehow makes it even more obvious that he is. He throws me a glance every few minutes to see if I’m still checking in on him.
I pull my phone out the second Beau turns his back and gets lost in the shelves again.
News, memes, three videos of raccoons stealing snacks from porches.
I love these. Somebody domesticate them.
PLEASE. I’m halfway through a thirst-trap edit of an anime character everyone suddenly finds attractive when I glance up and catch Beau attempting to alphabetize the same author for the third time.
I’m going to start gatekeeping, I swear.
He keeps glancing toward the door like someone is going to appear out of thin air, as if he can’t hear everything. I go back to scrolling, shaking my head because if I stop for any longer to actually look at him I might laugh out loud.
He’s acting ridiculous. Which is next level. This is Beau fucking Drewitt, after all.
I pause on a post and snort quietly. Beau flinches at the sound like I just fired off a gun in the store.
I hold my phone up like the innocent bystander I am and keep scrolling.
My feed is pure randomness, which is probably why it’s doing a better job calming me down than him reorganizing the history section.
Every few seconds I peek over the screen to watch him fight with a stubborn book spine like it insulted him for wearing the same type of outfit everyday.
It’s peak entertainment. My phone might be in my hands, but Beau is the real show.
I clear my throat, loud enough to disturb him. “Soooo, you want to tell me why you’re emotionally folding yourself into an origami crane over there?”
Beau pauses mid-shelf reach. “I’m not doing anything of the sort, dumbass.”
“You definitely are.” I tap the counter. “You’re super nervous. Like weirdly nervous. Like it’s your first day of school or something. You have to chill.” I shut my eyes and pretend to start meditating. “Namaste, my brethren.”
That gets his attention or maybe just pisses him off enough to pay attention.
His shoulders jump and he shoots me a look that would probably be intimidating if I didn’t already know he’s too busy panicking about something else to focus properly.
He’s trying so hard to be casual. It’s downright adorable.
“You’re already aware that Elowen said she might stop by as the tow truck comes.
” Beau announces as if he’s a news anchor.
I blink a few times. “Okay. And?”
He swallows like his next sentence actually tastes bad. “Her car is going to the shop. The tow truck is picking it up here. She said she would swing by once they were finished with what they were doing.”
I wait for more information, but nothing comes. “That’s it?” I ask, squinting at him.
He nods and I continue to stare at him. “That’s not a damn explanation, Beau.
That’s basically a weather report. You’re acting like she said she’d be stopping by with a firing squad!
Mayday, mayday. A woman is coming to see Beau during the day rather than at 3 o’ clock in the morning. Somebody save us!”
He pulls a book halfway off the shelf, then pushes it back in like he’s fighting the urge to throw it. “Forget it, you fuck. I just need to get out for a bit.”
“Oh.” I lean forward. “A bit?” I love getting in his head. It’s hilarious. It’s almost like payback since he can read my every waking thought.
“Yes.”
“A bit like ten minutes or a bit like you plan to vanish into the woods and scream with the trees until she’s definitely gone?” I chuckle.
He shuts his eyes and keeps them like that for a moment which is basically a confession. It makes me grin. “Beau. My guy. She’s just stopping by. Not a marriage certificate. Not anything for sure. Just stopping by.”
He opens his eyes again and pulls his eyebrows together with his fingers. “I know that, Kai.”
“You know that. Right,” I repeat slowly. “But, you’re still planning an escape route?”
He lets out a sound that’s not quite a sigh and not quite a groan, but absolutely a cry for help. “She’ll be here shortly. I just need to clear my head. Why’s that such a big deal?”
“It’s not.” I cross my arms. “So what’s the plan? Meditation? Running laps behind the bookstore? Crying in the walk-in at the café across the street? Because if it’s the last one, please take a video. For scientific research, of course. If it shows up on our Google listing, wasn’t me.”
He turns to walk next to the register and opens the small closet like he is about to climb inside it and Narnia himself away from this entire situation. “I’ll be taking the bike out.”
I blink. “Your bike? Like the motorcycle bike?”
He nods without looking at me.
“It’s cold outside,” I say, but pause. Then, it hits me.
I clap my hands and laugh, “You can’t get cold.
” Beau freezes. He slowly closes the closet door like he’s praying the universe will erase me.
I grin even harder. “You’re going for a cold motorcycle ride, but you can’t get cold.
You are doing a dramatic winter aesthetic form of therapy. ”
He pinches the bridge of his nose. “Kai, shut the fuck up. You’re going to drive me insane today.”
“No no. This is beautiful, truly. Basically poetry. Beau, the brooding vampire on a bike, riding into the icy wind to work out his feelings for the girl he’s totally not in love with. Sounds to me like you’re gunning for peak tragic hero behavior.”
“I’m not in love with her,” he says too quickly, “I barely know her.”
“Ah.” I point at him. “You’re lying. What did that Kalevala chick call you last night again? Oh yeah, pretty boy.” I drag my words out for the ultimate effect.
He opens his mouth just to close it and turn away.
Thank god we don’t have any customers this early.
I’m having a ball with this. Oh, he’s such a hopeless romantic under all those jackass layers.
I walk around the counter and block his path to the back door.
Like a cat sitting directly on a laptop when you’re trying to work. “So, let’s talk about this.”
“For the love of god, there’s nothing to talk about.” He groans at me, rolling his eyes so far back I can see the whites behind.
“Yeah, I think there is. You’re leaving for a therapy ride because Elowen is stopping by and you’re acting like you forgot how to use your arms.” I tilt my head. “Why does she make you so fucking weird?”
He hesitates. I can practically hear the gears grinding. “I need justification. Textbook justification for my attraction. Especially this. I don’t know.”
“Is this in a bad way or a good way?” He doesn’t answer me. “Oh my god,” I whisper dramatically. “It’s in a good way. You like her. You really like her. So my nit-picking wasn’t too far-fetched!”
He gives me that look, one that usually means stop talking or I’ll stand very still and look haunted until you feel uncomfortable.
It absolutely doesn’t work on me, so I keep going.
“You get nervous around her. You literally don’t get nervous around anyone.
You usually have the emotional range of a damp waffle.
But, one tiny stressed out chickadee walks in and suddenly you don’t know how to shelve books. ”
He tries to push past me so I step with him.
He tries the other side. I block him again.
He stops and stares like he might behead me where I stand.
The freshly dusted counter being oddly long helps me a little here.
We both shift a little back and forth like two people accidentally dancing badly. It’s hilarious.
He sighs, “Please move.”
“No. Tell me why you’re freaking out. Better yet, let me help you. Seriously, man,” I say.
He runs a hand through his hair in a gesture that’s entirely too romantic for someone who’s pretending he’s not experiencing life-changing emotional turmoil. “I don’t want her to see me like this.”
“Like what?”
He looks down at his hands, “On edge. I need to get it together.”
I soften. Just slightly. “Oh. Buddy. You know she’s probably on edge too, right?
You two will actually get along great, I think, from what you’ve told me.
You’ll realize she’s just like you, but mortal and capable of catching colds.
” He looks up and something flickers across his face.
I smile and snap my fingers, “Which reminds me. You can’t catch colds and everyone else can.
So, riding a motorcycle right now is going to look ridiculous.
Take your helmet and wear a thicker jacket. ”
He actually laughs. A small one. But still. “I need the ride.”
“Yeah, yeah. Brooding, smoldering, cycle therapy. I get it, Mr. Moto.”
He grabs his jacket and slings it over his shoulder, “I’ll be back before the tow truck.”
“Good, because I’m not dealing with Elowen alone.
She’ll ask me where you are and I would have to tell her the truth because I’m incapable of lying convincingly and then she’d think you ran away on purpose.
” He freezes again and I can see every fiber of his being still.
“Oh.” I slap a hand over my mouth. “You didn’t think about that, did you?
” It’s written all over his face. I try not to laugh and fail.
“Okay. Okay. Look. Go for your ride. But, be back before she gets here. Or, she’ll think you’re avoiding her.
And honestly, you would be. But she shouldn’t know that. ”
He gives me a flat stare, “Are you done?”
“No, but you can leave anyway. Everyone else does.” I pout at him. He grabs his helmet and heads for the back door. I call after him, “Have fun being dramatic and emotionally mysterious, bestie!”
He stops halfway out the door, “I’m not dramatic.”
“You are literally going on a feelings ride in the cold.”
He points at me, “Shut the fuck up.”
“Yes, sir, but I’m right.” He gives me the smallest smile.
Then, he’s gone. I hear the motorcycle rev a moment later.
It is a soothing sound. It seems good for the soul.
It’s loud, sharp, and melodramatic. I lean against the counter with a grin.
“Oh yeah,” I mutter to myself. “He is soooo down bad, it hurts.”
And to be honest, I find it adorable. Beau Drewitt finally has a romantic crush. They grow up so fast.