“No, but that was then. Things have changed.”
“Cash still works fine. Books come in paper. I don’t need much.”
“I guess.” He slipped the phone back in his jeans. “But then how do I ask you out?”
“Pretend you’re a teenager in the fifties. Come round and knock on the door and say, ‘Ms. Mimsy, can Shane come out and play?’ Meaning fuck in the backseat of Daddy’s Studebaker, of course.”
Theo huffed an amused breath. “I don’t think they make Studebakers anymore.”
“Get into the spirit of the thing.” I’d been spinning a tale, but I realized if he asked me to fuck in the backseat of his Ford or whatever, I’d be down with that. It’d been a long time since I had sex that was just for fun, and I did like the look of his soft mouth and slim build.
He suggested, “Maybe we could just plan to meet up tomorrow.”
“You do take the adventure out of things.” But I smiled at him. “Sure. When and where?”
“Can you get down to the pier?”
“My feet work. It’s not that much farther than coming back from the bookstore today.”
“Okay, then, lunch tomorrow, at the Ruby Sipper.”
“A slipper?”
“Sipper. It’s a food stand down by the pier. Has a giant red drink cup with a straw in it on the roof, so it’s easy to spot.”
“Ah, yeah, might be able to find that.”
“At noon?”
“Well…” I hesitated and saw his eyes darken with what might’ve been disappointment. It’d been a while since anyone cared if I came or went. “Sure. Noon. Me and Mimsy’ll be there.” I liked the smile that brightened Theo’s face.
“Yeah? Great. Cool.” But then he pushed to his feet and stepped away from the table. “I should probably go, huh? Let you get on with your day?”
My day didn’t have a lot in it, although I should count my money and maybe buy food. “I guess.” I wasn’t going to beg him to stay.
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
I finished my soda. “I’ll come down with you. Check the door.” And I wanted to see his reactions in that darkened downstairs again, watch the way he hesitated and the way he stood. There were clearly things he wasn’t telling me, which was fine, because same here. But his might matter more between us in this building than mine.
He paused at the bottom of the stairs, looking around.
I said, “If you want to check out the rest of the place, we can do that.”
I didn’t miss his shiver. “Nah.” His voice stayed casual, though. “Seen one abandoned wine-tasting room, you’ve seen ’em all.”
“Have you seen another one?”
“Not exactly. I’ll take a pass.” Pulling open the door, he looked around. “I don’t see Mimsy.”
“She’ll probably explore a couple more hours before she’s back. Maybe longer.” I’d bet that wild area had all kinds of lizards and toads and mice and things she’d enjoy chasing. I remembered Kevin’s worry for the little rare mouse, but really, if it was endangered, how likely was Mimsy to find another one? And she often didn’t kill the things she caught. I was all for saving wild critters, but I’d sacrifice a few small rodents to keep Mimsy happy, out doing the things she loved. We all made our choices of what to care about, and she topped my list. Always.
“Well, I hope she comes back soon.”
“I’m not worried.”
Theo trudged a few more steps outside, stopped, turned. “Tomorrow, then.”
“Right.”
