Des- Come on Scar. It's been three weeks! Get over yourself
Now who's acting desperate
Des- (rolling eyes)
It was a bitch move you pulled.
Des- It's not like it was a lie
*block this user*
"Remember when you showed me the waterfall a few weeks back," He nodded, not taking his eyes off the pages of his newest obsession. "It's my turn."
"Sure, when?" He asks, only halfway listening.
"Right now."
I snatch the book from his hand and throw it in my messenger bag that was holding my laptop.
"Hey! I was reading that."
"You can read it when we get back," He stares blankly, not moving from his spot on my couch. "Come on. Let's go!" I tried pulling him up but considering I have the muscle mass of a two-year-old... We can predict how it turned out.
"It was getting really good!" He whined, yanking his wrists out of my hands and crossing his arms.
"You can read it when we get there," He doesn't move. "I know you'd love it. Don't you trust me?"
"I would if you gave me back my book."
I snatched the copy out my bag and flung it at his head. His hand-eye coordination was amazing due to years of catching balls flying to his face at a million miles an hour and he caught the book inches away from hitting his gorgeous face.
Did I just call Jace gorgeous?
Anyway...
He trudged his feet to my car and got in the passenger seat. I cleaned it earlier because I was anticipating this trip. I tried not to let myself get too self-conscious about the quality of my car compared to his tricked out Jeep.
"Where are we going?" Jace asks for the tenth time.
"You'll find out. At least you're not wearing a blindfold." He rolled his eyes. "Just read the book."
Jace grabbed the book off his lap and made a point of reading aloud from whatever chapter he was on. And I made a point to make some extra hard stops causing him to lurch forward and lose his place every few seconds.
Our destination was coming up and Jace hadn't looked up in a while. He didn't even know I parked the car in a garage until I tapped him on the shoulder, bringing him out of whatever fantasy he was in
"When'd we get here?" His brows furrowed and glasses hung low on his nose.
I pushed them up for him and flashed him a cheeky smile before getting out of the car. I regret wearing black leggings and a hoodie when I should've worn shorts and a t-shirt like Jace was. Obviously, he looked at the weather report this morning.
I get out of the car before Jace and check the trunk to see my school uniform packed neatly under a pile of market bags for when my mom uses my truck to buy groceries. I had to change in the nasty school bathrooms before I came to Jace's house after school. And I couldn't let something stupid like a school uniform expose me before I could expose myself. Not that I was planning on doing that anytime soon.
"Where are we?" Jace showed up behind me. I quickly shut the trunk and turned to him, my hands shaking behind my back.
"Not that far from your house. Kind of like a county between there and the city."
"What's so important?" I wiggle my eyebrows.
"You'll see!"
Jace lets me drag him up the street, passing by countless Mom and Pop stores. He wanted to stop and look at a few but we were on a schedule. This place will only be open for another hour.
He wasn't looking when I stopped outside of a store with brightly colored lit up words screaming Bookish. The sign is lit up like a marquee and surrounded by an array of various drawings from local artists.
Jace opened the door for me and we were welcomed by a chilliness shielding us from the heat of the outside. I took in the fairy lights lining the dark wooden walls and bookshelves which had recently been pushed to the walls in an attempt to remodel. The bookshelves encased the small store leaving an array of sofas, chairs, and beanbags in the middle. There was a spiral staircase leading up to the cafe where the owner Missy was most likely upstairs making her famous Hot Chocolate.
"Where'd you find this place?" Jace said, scanning the table of stuffed animals stacked neatly in the middle of the store.
"I was out with my parents and stumbled across this magnificent beauty of a store... I think freshman year? The owner Missy is real nice, so is her husband Craig." He looks at me weirdly. "What?"
"Damn you know everybody?" I shrugged.
I mean I come here whenever I get the chance. They've been closed for a month or so because their pipes busted. Missy called me herself and told me. I remember crying in the school bathroom, thinking they would have to close down for good. But they were up and running within a month. Also, it's a black-owned bookstore, the only one I've ever been too. They treat everybody like family here.
"Not everybody, just the owners and their kids and some of the employees..." I trailed off when I caught Missy's eye from the stairs. Her eyes lit up when she saw me and graced me with a warm smile. She looked tired but happy. Her hair was done in cornrows with an apron hiding her deep red blouse and black pants.
"Scarlett, darling!" She walked quickly over to us and threw her arms around me in a hug. Jace stepped out of the way to avoid being smacked in the face.
"I've missed this," I sighed before pulling away. I got a closer glimpse of her stomach and jumped back. "NO!" Her cheeks went red.
"Yes," She rubbed her hand lovingly over her protruding stomach. "It's happening."
Craig and Missy have been trying for a child since they got married almost 6 years ago. She was afraid of missing the clock and the timer was running over considering she was nearly 40. The doctors had lost all hope of her ever having children but I guess she was blessed with a miracle.
"This is amazing." My eyes brimmed with tears.
"God truly sent us an angel." I nodded even though I didn't truly believe the words she was saying.
"Congratulations Ma'am." I forgot Jace was standing next to me. He had his hands in his pockets just watching the scene with a smile on his face.
"Thank you, sweetie," She glanced over to me with raised eyebrows. "Who's this, Scarlett?"
"Jace Kingston, ma'am. I'm a friend of hers." He sounded like he belonged in South Carolina, not a Maryland suburb.
"I've never met one of Scarletts' friends." She isn't talking about just friends anymore.
"Friends, yes. Just friends," I clarified. She paid me no attention. "I just wanted to show him around the shop." I tugged Jace a few feet away before she could make any more suggestions.
"Go ahead. I won't keep y'all here. I expect to talk about this soon, Scarlett." I flashed her a quick smile, pulling Jace further along to the back of the store.
"There's nothing to talk about," I said in a sing-song voice.
We passed by Craig on the way who was carrying a box of books, his hair freshly shaven and his beard growing out nicely. Craig was attractive for an old guy, I'll give him that. He and Missy are prime examples of black don't crack.
"Keep a pregnant woman off her feet, Craig," I warned.
"You know she doesn't listen to nobody," He answered with a smile. "New friend?" He gestured to Jace.
"Something like that."
I dragged Jace to the back of the store where the teen fiction section was laid out beautifully against the wall. I was especially excited because now that Jace was here, he could grab books from the top shelf for me.
"If I pick for you, I'll let you pick for me," Jace suggested, eyes not leaving the shelf.
"Let's do it."
A few books dropped on my head and a hot chocolate accident later, Jace and I were sprayed out on a four-seater, devouring the pages of the books we picked for each other. I picked for him One Of Us Is Lying because it's a masterpiece and it reminded me of how we met. He picked for me The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian. Suffice to say we haven't spoken to each for the better part of an hour.
Jace was playing with my fingers that were originally hanging loosely off the side of the couch, but are now in my lap being caressed by his slender hands. We were doing good in the silence, too indulged in our books to notice that we were the only people left in the store. I didn't notice until I got up to use the bathroom and the only person I saw was Michelle, the college student who works behind the counter.
When I returned, ready to get out of their way and head home for the night, I found Jace and Missy deep in conversation. Jace didn't look nervous or agitated, not that I ever thought he would get agitated at a sweet lady like Missy, but he was laughing with a genuine smile on his face that made the corners of his eyes crinkle. It was adorable.
When I neared closer, I cleared my throat alerting the two of my presence.
"I was just getting to know your friend Jace, he's a very sweet boy, funny too."
"You're too kind." The charm oozed out of him like juice out of an orange. A privileged, white boy orange who could flash somebody a smile and learn all their secrets.
"Don't be modest, darling," She rested a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "Scarlett, this is the gold standard. Them high school boys can't get much better than this." I rolled my eyes. If Jace was the gold standard, I'm afraid to know what bronze is.
"Not interested." I see something flash in his eyes for a split second, clouding the light before it leaves as quickly as it came. I ignored it, grabbing our books, leaving the two alone, and heading to the counter where Michelle smiles at me warmly.
"Haven't seen you in a while Scarlett and now you come back with a boyfriend. Scandalous!" She says in a faux British accent.
"Boy whose friend, yes. Not that other thing." I wrinkled my nose. Damn, why does everybody assume we're in a relationship. Haven't they seen us, we're complete opposites. Looks, personality, nothing matches, but we found something good with this friendship.
"That's a shame. You look great together. I watched you on that couch." Okay, so we may have been playing with each other's hair, but it was purely innocent.
"Okay weirdo." She told me the price, another reason why I came here, way cheaper than Barnes and Noble. I handed over the money, looking over my shoulder hoping Jace wouldn't see me. He always insists on paying for stuff and I know he has the money, but for once I wanted to do something for him.
"I feel like I just cheated on Barnes and Noble," Jace mentions once we've left the store. "That place was awesome and the chairs were way more comfortable."
"You're not! We still have our spot in the kid's section, but now if actually, children are there, we have somewhere else to go. Top tier chairs?"
"Most definitely," We walked past an older white couple and the woman eyed me up and down much like his mother did before meeting my eye and looking away quickly. I know that Jace didn't notice, he wasn't even looking in their direction. "Still, I feel like we've been through a lot together and I just turned my back on it."
I was watching the couple walking further and further away before I realized that Jace expected an answer.
"Barnes and Noble is a massive chain. I think it'll survive." I answered quieter than before. My mood deflated, slightly.
"Are you good?" He stopped in front of me, deep concern in his eyes. I stared down at the ground, avoiding his steady gaze.
"Never better!"
I need to suck it up. Who cares that some ancient white people hated the idea of a black girl and a white boy together? They don't know me or Jace or our relationship. It's 2019, interracial pairings are normal, accepted in today's society. Being different is celebrated. It's not my fault they were stuck in the 1900s. It's not my fault that I was afraid that if Jace saw the way they looked at us, that he would change his mind about us.
I don't even know why I cared. It's not as if I liked him.