A throat cleared a few feet away.
In the midst of my conversation with Sookie, I hadn’t noticed the door opening.
Redd stood stiffly by the front door, hovering at the threshold. “Hey, uh… I can’t stay to help today; I’m working next door at the plant shop.”
He’d come in just to tell me that? I stared at him for a minute. “Have fun?” I said questioningly.
“Fun, right. Yes. Well, I just wanted you to know,” he explained awkwardly.
“You drop in and out all the time, that’s just how it works. That’s how it’s always worked. You usually just do it and then tell me about it later.” I crossed my arms and stared at him, perplexed.
His gaze dropped to my throat, and then jumped back up to my eyes. He inhaled deeply.
“Right. Just thought I’d be polite, since I was right next door anyways. Good day, Fiella.” He turned to leave, pulling the door open.
“Wait.” This was a bad idea. Areallybad idea. But I couldn’t stop myself. He froze instantly, his head whipping around to look at me.
I cleared my throat. “What are you doing this evening?”
He stared at me like I’d spoken gibberish.
“You know what? Neverm-”
“Yes.”
“Pardon?” I asked, bewildered.
“Are you asking me out? My answer is yes. I owe you one after, you know… yesterday.”
I stammered, “I– I wasn’t asking you out!”
“Sure, you weren’t.” He smiled broadly, his fangs catching the lantern light. The force of his full smile was enough to knock the wind out of me. He had the kind of smile that would make any folk swoon. “Good day!” he called out.
He left before I could say anything else, leaving me feeling bewildered and a little flushed.
We didn’t even agree on a time or a place, but I felt like I was floating in the clouds. I didn’t even notice the hangover anymore.
“Don’t look at me like that,” I grumbled to Sookie after she was staring at me once again, but my reprimand had no bite to it. Sookie trilled in response, her tail swishing back and forth like she was up to no good.
The rest of the day passed in a blur.
I dropped a letter into the stone and mortar mailbox on the way home. The structure looked more stable than it had the last time I examined it–almost like someone had tried to subtly repair it. It was also radiating a slight warmth, melting the snow surrounding it. Strange.
I felt mildly guilty that I was going on a sort-of date with Redd instead of with my mysterious penpal. I wondered idly if my penpal would be upset at the idea of me going on a date. Itried to put myself in their boots, pondering if I would be upset if the situation was reversed. We were just friends, after all.
My thoughts were muddled. That was a problem I didn’t want to worry about right now.
CHAPTER 28
Redd
Iwalked into Lunette’s Plant shop, feeling lighter than I had in a long time.
I couldn’t believe Fiella had asked me on a date. Well, she technically didn’t, but she was going to.
Or… I had assumed she was going to. Maybe I just hoped that she was going to.
Regardless, I would be seeing the lovely vampire this evening and the thought brought a smile to my face.
