“So do I.” We’re both still holding the spine. I grip it a little tighter.
“Well, then I think a pop-quiz duel is the proper way to handle it.”
“Challenge accepted.”
His eyes are twinkling even brighter now. Like this is the best conversation he’s had in years. “You seem pretty confident.”
“Why wouldn’t I be? I’ve practically memorized Emily and Toby’s character arcs.”
“Esmerelda and Tony.” He chuckles the words out.
“That’s what I said.”
“Question number one.”
“I’m ready. Let’s do this.”
“Where do the lovers meet?”
“Duh. Under the frickin’ bridge.”
“You’re really gonna do this?” He’s got that one eyebrow lifted up again.
“The quiz? Fuck, yeah, I am.”
“It’s not about a bridge. It’s a metaphor.”
“Oh. My God. That’s what I just said.”
“They’re not even lovers. They’re frenemies.”
“I hate that word.”
“Why?”
“It’s so overused.”
“Frenemies?” He laughs loudly again. And this time someone is close enough—though hidden in some other stack—to chastise him with a shush. He lowers his voice and leans in to me, whispering. “Where do you hail from where the word ‘frenemies’ is overused?”
“Where do Ihailfrom?” Now it’s my turn to laugh out loud. “What are you, some kind of out-of-time, old-fashioned bibliophile?”
He points at me with the hand not holding on to the spine ofLovers Under a Bridge. “Yes.”
I put up my free hand in a full-motion stop. “No.”
“No? You’re just gonna say no? Like… I’m lying?”
“Well, here’s the thing…”
He fills in the blank I just dropped. “Ryet.”
“Here’s the thing, Ryet. It’s fine if you’re an old-fashioned bibliophile. But you can’t be an out-of-time one.”
“Why not?”
I shrug up my shoulders. “Because time travel is fake.”
He nods his head to the book. “Tell that to Esme and Tyler.”
