Chapter Twenty-Two
Franklin
I stood in the alley behind the comic shop, Ezra by my side. The garage door was open, and we looked in on the rows of carefully organized comic books, collectibles, and memorabilia. With the attention Asher had given the place, we had no problem getting the rest in order.
“A job well done,” I said with a nod.
“And the backstock is all accounted for,” Ezra said brightly. “Neat! This will make it a lot easier to restock the front of the store when we sell stuff.”
I smiled, then patted him on the back. I’d given him a decent raise when I left town, and he had picked up more duties around the shop. As I settled back in, however, I was seeing more and more the influence he had on the place.
“Whatever you say, general manager.”
He laughed, then waved his hand in the air. “No one calls me that! I prefer Supreme Comic Slinger.”
“Ultimate Superhero Salesman,” I agreed as I closed the shed. “Got it.”
Ezra tugged down on his blue sweater as we walked around to the front of the store, shivering a little from the chill in the air. “Too bad the job is done, though,” he said. “You’ll miss having Asher around the shop.”
I turned to glance at him and raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I will?”
Ezra coughed, then skipped his feet quickly. “I’m just saying,” he muttered.
I chuckled. “What does that mean?”
“You both practically ogle each other with love eyes,” he laughed. “And Rory, too, when he stops by.” He poked me in the arm, then laughed again. “You have a couple crush.”
“What?” I laughed, my cheeks flaming red that we had been that obvious. “A couple crush?”
“When a couple has a crush on someone,” he said. “Or when a someone has a crush on a couple.”
We stopped by the front door. I peered inside and saw Ava still happily reading a comic behind the counter while Clark worked. Rory and I had said we weren’t going to be secretive about what we were doing with Asher or treat him like he was something to be ashamed of.
“Actually,” I said rather smugly. “Please keep this discreet, as Ava does not know, but Rory and I are seeing Asher.”
“Woohoo!” Ezra yelled, then jumped in the air and clicked his Converse together. “I knew it!”
I laughed. “Oh yeah?”
“Well, everyone knew it,” he said, adjusting his glasses straight again. “It’s all the rage, you know?”
“Yes,” I said with a nod. “You and Clark are both in triads.”
“I’ve been preferring throuple lately,” Ezra said with a shrug. “It just kind of makes me giggle when I hear it. Throuple.”
“We’re not quite there,” I said. “But I’m glad to know you approve.”
Ezra opened the door, and we strolled into the shop. The second the bell dinged above us and the door swung shut, Ava dropped her comic book.
“Clark has two boyfriends,” she said in her monotone.
I paused, then tilted my head to the side. “Yes, I know.”
Clark shrugged, turning his hands up to the ceiling. “She asked a question, and then she wanted to ask a hundred questions. I hope that’s okay.”
I rubbed the back of my head with a chuckle.
Maybe the universe is trying to tell you something, Franklin.
