Chapter 20
I touched the tip of my index finger to Rina’s arm. “Are you…okay?”
Her eyes appeared all but glazed as she grinned up at me and gave me a very enthusiastic thumbs-up.
“Right.” I slid my hands into the pockets of my jeans as I continued to walk next to her in the Fiction aisle.
We were at Barnes it’s 20-fucking-21. If this world can have people who literally sell their farts in mason jars and become millionaires, then I guess we could have people like Rina, who got off on book-whiffs and hardcover jackets.
The world, after all, needs ample balance to function without a hitch.
Mr. Ribeiro was under the impression that Rina was at their shop, but with Taron and the guys working on the library without my assistance, I was pretty sure he must’ve suspected that both Rina and I weren’t where we were supposed to be.
I will admit, I had looked over my shoulder a few times since walking into the bookstore, half expecting Mr. Ribeiro to somehow show up and kick me in the balls, but that hadn’t happened so far, so I’d decided to relax a bit.
Rina and I were about to enter the Fiction aisle for the eleventh time, most probably, when she stopped and grabbed a paperback from the last shelf in the Romance aisle before hugging it close to her chest.
I stood in front of her and gave her a smile. “Finally picked a book, I see.”
It’s the last copy, she signed, and then pulled her phone out of her coat before typing something on it.
When we started taking rounds, there were seven copies of this book here, but now there’s only one.
She knows I can’t understand Sign fully yet, especially if it’s done in a long, consecutive sequence, so she alternates between signing and writing/typing certain things for me.
I pursed my lips at the now-empty shelf where the final copy of the book had been, pointed a finger at her, and then flattened my left hand with the palm facing up.
With my right hand, I joined my thumb and index finger to form a circle, and then ran said circle along my left palm to say, You counted?
Rina smirked. Obviously, she signed.
I chuckled. “I shouldn’t have asked.” I plucked the book from her grasp and turned it around to read the title.
Bridgerton: The Duke he’s very beautiful. Regé is actually one of those actors who you fall in love with not just because of his looks, but also because of his insightful nature during interviews, and the message he sends with the way he carries himself.
I placed a hand over my heart and feigned being hurt.
“And here I thought I was special,” I quipped.
“But now I gotta compete against a guy who is insightful.” I huffed and raised my arms by my sides.
“I was an idiot for thinking that my enviable IQ and calloused hands were enough to woo you unforeseeably.”
Rina laughed, but stopped midway before gasping as she stared at something over my shoulder.
I turned, and saw a girl – a sixteen-year-old, at best – holding a boxset of some book series in her hands with so much glee on her face that it almost made me worried about her state of mind.
In the small amount of time I’ve spent here, I’ve come to realize that bookstores are a place where a completely different species of humans exists. And Rina was one of them. Or maybe it’s the air in here that’s turned her this way.
Or maybe she’s always been like this…
I shifted so I could look at her, but before I could get a single word out, she grabbed me by the forearm and dragged me over to where the girl was.
We stopped in front of the aisle, and as I began searching the shelves for the boxset, I quickly realized that it was a waste, because the one the girl was holding was either from a different aisle, or worse – that it was the last of its kind available at the store.
I faced the girl with hope in my heart. Who knew things could get this stressful and cutthroat at bookstores?
“Uh…” I swallowed and motioned towards the colorful box in her hands. “Where’d you get that from?”
She barely gave me a glance. “Here.” She pointed at the barren shelf dismissively.
No.
No, no, no.
I looked at Rina, and saw her expression change quickly from cheerful to crestfallen.
Fucking hell.
My shoulders slumped on their own accord when I realized that…it was time to get my hands dirty.
Jesus, take the damn wheel already.