Shai Soi

Chapter 16

I was coming out of Crafts A Billion, Momma's model materials in a giant box I carried in my arms. I still had some money left, and my arms were getting tired, so I decided to slip back into Barnes and Noble to get to the cafe. Derek was still shuffling papers.

"No wonder you need glasses. Switching in between text and digital cannot be good for you."

"Tell me about it." He palmed his face, knocking his glasses onto the counter. "Aw, man."

I giggled, and leaned over the desk to pick them up. Derek made to grab for them, but ended up bumping into my head. I snatched his glasses up, completely unfazed.

"Ow! Hard-headed much?"

"Oh, that's smart. Insult the girl holding your glasses. Why don't I just..."

I slipped my empty Coke bottle out of my hoodie pocket and placed it in front of me. Derek wasn't nearsighted, but in his haste to save his glasses, he didn't see the difference. He leapt over the front counter with athletic ability I didn't know he had, but I soon forgot that when he landed right on the bottle.

Crunch!

His face was hilarious, but I kept in my laughter. I let him believe he broke his own glasses. With a slight of hand, I picked up the bottle and gave them to him. Call me cruel. But he once stole my IPod and did the exact same thing. I nearly pummeled the stuffing out of him.

"Ooh, that's so not funny." Derek fixed them back over his sparkling blue eyes, his jaw clenched.

Uh oh.

There's a face that all guys do. If you don't know them well enough, it looks like they're angry. But if you do know them, you can identify that mischievous glint in their eye and the upturn of their lips that tells you to run.

I did.

And not a moment too soon.

Holy, this guy is fast!

Call us immature, but we raced throughout the store. I dodged every customer without so much as a brush on the shoulder. It took me a second to realize Derek was right behind me, and I tried channeling more lionae.

But, as I was turning a corner in the back of the store, Derek tackled me from behind. We tumbled, my shoulder blades digging painfully into the carpeted concrete. Loud braying rang in my ears. I started laughing at Derek, pushing him off of me onto his back. Customers peeked around book cases to see about the commotion, or they were wondering why Barnes and Noble now housed livestock, because that's what Derek sounded like.

Mrs. Nicky Vanderbuild, the store's manager, appeared around the corner. I sat up, dusting myself off. "Hello, Mrs. Nicky." Derek sprang up, desperately pulling me up behind him.

The ghost of a smile hovered over her lips yet her eyes were unreadable. That's why I liked guys more than girls, they were easier to read. If guys were sad, they hid their face or they pretended like they weren't upset. If guys were angry, they'd punch you're guts out and yell. If guys were happy, they'd grin like the goofballs they were. But girls, especially women well into their thirties, were impossible to read.

"Derek, have you finished cataloguing?"

His face flushed. Derek looked like a puppy who was just yelled at for chewing on a sock. (Where did that simile come from?) It was so pitiful, Mrs. Vanderbuild must've seen it too. She let a soft smile grace her lips and chuckled.

"Well, seeing as you didn't knock over anything, how about taking a break with Miss Rebecca?" I beamed. Nicky could be confusing, but she was always nice to me. I was her best customer after all.

Derek's jaw nearly dropped to the floor. I took it he wasn't used to her handing out breaks.
"R-r-really?"

I rolled my eyes. Grabbing his arm, I thanked her and pulled him into the cafe.