Page 2 of Strawberry Cake
“Oh, don’t worry,” she chirped.
“What are you doing tomorrow? Or do you work on weekends?”
“Thank God I don’t.”
“Do you have any plans yet?”
He could practically hear her smiling. “I was going to go thrift book hunting, actually.”
Decan’s shelfdidhave a few empty spots. “Is that an only you thing? Or are these hunts open for someone to join?”
“Nobody’s ever asked to come with me before.”
“Would you mind if I joined you?”
“I’d like that.”
“Where do you usually go?”
“I go to a few places. Just start in one store and work my way around based on what’s nearby.”
“Oh, so you’re a pro.”
That made her laugh andfuckthat sound warmed Decan’s heart. “Some might say I’m crazy or boring, but I enjoy it. How about we meet up at Starbucks, grab a drink, and we can start hunting from there?”
“Sounds good to me. Does ten work for you?”
“That’s perfect.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See ya.” Then the line disconnected.
Decan blew out a breath, leaning back and running his fingers through his black curls that had gotten long over thelast few months.
Decan couldn’t believe it. He was going on adate,and somehow he felt excited and terrified all at the same time.
As he settled on the couch with his dinner in his lap and the TV playing, his best friend Marco called. They were friends all through high school, and he was the only one that really stuck around after his accident.
“Hey, man,” he greeted him, muting the movie.
“Turns out I don’t have to work tomorrow. You good to go to the gym?”
“Not sure yet. Maybe in the evening.”
Marco gasped dramatically, feigning horror. “What could you possibly be doing that could be better than meeting your best friend?”
“Meeting someone who’s much cuter than you.”
“Wait, what? I didn’t even know you were talking to someone.”
“I wasn’t until today.”
“Did you meet her at the coffee shop?”
“Yeah. She came over and asked me about the book Layla bound for me.”
“Ah, so she’s a book loverandshe made the first move. What are you two going to do tomorrow?”