Page 10 of Cookie

“Yes, I mean I haven’t asked yet, but they’re all sick of me, so it’s probably a good thing for everyone.” I grinned when I thought of Clarence’s words, and I hoped he meant them because he’d probably be covering my shift.

“Hey, Avery, sorry to bother you. Would it be possible for you to work tomorrow? You’d need to work the entire shift from open to close, but if you need to, I’d be fine with you either opening later or closing earlier. We’ll just put up a sign,” he said and froze as he listened to her. “Really?” His eyes met mine and his excitement was obvious. He reached out his hand to me and I took it. He squeezed tight while he continued to talk, and I knew he was now committed to going and I hoped Avery could help. Finally, he hung up and smiled down at the phone.

“What did she say?” I asked, my patience long gone.

“Go ask if you can have tomorrow off, and we’ll go tonight. I mean, if you want to. We can stay at my apartment. I kept it since I wasn’t sure I’d be staying.”

I gripped his arms then and pulled him in for a kiss. “I really love kissing you,” I said, stealing his line. “Let me go ask, but I know for a fact they won’t mind. Wait right here, I’ll be right back.” I hurried out to the door to his laughter. I never did shit like this, and was known as Mr. Dependable, and probably, if I was being honest, a little Mr. Boring. But that was all changing. Ryanmade me want to push past my boundaries and do new things, and going to Sacramento on a spur of the moment would be the beginning. “Mom, I want tomorrow off.”

She looked up from the computer and met my eyes. “Is that right?” she asked, probably trying to control her shock because in all the years I’d worked here, I couldn’t remember taking a day off like this at the last minute.

She leaned back in her chair and stared me down. “Do you have plans?” she asked and narrowed her eyes.

“Ryan needs to go to Sacramento, and I offered to take him.”

“And Ryan can’t drive himself?” she asked and barely controlled her smile.

“Probably, but I want to,” I said with a shrug.

“Be back here Friday morning ready to work,” she said.

“Thank you!” I pulled her in for a hug, making her laugh and swat at me. I hurried to clean up my workstation and when that was done, I sent Ryan a message.

Charlie: I just need to shower and change, then I’m ready to leave.

Ryan: Let’s do this!

He sent back, making me even more excited to begin what I hoped was our first big adventure.

Ten

Ryan

“Are you sure you don’t mind?” I asked Avery as she unwrapped a cookie she’d grabbed as soon as she walked through the door.

“Sorry, I skipped lunch, and no, I don’t mind. You can charge me for this,” she said and held the cookie up at me.

“Eat what you want. I appreciate you doing this for me.” I stood and leaned on the counter, watched her take a bite, looked away and when I looked back, she rolled her eyes.

“I’ve got it. You go pack,” she said.

“Oh my god, thank you,” I said and gave her a hug. “I can’t wait to go.”

“Yeah, that wasn’t obvious. Go!” she shouted and laughed as I hurried up the stairs.

We were only going to be there one night, but I wanted us to go do something around town possibly tonight, or tomorrow after I talked to Aunt Millie. I hoped it was a celebration, and she hadn’t changed her mind, which I doubted. Anytime I mentioned the bookstore, she wasn’t all that interested, while I couldn’t wait to share my ideas about changing it. I also worried I might be pushing her out, but never once did she mention she wanted to keep it. A few times she’d even said if I didn’t buy it, she’d be selling her inventory and fixtures. “That’s not going to happen,” I said as I tapped out a message to Charlie.

Ryan: I’m packing. When did you want to leave?

Charlie: I’m packing too. Mom was more than ready for me to get out of there. I have to be back on Friday morning.

Ryan: We’ll have all day tomorrow. I can’t wait.

My mind rushed with ideas of all the things we could pack into one day, but I didn’t want us to be running around trying to fit as much in as we could. We could always go back to Sacramento another day. This was the first time we’d have time together without anyone else around. I wanted to get to know him, and I wanted him to know me.

Charlie: Me either. What do you think of leaving within the hour? We can stop and eat dinner on the way.

Ryan: Perfect!

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