by B. N. Hale
“Nine and three quarters?” he asked.
“Of course.”
He laughed. “Any book?”
“Any in the bookstore,” she said. She pulled out her phone and set a timer. “Clock will be ticking, so don’t be late—and try to choose books you actually like. It’s supposed to help me know more about you.”
“Which roommate came up with this game?”
“Marta’s mother,” she said.
“I’m starting to feel very understaffed in this competition.”
She grinned. “You have the advantage of experience. I needed my own advantage.”
“At least you can admit who is better.”
She snorted and tapped her phone. “Go!”
He darted away and hurried down an aisle, scanning for books that were familiar. As packed as the store was it was difficult to navigate, and he had to slip past groups of browsing shoppers. Stepping into the fantasy section, he worked his way down the row until he found some of his favorites.
He guessed they would only have time to choose a handful of books for each other, so he didn’t just want to pick any title. Passing some of his favorites, he opted for a Terry Brooks title from when he was a kid. He reached their meeting point just seconds before she did, and they exchanged books.
“The Night Circus?” he asked, raising the book.
“One of my favorites,” she said. “Be glad I didn’t get you Twilight.”
“Don’t assume I won’t like it,” he said. “Perhaps I like vampiric romance.”
“Actually, I think you like epic fantasy,” she said. “The Elfstones of Shannara? I’ve never even heard of it.”
“Then you’ve missed out.”
The phone went off and they found a pair of empty chairs in the corner. Settling in to read, he was highly conscious of the fact that Kate was just a few feet away, and found himself apprehensive as to her verdict on the book. He also enjoyed the introduction to a new novel, and when her phone rang he was disappointed.
“This really isn’t fair,” he said. “You’re going to make me blow my weekly budget on books.”
“Did you read a lot as a kid?”
“I did,” he said. “But I didn’t have much else to do. To be honest, I only had one true friend till my sophomore year of high school.”
“What was his name?”
He hesitated, and then said, “Aura.”
“A girl?” Kate asked, pausing in resetting the timer on her phone.
“I met her in third grade and we were close friends until college.”
“You were friends for a decade and then it just ended?”
He shrugged. “She met a guy.”
“That does have a way of ending friendships,” she said.
Jumping at the chance to shift the topic back to her, he said, “You sound like you’re talking from experience.”
She smiled. “Perhaps. Ready for the next round?”
They started the clock and then went again. This time he picked a Percy Jackson novel. She returned with Twilight. They both laughed and settled in to read. Nine minutes later he held the book up to her.
“It’s better than I thought it would be,” he said. “But nine minutes isn’t enough to decide if I like it.”
“I thought it dragged a little in book two, but book four was a lot of fun. Are you going to buy it?”
“Shelby has a copy,” he said. “I’ll borrow it from her.” He smiled at the image of Shelby’s expression when he asked to borrow Twilight.
For the next hour they exchanged books, trading genres and titles like they were baseball cards. He liked some, but not all of the books she gave him. He was surprised when she brought a Jack Reacher book, and he surprised her with a book on M.C. Escher. Then the books became more amusing.
She brought a yo-yo trick book, while he returned with a coloring book on Star Wars. Moving outside the fiction section, they began choosing gun magazines, short stories, even game strategy guides. They still read, but their reading time quickly dissolved into laughter as they told stories about why they’d chosen their books.
Reed relished his time with Kate, but avoided any topic that might lead back to Aura. Several times he caught her giving him a measuring look and wondered if she’d noticed his evasiveness. When it became clear they were no longer reading, she gave up on the game and they returned the books they didn’t want. Reed stood in line with four new books, including The Night Circus and Cinder. Kate had three.
“I used to read with my grandmother,” Kate said as they waited in line.
“The one living with your dad?”
Kate shook her head. “My grandmother on my mom’s side. My family would visit her in California every Christmas and we would read by the window. She’s the reason I love to read, and she even bought me my first Harry Potter book.”
He noticed the softening in her tone. “You sound like you had a good relationship.”
She nodded. “She was funny and crass, but she loved me. She passed away three years ago.”
“I’m sorry.”
Kate shrugged, her eyes looking past him. “Her bout with cancer was hard, so I couldn’t be too mad when it ended.”
“I used to go camping with my grandfather,” Reed said. “He taught me fishing and backpacking. He was really into boy scouts before and after World War II.”
They reached the front of the line and paid for their books, and then vacated the space for a group of girls buying posters of Cedric Diggory and Victor Krum. Exiting the store, he motioned to the mall.
“It’s only 9:30,” he said. “I hope we aren’t leaving the Wizarding World of Harry Potter just yet.”
“We still have the treat,” she said.
“An after-date treat?” he asked. “Are you following my manual?”
“Of course not,” she said with a laugh. “I’m improving your manual.”
Chapter 5
As they walked down the mall he shook his head. “You think you’ve won this round?”
“I would say quite handily.”
He chuckled dryly. “I won’t admit to that—but I will say I like your magic.”
They entered Florean Fortescue’s Ice Cream Parlour and ordered, and then took the only available seats. The crowd had begun to diminish with the hour and the lines had dropped off. Reed guessed it would be even busier on Friday and Saturday, so he was glad they’d come today.
She’d gotten butterbeer and a bowl of mint chocolate chip with a waffle cone on top. He’d gotten the same, and for several minutes they talked about the books they had purchased. Then Reed recalled that they were supposed to play a different game.
“Are we not telling stories of our worst dates?” he asked.
“That was my original plan,” she said. “But how could I pass up taking you to Diagon Alley after Hogwarts?”
“I was hoping to win that game,” he lamented.
“Next time it’s my turn,” she promised.
He grinned and sipped his butterbeer. “I look forward to it.”
She regarded him for several moments, and then said. “Can I ask you a personal question?”
“Of course.”
“Are you okay?”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know. Tonight you just seem . . . reserved.”
He thought of Aura and shook his head. “I’m fine.”
“Every once in a while you smile, but it doesn’t quite reach your eyes.”
“Have you been watching my eyes a lot?”
A shade of pink lightened her skin and she nibbled on the waffle cone. “Maybe,” she admitted.
He kept a smile on his face but inwardly he struggled. Few of his dates had been perceptive, but Kate seemed to read him as easily as she had the books in the store. He found it disconcerting yet strangely freeing to have someone notice what he hid behind a smile.
“Do you read everyone so well?” he asked.
“No,” she said. “Just you.”
He laughed without humor, and then on impulse said, “Remember Aura?”
“The girl that was your friend?”
“You remind me of her.”
“Is that a bad thing?”
He shook his head. “On the contrary. She was the best person I knew.”
“Then thank you?”
“Really,” he said. “No matter what happened, I could count on her to be there.”
“So what happened?”
“Like I said, she met a guy and we stopped being friends,” he said.
“Just like that?”
“It took a couple of years,” he said, “but she just kept drifting away. She didn’t even tell me his name for a long time. I tried to stay in touch but I think she thought I was jealous.”
“Were you?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile.
“So you did have feelings for her.”
“I did,” he replied. “I would call her my first crush, but I never told her how I felt.”
“How exactly do I remind you of her?”
“Aura had your courage,” he said.
She stirred her ice cream. “I don’t feel brave.”
“You’ve challenged Michael Jordan to a basketball game—and are winning. My grandfather would have said you have moxy.”
She laughed. “So you’re Michael Jordan?”
“And you’re winning.”
Her smile was smug. “Creative dating is not at all what I’m used to.”
“What were you used to?”
“A club, a bar, or a movie theatre,” she said. “That sums up most of my dates. And I count myself lucky. For most of my friends, dating consists of casual sex followed by a lack of texting and sometimes regret.”
“The idea of being single has changed,” he agreed. “My grandfather used to curse about the degradation of society.”
He filled his spoon with his ice cream, idly wondering if the conversation had shifted on its own, or Kate had shifted the topic on purpose. With how perceptive she was, he couldn’t be sure. She seemed at ease, but he suspected the topic would come up again, and wondered what more he would say.
“It’s odd,” she said, her expression going distant. “This sort of dating makes me think of my grandmother—the one in California—but she would be very disappointed to know I was the one asking a guy. She believed it was the boy’s duty to ask, and the girl’s duty to shoot him down.”
“What was her husband like?”
“That grandfather died when I was little,” she said. “But I felt like I knew him because of my grandmother. She called him a little firecracker.”
“Little?”
“He was five feet tall.”
“Little, then,” he said with a laugh. “Mother’s side, right?”
“Mom,” she said. “He was a colonel in the army.”
“You said your parents were divorced, but they still get along?”
She nodded. “Thanksgiving we all get together.”
“All of you?”
“Yep,” she said. “And yes, it’s weird, especially now that my dad remarried.”
“You have a stepmother?” he asked.
She laughed. “I call her Debbie, and she’s not too bad.”
“And she gets along with your mom?”
“They’re polite,” she said. “But they’re not friends.”
“I hate what divorce does to families,” he said.
“My mom thinks that our culture doesn’t allow marriages to last anymore.”
“What do you think?” he asked, scooping the last of his ice cream.
She shrugged. “I think she’s right—to a point.”
“What do you mean?”
She finished her butterbeer and sat back, her expression turning pensive. “I don’t think couples know how to last, so they don’t.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I know I don’t want to go through what my parents did,” she said. “They called it amicable, but I called it torture. I never knew what tore my family apart.”
“I hated what my dad did to my mom,” he agreed.
She smiled and gestured an invitation. “What kind of husband would you be?”
“Is this an interview?”
She laughed and shook her head. “Seriously, you know how to date, but what would you do with a wife and family?”
He pushed his empty bowl away, giving himself a moment to consider his answer. “I don’t know. I think dating like this would be impossible when married, when there are kids and a job involved.” He shrugged. “I wouldn’t want to stop, though, so I guess I’d have to be even more creative.”
She began to chuckle, a wry amusement that caused the remaining customers in the shop to glance their way. He raised an eyebrow, but she merely shook her head and pointed at him. Then she leaned in.
“We talked about marriage and you’re not running.”
He snorted. “Of course not. I’ll run after you drop me off.”
They shared a laugh and then rose to discard their bowls. The shop and mall had emptied while they’d enjoyed their ice cream, with only a few stragglers making their way towards the exit. Reed spotted a clock and realized it was nearly 11, and the mall would be closing soon. He hadn’t realized how long they’d been talking over ice-cream, and he marveled at the ease of their conversation.
“I guess it’s time to return to the muggle world,” he said.
“Don’t be so disappointed,” she said. “At least you got to be a wizard for a day.”
“I have my work cut out for me on our next date,” he said. “But I think I have a few surprises up my sleeve.”
“My roommates are certainly on your side,” she said as they made their way towards the exit.
“I think both our roommates are loyal to the date,” he said dryly. “They don’t care who’s asking, they just want to be involved in the secret.”
“I’d say that’s entirely accurate,” she said. “Ready for our picture?”
He smiled and they posed under the banner. A kind Dumbledore offered to take their picture and fumbled with the phone like he was really an aged wizard. When they were finished they walked out to the car.
“Any advice on working with Ember?” Reed asked. “I’d like to know how to use her in my next covert operation.”
She grinned as she pulled out her keys. “Don’t make her angry. She’s like the Hulk in a tiny redheaded body.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.”
They got into the car and she drove through the empty streets. The rain had slackened and was hardly a drizzle, barely wetting the windshield. As she pulled into his driveway he unbuckled the seatbelt.
“Is there a surprise waiting in my bedroom?” he asked.
“Not this time,” she said with a smile. “But you get to keep the robes.”
“Really?”
She smiled. “I thought you’d like a memento of your visit to Hogwarts.”
“It was magical,” he said.
She laughed and exited the car, coming to the other side to open his door. Then they walked to the porch. He stole a look as they passed under the porch light. She’d removed her hat before leaving the car and rainwater sparkled in her hair, her green eyes were as bright as ever. He’d dated many beautiful girls, but Kate surpassed them all.
“You’re beautiful, you know that?”
“Do you say that to all your dates?”
“It’s true,” he said, catching her arm to bring her to a halt. She glanced at his hand in surprise and he removed it. “It’s true,” he repeated quietly.
A soft smile appeared on her face. “Goodnight, Reed. Until next time.”
“Until next time,” he said.
She embraced him and then walked to the car, waving farewell before shutting the door. He remained on the porch and watched her go, wondering what he was getting himself into. And if he could get himself out.
<
br /> Chapter 6
Jackson appeared at Reed’s side as Kate drove away. “How was Hogwarts?”
“How much did you know?” Reed asked.
“All of it,” he said. “I must admit, I really like playing for the team against you.”
“You’re back on my side now, right?” He glanced Jackson’s way to gauge the reaction.
“So you’ve decided to keep going?”
“I like her too much to stop,” he said.
Jackson smirked. “So you admit it?”
“Just don’t tell anyone,” he said. “It’s hard enough to hold to my rules as it is. I can’t afford to let word get to her.”
“I promise,” Jackson said.
“So you’re on my team?”
“Only for the next two weeks,” he said. “Then we go back to her side.”
“We?” he asked, turning to him.
“Her roommates, Shelby, me, and a few others.”
Reed laughed sourly, realizing his assumption had been more accurate than he’d thought. “You’re like a team of spies,” he said, stepping to the door and swinging it open. “What’s your agenda?”
“To get you together,” Jackson said.
“No one asked you to do that,” he snapped.
Jackson stopped, his smile fading as Reed rounded on him. “I thought you liked this girl.”
“I do,” Reed said. “But there are things you don’t understand.”
“Then enlighten me,” Jackson said, stabbing a finger at him. “We’re trying to help you.”
“I don’t need your help,” Reed said.
Reed turned and escaped to his room, grateful he had the sense not to slam the door. Then he sank onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. On impulse he picked up his phone and clicked on Kate’s number. Then he began to type.
I’m sorry, Kate. I can’t do this anymore. Please don’t ask why.
His thumb hovered over the send button, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. After several seconds he released an explosive breath and jammed his finger down on delete, erasing the message. Then he tossed the phone aside so he wouldn’t be tempted.
Kate didn’t deserve such an ending, not after everything she’d done for him. She liked him, that much was obvious, and she was playing his game. If he quit now he would never forgive himself.
