Page 119 of Pretty Broken Wings
I huff, pulling my arm away. “I’m fine. Isn’t that my job?”
Then Gage almost walks into a decorative planter, and I grab his arm, pulling him to the side just in time.
“Careful,” I say.
Gage huffs. “Now you’re just fucking with me.”
“If you want to faceplant in the planter, be my guest.”
Gage snorts. There’s a second where I’m not sure if he’s gonna get pissed. Then, he shakes his head, muttering something under his breath that sounds a lot like “humped pillows already, can’t get any worse.”
Then he holds his arm out to me. “Walk me inside?”
I pause. The arm is definitely so he doesn’t run into anything else. But when I take it, Gage softly places his hand over mine and leads me to the store.
My heart races again. What the hell is going on here? If I didn’t know better, this would feel like a… date.
My heart races so hard I think it’s gonna beat out of my chest.
Oh, god no. I’d rather get murdered. At least with murder, things are pretty cut and dry. Romance? Relationships? That’s turned out like shit for me before.
I turn to look back at the car, trying to plot my escape. While I do, Gage gently guides me into the store, and the smell of books surrounds us.
No, don’t panic, Raven. Don’t panic. I suck in deep breaths of the store, the smell of musty pages calming me slightly. There are books on floor-to-ceiling shelves everywhere.
“Hey there.” The older man behind the register doesn’t even look up.
“Hey,” Gage greets, his voice deep and even friendly sounding.
It looks like we’re in the pop culture section, with history further down, and then the path veers to the right. Then, Gage just stops. He glances down at me, and I do everything I can to avoid his gaze. Why is he looking at me? Can he see how hot my face is?
“Do you see the action section?”
I blink. Right. Action. We’re in a bookstore. He just came for a book.
Relief fills me, tinged with another emotion that I can’t quite pin down. If I didn’t know better, I’d say it was disappointment.
Which would be crazy.
I take a second to look and see if there are any signs hanging from the ceiling, but the store looks like a maze of bookshelves with no clear map. Despite my earlier anxiety, even being around so many books makes me feel like things are going to be okay. It’s quiet and peaceful.
“Are you looking for a specific book?” I ask as I peer down the rows of books, spotting a sign for action.
“Uh, no. Just whatever.”
Wait, he came here with no plan? But I don’t ask him. Because it’s none of my business. My job is just to get him where he needs to be and to get out.
We browse the action section for a bit, but it feels weird without Gage knowing what he wants.
“What do you read?” I ask.
“Superheroes. Used to read about knights when I was younger.” Gage runs his fingers along the spines.
That explains the costume.
“Wanted to be a knight so damn bad.” Gage laughs softly. “Then, a firefighter. Then, a superhero. Pretty much anythingcool. Oh!” He pauses on a book, pulling it out. “I love it when the covers are like this.”
The book is wrapped in a cellophane dust jacket and crinkles softly when he opens it. He puts it to his nose and smells. He lets out a little groan that makes a tingle run down my skin. “Smells so good.”
