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On Tuesday,the girls had their dance class, so I dropped them off and then headed to the bookstore to bug Joy and see if there was anything new. I arrived just in time to see her and Kendra, the owner, along with Kendra’s girlfriend, Theo, working on the window display.
I waved to them and then pushed the door open, smiling instantly at the ding of the bell over the door.
I inhaled the scent of the books and closed my eyes for just a moment.
This was my happy place.
“You look like a weirdo when you do that,” Joy’s voice said behind me.
“Shhh, I’m having a moment.”
“Can you have your moment not blocking the front door?” Kendra asked, so I opened my eyes and turned around.
“Re-doing the display?” I asked as Theo wiped sweat from her forehead. I let myself respectfully stare at her arms for a second. Theo made furniture, including all the bookshelves in the shop, and all of the chairs and even the ladders that slid from one shelf to another. Theo was a woman of many talents. And she was hot as fuck. In addition to the arms, she had curly red hair that fell rakishly on her forehead.
“And now you’re being a creep,” Joy said in my ear.
“Sorry,” I said, shaking my head at myself. “I’m back.”
“There was something not quite right,” Kendra said as she got down from the window. “Now I have to go see it from the front.”
Theo had made a giant wooden heart with little shelves on it, where Kendra and Joy had arranged books with different covers to make a rainbow.
Kendra went out and Theo got down and leaned against one of the shelves. I did my best not to ogle her.
“She’s been rearranging for hours,” Joy said.
“Don’t worry. I’ll stage an intervention soon,” Theo said with a grin.
There was a loud knock at the window and Kendra motioned to Theo.
Theo pushed off the shelf and hopped back up into the window to mess with the books until Kendra was happy.
“They’re so cute,” I said.
“Jealous?” Joy asked.
“I mean, aren’t you?”
Joy went back behind the counter in case a customer came over. “I don’t know. I have too much other crap going on. My mom and my sisters are up my ass about dating, though, which makes me want to stay single even more just to annoy them.” Joy flipped her dark ponytail over her shoulder. She had the straightest, silkiest hair I’d ever seen, and I was jealous of it all the time.
“For real, if I don’t bring a date to my sister’s wedding in a few months, I think my mom’s going to take matters into her own hands.” Joy shuddered and then a customer with a few books came up and I gave her a little wave so I could let her get back to work while I browsed.
The romance section had been updated a little since I’d been here, so I scanned to look for something new.
I was reading the back of one when Joy came back.
“You ready for book club?” she asked.
“Pft, I’m always ready for book club.” The book in my hands didn’t appeal to me, so I slid it back on the shelf for some other reader.
The first Thursday of every month was my absolute favorite day at my favorite place. Our Mainely Books Club hadn’t meant to end up as an all-queer romance club, but every month when we voted on books, we kept ended up voting for queer romances. This month’s book was one of my absolute favorite books. I’d already read it three times. I’d even considered buying a silky green dress like the woman wore on the cover, but that might seem like too much. Joy and I had at least agreed to wear green shirts.
“I’m going to need it,” I said. “I feel like everything is annoying me lately.”
“You need to get laid,” Joy said casually, frowning at a book that was in the wrong place.
“Joy!” I said, looking around to make sure no one overheard her. “Don’t be so loud about my sex life.”
