I look at Bobbi, then the door, cracking it open slightly. Inside is the biggest library I’ve ever seen. Granted, I haven’t seen a lot of libraries, but it’s huge!955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡLtJpRGm4BN
“Not many people gossip here, if any,” Bobbi assures. “Quiet and safe.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfI0Ispfci5
“How many books are here?” I ask.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡhcSnVYPciw
“I’m not sure,” Bobbi says. “You’re welcome to count them, if you want. But your Dad says you like William Blake, and we have him somewhere around here.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXkrp2Jk6TP
“I would like to read through his works again,” I admit. “It’s been…a long while. Where is the poetry section?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4MzBeASuEr
Bobbi points in the general direction of the back and the three of us walk over. “So, Ama says you’re trustworthy…” I start.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡanIeNobfdR
“Well, I don’t know much about that!” Bobbi laughs. “You say that, Mandy?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCfsguvRFQT
“Don’t call me Mandy, but yes,” Ama growls. “I trust you…mostly.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡZ0svwH8uVi
“Goodness, woman, why?!” Bobbi cackles. “Have you met me?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlrLWK5Yq8l
“Yes,” Ama smiles. “I know your full name, Bob. Don’t tell me that I don’t know you well.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjKma9OeHmY
Bobbi blushes furiously. “Poetry, here we are.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ4FYISfTegt
I turn to look at the number of books they have, which is quite a lot for just poetry. I look for “BLA” while Ama and Bobbi speak to each other in hushed tones. I snatch a book off the shelf when I see “Blake” on the spine and start flipping through it. “Ride!” a certain someone calls in that familiar voice.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3xnJnxeHDS
My head snaps up and Klef runs up to me. “There you are! Where did you run off to?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHPksBEHhFB
I blink. “Here.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfYI3qzUFoX
“I know that, but why?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaIHGBbERqe
“Well, typically it’s not a good idea to stay near an attacked area when someone wants to kill you.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIc05gn6bYj
Klef rolls his eyes. “Ride…”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIy6PX78rac
“Treble.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡzgtecQS6HM
“Please work with me here.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡv4YJTxpwaB
“Why? This is more fun!” I exclaim.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQTmStULEzf
Klef rolls his eyes and pulls me down for a kiss. “I was worried,” he murmurs.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtHKSJDIxKT
“I’m in good hands,” I assure. “Ama and Bobbi here are trustworthy. And I’m clearly fine.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmGru84nwYR
“But you weren’t in my hands, Ride. I want you with me.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt4KEvgqziA
I grab his hands and squeeze them. 5 years ago I would have been weirded out by his intense gaze right now, but these days I can’t help but find it adorable. “Don’t worry. My heart’s always with you, isn’t it? You still have the box I put it in?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡOBOgDPCmdR
Klef breaks into laughter. “Ride! C’mon, I thought we were having a moment!”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHXGXaUoDoy
Ama “aww”s behind us. I turn to her and Bobbi. “Please don’t tell anyone,” I request.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡaj1nN7SaLr
“Our lips are sealed,” Bobbi assures me.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡszMchUzGy4
“Speak for yourself!” Ama exclaims.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCx8aRPSfd9
“Ama. For all your faults you can keep a secret,” Bobbi chastises.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxp1ViPESyF
“But they’re so cute together! And they shouldn’t have to sneak around to be romantic if they can help it!”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDrrKbnf2zk
“We choose to sneak around, miss,” Klef explains. “We don’t want to be office gossip.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡfC8n2qJnbQ
“‘Office gossip’,” I scoff. “You make this sound like a reputable business.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPUlAhuiMEg
“It is, nowadays,” Klef points out.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡojfz8NQaCi
“Oh yeah? To whom, outside our business?” I challenge.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡEN09GMbLkf
“Well--” Klef starts. “There’s…” he tries. “Okay. Um. You win.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0hwjdIw2zN
I give Klef a smug smile. “So ha!” I exclaim.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvuOht0JtSC
Klef is just indulging me at this point, but I choose to gloat a while longer. He whacks me on my arm and I whack the back of his head. “Oh, an escalation?” he asks with a devilish grin. “I can do that too, you know.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ0lC30CEpmn
“Do I?” I tease. We both know that he can.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡCdTshaiyXC
He gets on his toes and presses his lips against mine lightly and we both smile. Bobbi laughs. “Still in the honeymoon period?” they ask.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡODpOLst7zy
“Ah, no. But she was in an abusive relationship so I make sure that I’m not crossing any boundaries. Some days she’s okay with kissing some not. I don’t make assumptions.” Klef shrugs. “So I give her plenty of time to say no. Doesn’t really matter to me whether or not I can kiss her. I just love being around her.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡolmmmXfVQ0
I blush. “Shut up. I was going to read. Care to join me?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡjSk7s7mMeF
Klef turns nervous. “Oh, that’s okay. I’m more of a numbers guy.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡFDVsVQtjpt
“What, can’t you read?” I tease. “And not just memorizing symbols like I’ve seen you do, actually reading.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡt7sE9WoKL1
“I can! Just…not…well.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6xD2dTPsYN
I smirk. “Looks like Treble has trouble with something after all!” He groans, and I ease up on the gloating. But not too much. “Reading, like anything, requires practice. Come on, we can find you a picture book.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUOPPr4UJv6
“Why some kiddie book, though?” Klef whines.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAyJqV21MOj
“Do you want to read adult poetry with tons of big words?” I ask him, holding up the book in my hands to emphasize my point.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8NB4SJRbCR
“Fine. Get me a kid’s book and see if I care,” Klef says, sulking.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡQk74D34N1n
“Ama? Bobbi? Where’s the kid’s section?” I ask with a sickening smile.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡUR8rEzENgP
“That way,” Bobbi says with a smirk. “I can show you where specifically, just follow me.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡbrwQKJhjjp
“You better keep quiet about this,” Klef threatens. “Otherwise other people might think that they’re more qualified for my position here. And I love my position, I don’t ever want to give it up. It’s important to me. I’d daresay it’s so important to me that not even Rides could--”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡPxHMIrW73a
“Here we are,” Bobbi interrupts. They must be as bored with this discussion as I am.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡmADFFRzkGJ
I know all too well Klef is talking about his “position” being not only my partner in crime, but my boyfriend. I grin at the thought of teaching my boyfriend how to read, though, and proceed to drag Klef through the books. Klef picks out one that’s colorful, and I laugh. “What’s so funny?!” he asks.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡoRrRK7ErgG
“Stealing and Why It’s Wrong is so funny!” I exclaim. “You chose the one book on why you shouldn’t steal!”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwIpwlXwrZh
“Oh. Not interested,” Klef says, putting the book back, which just succeeds in making me laugh harder.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGx7TRIgqR0
“You should read it, Treble! You might learn a thing or two!”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ28VRGp6nL9
Klef sighs in that way he has that makes it seem like he’s questioning all of his life choices. He picks out another book and struggles to read the title this time. “Oh, this one’s about food!” he exclaims when he figures it out.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡl2LwplZ9z9
I roll my eyes. Out of all of the books he could have chosen…“Typical,” I sigh. “Come on, I’ll help you read it.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6Q5BC6srn2
Klef whoops, and drops to the ground with the book in his lap. He frowns. “Now I remember why I don’t read. This is hard on the eyes and the brain.”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXZaTIX2rn5
“It’s not too bad,” I persuade. I point to the first word. “Don’t you know what this one says?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvaB16wUA9f
“‘Jo’,” Klef responds, rolling his eyes. “Look, I’d rather have complex equations than words any day. And I don’t even like complex equations. Why can’t you just leave me to be illiterate in peace?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwGm5fS7lgy
“Because what if we adopt one day? I can’t be the only one to read to our prospective kids!” I say. “Besides, reading is good for you, and your eyesight is practically perfect! You can see it just fine, you may as well make use of the fact that you have the opportunity to read!”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXnHq5RajPO
“Adopt…as in kids?”955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡKKCeRHhpYO
Oh. I’ve never said anything about kids before now, so it comes off as totally out of the blue. “Yeah, you can’t exactly adopt an adult, can you?” I joke.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2HpnBZ2Ttq
Klef smiles and I can tell that he’ll let the matter rest, for now. “S’pose not,” he says easily, and leans back, sighing at the pages of his book.955Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1OBwP8VLd6
Penana
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