In Between the Lines

Chapter 2: Colorful Bird

Dez.

What was he doing here? Hadn't Hannah just gone off to help him? I glanced around the aisles. Where was she?

"If you're looking for the redhead, she's actually helping out a friend of mine." He stepped in my view and nodded behind me. "They're over by Music and Film."

I turned around, and indeed there she was, standing with a boy who I recognized from school as Lewis Rimall. His signature spiky brown hair was unmistakable—though I hadn't heard much about him other than the fact that he was on the baseball team with Dez and a part of his circle.

Of course, Hannah was busy flirting away. Her smile remained coy but her eyelashes fluttered fast, reminding me of pretty butterfly wings. She laughed at something Lewis said, but he must not have found anything funny because his face was as blank and as expressionless as a white wall. Hannah didn't notice or at least didn't mind his indifference. She twirled a strand of her crimson hair between her fingers and giggled before slowly approaching Lewis and whispering something into his ear. He merely scratched the back of his head and looked away.

"Now that is just depressing." Dez chuckled from behind me.

I shot back around and fired him a glare. "Who do you think you are?" If he thought he could sit there and make fun of my friends—

"Easy, tiger." He leaned against the nearest shelf and arched a thick, perfectly sculpted brow. He crossed his arms, causing his baseball tee to tighten around his biceps almost possessively. Every line, every dip and curve of his muscles were suddenly visible beneath his sleeves. "I was talking about my friend. Not yours."

I narrowed my eyes at him, though I had to tilt my head up seeing as he stood a good head above me. Maybe it was because I'd never stood this close to Dez before, but he was way taller than I'd thought; he might've been taller than Ethan.

"Seriously." He nodded in their direction. "You can't tell, but the fact that he's still standing there means he's actually enjoying her company."

I crossed my arms, still not quite believing him, but I said, "You have weird friends."

"So do you." He gestured towards Hannah.

I opened my mouth to argue, but nothing came out. He was right. Hannah could be weird sometimes. But then again, sometimes so could I. So could everyone.

"Anyway, about that book I needed help finding?"

"Right." I sighed. I was at work. Rudy would have had my head if he heard me speaking to a customer so harshly. "What did you say the title was?"

"I didn't." Dez reached into his back pocket and handed me a torn piece of notebook paper, grinning. "But I get it—I know it can be pretty distracting."

He gestured towards his body as he wiggled his brows.

I decided not to entertain him by looking. I reached for the wrinkled piece of paper, but before it reached my hands, he suddenly pulled it back and out of my reach.

What the hell?

He cocked his head to one side. "Do you go to Lincoln Valley High?"

"Yes." I exhaled through my nose. It appeared my attempts to stay under the radar at school hadn't been as successful as I thought.

"Yeah, I've seen you around a few times."

I glanced down and swiftly took the paper from his still outstretched hand, feeling the sudden need to change the subject. I unfolded the paper and examined the two titles written neatly on the page: