CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I took a deep breath in front of Bay Window Books, closing my eyes as the sharp sting of winter wind whipped against the healing scratch marks on my cheek. I palmed my phone in one gloved hand, the gentle shake of it almost endless as message after message arrived. I thrust it into a pocket, hugging my shoulders up to my ears as I pulled the door open and walked in, leaving the sign to read CLOSED behind me.
Oliver tackled me into a hug before the door had a chance to swing completely shut. I’d been back home only a few nights in the last week, and we’d told each other everything. We were both a cascade of messy tears by the end of those two days—him wishing he could have done more, me wishing I hadn’t let us drift, even if only slightly—and our friendship was stronger for it.
“You’re late! Derrek is such a bad influence,” he teased, then winced.
“It’s fine,” I said. “When he’s on the track, I just try not to think about it. Not yet, anyway.”
Olly nodded and turned on his heel, back toward a sloppy stack of books next to a row of empty shelves. I slouched off my jacket and gloves, pocketing my phone before tossing them onto the tarp-covered counter to join him in packing.
“I won’t have to worry after today, anyway.”
Olly beamed next to me, moving to sit cross-legged as he worked.
“He said yes?”
“We’ve been talking about it all week,” I said. “Derrek is all in.”
I crossed my legs to mirror Olly’s pose across from me, and we laughed.
“I’m proud of us,” he said as we packed our first box to near-bursting.
I watched as he stood up, paced through rows of empty shelves and ran a hand across them, kicking up almost invisible swirls of dust that coiled through beams of sunlight as he went. I grimaced at the dust as it passed through light filtering in through the large storefront window. It was too much, even if the store had only been closed for about a week.
I stood up and joined him at the front window, our backs to the sidewalk as we took in what was left of Bay Window Books, a place we’d both thought of as a second home for years. Olly sat on the raised platform by the window, the usual display racks and bookstands in a tidy pile beside us, hiding just behind the counter where Derrek and I had met for the first time. I stood beside him, my arms crossed over my chest, and sighed.
The day after I was rescued, I decided to close the store. Most of my staff quit immediately, and I couldn’t blame them since I’d been so distracted even before everything that happened with Diana. Theo, the only one who decided to stay for the last week, even offered to keep running open mic nights for the community with Olly, but I told him it would have to wait.
Derrek had woken something up in me.
It was time to let that the new me out for good.
I let my eyes rove over the store, chewing on my lip as I darted my eyes back and forth. I took in the rich, dark wood of the floor, the way it crept up the walls, as if the shelves of the same color were growing from the walls themselves. I took in the empty rows of shelves and racks and tables that peppered the expansive back half of the store, just beyond the door to the back room, and felt my breath catch in my chest.
I took in the covered counter, the door to the now-nearly empty back room, and Oliver beside me, just like he was when I’d first taken over the store.
“Can you believe we’re doing this?” I breathed, almost too quietly.
“Honestly? No, but I’m proud of you,” Olly said.
“Honestly?” I echoed. “Me, too.”
“Derrek’s not such a bad influence after all, I guess,” he said, turning to lean his back against the tiny wall by the window, hugging his knees up to his chest.
He squinted against the sun, watching people pass in silence, and I left him to his thoughts as I returned to our pile of books and half-empty boxes. I looked back to see Olly sitting with his eyes closed, his chest rising and falling slowly. He must have arrived early with Theo, who must have let him into the store, but a quick look in the back room told me Theo wasn’t around. He’d have heard Olly and me talking, anyway.
“Olly, where’s Theo?” I called, hoping he hadn’t fallen asleep in the window.
“He let me in and left to start packing some of his music stuff,” Olly called back.
I bolted from the pile of books and skidded to a halt in front of Oliver.
“He agreed to move in?” I asked excitedly.
“Yeah. I’m still happy that you’re moving in with Derrek, even if I am bummed you’ll be gone. Theo seems cool, though, and it could be fun to live with someone else doing something creative.”
Olly winced again, opening one eye as he grimaced at me.
“Sorry,” he said through his teeth.
“Well, what we’re doing here isn’t exactly the most creative, so I guess I forgive you,” I said. “Theo is cool, by the way. I’m glad he didn’t quit when I made the store announcement. Did he say he’d be back? I want all four of us here for part two.”
“Late afternoon,” Olly mumbled, and I stifled a chuckle at how impressively he could fall asleep almost anywhere. I could hear in his voice that he’d probably been up late writing something new. Olly was a night-owl, and I didn’t think that would ever change.
He jumped beside me, popping his eyes open as my ringtone broke the silence. I reached into my pocket, rushing to pull out my phone.
Derrek.
Olly bolted upright, watching me with clenched fists, and I answered.
“I WON,” Derrek screamed, a flurry of familiar noise threatening to drown him out despite his volume.
Oliver pumped a fist into the air, and I slouched back on the ledge by the window, stomping my feet excitedly.
“Already left, I’ll be at the store soon. Make room for my trophy!” Derrek bellowed.
He hung up before I could protest.
Before it felt like any time had passed at all, Derrek was standing at the front door cradling a trophy the length of his torso. I’d barely unlocked the door as he swung it open and I stumbled back. He put the trophy down and rushed toward me, scooping me into a kiss.
“I won,” he said, beaming as he pointed back to the trophy by the door.
“We heard,” Olly said, his hand poking up above the shelves where books were still being packed. “Congrats!”
Derrek lifted the trophy and put it on the counter where the register used to be. It was a sleek gold figure in a helmet with both arms raised above its head, clutching what looked like a small steering wheel backed by a pair of large crossed flags. Derrek hugged me from behind as I stared at it.
“It’s perfect. I get to go out with a bang,” Derrek said, and I frowned at him.
“Are you really su—”, I began, but Derrek cut me off, covering my mouth with one hand as he moved to stand behind me, wrapping his other arm around my waist.
“Yes, Aiden, I’m really sure. Besides, it’s not really leaving if I’m still a spokesperson for the track and an instructor for new drivers. We planned this, remember?”
I sighed.
He was right. It’s all we’d talked about almost every day we spent together last week. He’d saved so much money during his time behind the wheel that our plan was barely a risk at all, at least for him. I’d been steering Bay Window Books toward something different, anyway.
Whatever confidence Derrek radiated was contagious—or Olly was right, and he was just a good influence—because it finally felt like the right time to take the last big leap.
“Okay, I still can’t make the official announcement until Theo gets here,” I said.
“Theo’s here,” a voice called out behind us as the door swung shut behind a lean boy buried under a puffy red coat. Theo pushed his mouth into a mock pout as he kicked his boots against the door frame. “Oliver left the door unlocked,” he added before joining us at the counter.
“Good! Great,” I said. “Theo, this is Derrek. Derrek, Theo is the last man standing from my old team.”
Derrek shot me a sneaky grin before wheeling around to face Theo, leaning his ass against the counter as he crossed one leg over the other, resting his elbows on the counter to either side. He puffed out his chest, definition clear under his open jacket and too-thin black shirt, and my face morphed from knit brows to a poorly-hid smile as Theo stammered under Derrek’s gaze, practically tripping forward.
“Oh, he’s perfect. They both are,” Derrek said, trailing his eyes between Theo and Oliver. He lay his hands flat on the counter and hoisted himself to sit on top of it. “How much has Aiden mentioned?” Both boys half-shrugged, and Derrek gestured with a sweeping arm toward me.
“Bay Window Books is gone for good,” I said. Olly and Theo shot confused looks from each other to me to Derrek, who stood beside me vibrating with excitement.
“You said we were closing, but I thought we were reopening in April,” Theo said, lip trembling.
“We are!” I quickly replied. “You still have a job, but it won’t be at a bookstore.”
I walked to stand at the store entrance, turning my back to the door with my arms spread wide.
“Boys, welcome to Jolt, the city’s only hybrid café library,” I said.
Derrek whooped and cheered, clapping both Oliver and Theo on the shoulder as their expressions changed from confusion to curiosity. I walked over to stand with them, the four of us in a circle in the middle of the empty space before the counter. Derrek squeezed my hand.
“It’s perfect. I know books and can run a business. Olly, Theo, you both have experience with books and as baristas. Derrek—”
“I’m the money,” Derrek said enthusiastically, cutting me off as I scowled. “Technically, Aiden and I will both be owners. I only had one request when he came to me with the idea. I want to drive.”
Oliver wrinkled his nose, tilting his head to one side.
“You’re okay with going from superstar speed racer to delivery boy?” he asked.
Derrek and I laughed in unison.
“I’m still instructing,” Derrek reminded Olly. “Besides, think of the business we’ll get when everyone finds out how hot the staff are. Jolt will be the place to be,” he continued with a wink, and I swore I could see Theo swallow the nervous breath caught in his throat.
Olly rolled his eyes, but shot me a knowing nod. I broke away from the group and wandered into the back room as Derrek answered questions, busying myself with boxes of books and a hasty checklist I’d pinned to the notice board the day I closed the store.
Derrek snuck up behind me a few minutes later, and the two of us looked out into the store before turning to look at each other in the doorway, our faces inches apart.
“We’re kind of a power couple,” he said, and my chest shook as I laughed.
“We kind of are,” I replied. “How does it feel to be a hot boss?”
“You tell me,” he said, cupping my chin with a finger before he leaned in to kiss me.
I didn’t think it would ever stop feeling like the first time.
“So good.”
Derrek beamed as we walked side by side from the back room to sit in the front window together. He leaned back, throwing an arm around my shoulder as he tilted his head to rest against mine. I quickly reached into my pocket and pulled out my phone, lifting it to take our first photo together.
“This city won’t know what hit it,” Derrek said.
“I didn’t either when we met,” I replied, and he flashed his usual grin.
Derrek stood up and held an arm out toward me, tilting his head toward the others and all the work left to do that surrounded them.
“Ready to go?” he said.
I took his hand and stood before I pulled him toward me with a sharp tug, sending us both backwards onto the floor as I pressed my lips to his and watched his eyes go wide.
For the first time since Derrek had walked into my life and left me trembling, he was the one caught by surprise.
“With you?” I said. “Always.”
Derrek was right.
The city wouldn’t know what hit it.