When we started taking rounds, there were seven copies of this book here, but now there’s only one.
She knows I can’t understand Sign fully yet, especially if it’s done in a long, consecutive sequence, so she alternates between signing and writing/typing certain things for me.
I pursed my lips at the now-empty shelf where the final copy of the book had been, pointed a finger at her, and then flattened my left hand with the palm facing up. With my right hand, I joined my thumb and index finger to form a circle, and then ran said circle along my left palm to say,You counted?
Rina smirked.Obviously, she signed.
I chuckled. “I shouldn’t have asked.” I plucked the book from her grasp and turned it around to read the title.
Bridgerton: The Duke & I
The book’s cover was the Netflix series adaptation poster, one I’d seen so many damn times on billboards, social media, etc.
Rina snatched the book from me and hugged it even closer to her chest.Have you seen the show?she signed excitedly.
And there it was again – that almost-blinding gleam in her eyes.
She really did like the show, it seemed.
I shook my head in response to her question, and she jutted her lower lip out in return, making me chuckle. She then tapped on the dude on the book’s cover, and then signed,Beautiful.
I crossed my arms and lifted a brow. “I beg your pardon?” I mused.
She snickered, and then typed something on her phone before showing it to me.
It’s true; he’s very beautiful. Regé is actually one of those actors who you fall in love with not just because of his looks, but also because of his insightful nature during interviews, and the message he sends with the way he carries himself.
I placed a hand over my heart and feigned being hurt. “And here I thought I was special,” I quipped. “But now I gotta compete against a guy who isinsightful.” I huffed and raised my arms by my sides. “I was an idiot for thinking that my enviable IQ and calloused hands were enough to woo you unforeseeably.”
Rina laughed, but stopped midway before gasping as she stared at something over my shoulder.
I turned, and saw a girl – a sixteen-year-old, at best – holding a boxset of some book series in her hands with so much glee on her face that it almost made me worried about her state of mind.
In the small amount of time I’ve spent here, I’ve come to realize that bookstores are a place where a completely different species of humans exists. And Rina was one of them. Or maybe it’s the air in here that’s turned her this way.
Or maybe she’s always been like this…
I shifted so I could look at her, but before I could get a single word out, she grabbed me by the forearm and dragged me over to where the girl was.
We stopped in front of the aisle, and as I began searching the shelves for the boxset, I quickly realized that it was a waste, because the one the girl was holding was either from a different aisle, or worse – that it was the last of its kind available at the store.
I faced the girl with hope in my heart. Who knew things could get this stressful and cutthroat atbookstores?
“Uh…” I swallowed and motioned towards the colorful box in her hands. “Where’d you get that from?”
She barely gave me a glance. “Here.” She pointed at the barren shelf dismissively.
No.
No, no, no.
I looked at Rina, and saw her expression change quickly from cheerful to crestfallen.
Fuckinghell.
My shoulders slumped on their own accord when I realized that…it was time to get my hands dirty.
Jesus, take the damn wheel already.
