Page 20 of Spiced Chais and Secret Spies
AsRuthieandCharmare walking away,Ruthiecalls back, “Beas late as you’d like!I’mfine to watch this cute little guy for as long as you need.”
I’msure my cheeks are still flushed, andOllie’sare a bit, too.Wejust look into each other’s eyes for a bit, and thenIsay, “It’seither been a very long time sinceI’vebeen kissed like that, or you are very good at pouring emotion into a kiss.Becausethat was pretty amazing.”
Olliesmiles, and the way his lips curve up is the cutest.Sois the way his eyes shine.Henods. “Itdefinitely was amazing.”
“Weshould do more of that again soon.”Ilook us both up and down, then say, “Butright now,Ithink we need to do something about how recognizable we are.Andthat case is.”ThenIglance around. “There.Thatplace selling town t-shirts.”
Wehead toward it, and this time, he takes my hand.It’sthe first time he’s initiated it.Thebooth is run by the city, and they are selling town t-shirts.Ipick up a gray one that looks like it could beOllie’ssize.
Thedesign on it reads,CipherSprings:We’vegot a lot of history brewing.Thebottom of the t-shirt has a stylized silhouette of the historical part ofMainStreet, with the theater that’s being restored, the train station thatCoffeeLoftis in, the old clock tower, and the old hotel that is now a bookstore and clothing boutique.Italso has a steaming cup of coffee, with the steam blending into the sky.
“Ohmy gosh,”Isay. “Thisis perfect!”Ipay for the shirt, then we scoot down toward the end of the long table in their booth so we won’t be in the way of other shoppers.
Mysuit jacket is a dark teal and is probably the most easily recognizable thing about us.Anyonelooking for us will definitely keep an eye out for it.Itake it off so my dark gold shirt will be what’s most noticeable, and thenIturn the jacket completely inside out.Thelining is black, which is perfect.
Ilay it flat on the table, then take the case fromOllie.Iplace the case on the jacket and then bring in the sides of the jacket likeI’mputting it on a person.Thehandle of the case sticks up at the neck, and the case is almost as wide as the shoulder part of my jacket.Ollieis looking at it, confused, probably thinkingImust be crazy.ButI’mnot, and he’ll soon see why.
Ibutton the jacket, which is kind of awkward to do since it’s inside out, and thenIfold the arms onto the case.Ifold the bottom half of the jacket up, fold over the flap sticking up at the top, and tuck it in.Nowthe case is completely enclosed in the jacket and it doesn’t look like it ever was a jacket.
Myhair is still pulled up in a bun, which is probably recognizable, too.SoItake out the hair band and all the bobby pins holding it, andIshake my hair out.Isee howOllie’sexpression changes.It’sprobably a wild mess of curls, but it’ll do.
Iuse the bobby pins to secure the jacket to the case.WhenI’mdone,Ipick it up and turn it around.I’venever actually done anything like this with a blazer before, but it looks impressive!Infact, it looks like a black tote bag now.It’sactually kind of cute.
“Okay, so my top is gold now instead of teal, my hair is down, and the bag looks nothing like it did.Nowit’s your turn.”Ihand him the shirt. “Putthis on.”
Heglances around, then hisses, “Righthere?Inthe open?”
“I’mnot asking you to take off your shirt,Ollie.Putit on over the one you’re wearing.”
“Overa button-down?”Heasks it like he’s sure he must be hearing wrong.
ButInod, so he pulls the town tee on, andIhelp him to get it and the shirt underneath it straightened.Thecollar from his button-down sticks out above the collarof the t-shirt.Iget that straightened, and it looks good.Thesleeves are about the same length, which works.
“Now,”Isay, “we just need to untuck your button-down.”Ireach around him, pulling it out all the way and straightening it.Nowthe tails stick out below the tee, andIhave to say, he looks pretty hot.
He’slooking down at the shirt, holding his arms awkwardly. “Doesthis look weird?Ifeel weird.”
“Youlook amazing,”Itell him. “Payattention to the looks people give you as we walk.Iguarantee they’ll show you how crazy good you look.”
Ollieseems to stand a bit taller, so he must believe me.Aswe walk toward the carousel, we don’t see anyone suspicious.
Wewalk along, holding hands, like we’re a couple.AndI’mreally digging it. “So,”Isay, because couples strolling through the park during a town festival would be chatting, not looking around for bad guys, “after the mudslide, did you have to go to a new school?”
Ollienods. “Iwas inKindergarten.Therewere only about six weeks left in the school year when we moved into our new house.Itwas hard.Iliked my old school.Iended up liking the new one, too—it just took some time.”
“Whatare your parents like?Arethey pretty cautious people?”
Ollielets out a short chuckle. “Totally.Ithink they rubbed off on me.”
“Orthe situation rubbed off on all of you.”
Ollielooks over at me, curious.
“Ithad to be traumatic for them, too.Homewas their safe place, and it was swept out from under them.Thethoughts of whatcould’vehappened to any of you.Newhouse, new school for you, and seeing how hard it was to adjust, new friends…Allbecause of something unexpected that couldn’t be controlled.Anyonewould feel a bit skittish about taking risks after that.”
Olliestops walking and studies me for a moment.Thenhe says, “Ihadn’t connected any of that.Thankyou.”
Ilook into his eyes and can see the stress he’s trying to hide. “You’renervous about getting this toJace.”
