Just before September breaks, we get our official invitation to be a vendor at the tri-county fall fair titled, Abundance in the Air.The name and theme for this year certainly feels appropriate. We’ve been growing astronomically since the viral explosion of one of the social posts featuring Bastian leaning “book boyfriend” style against a shelf. Ever since, I’ve caught him in his human form for so many candid shots.
The one of him running his finger along a page with his eyes closed did particularly well, too. We’ve had so many order for books, and even more orders for “Bastian shots.” If I weren’t so jealously possessive, I’d recommend we start him a LonelyFans account. He’d probably make more than our books…
The viral posts have done more than help with sales; we’ve been getting rebind commissions, too. People have been sending in their old, damaged books to be refurbished in beautiful hardcover bindings, and we’ve been happy to provide. Using Bastian’s magic felt too much like cheating, so we opted to do all of them by hand. It’s some of the best hours on the weekend where we sit together, listening to some Swift, running our boning tools over glue.
There has beennoboning for me, though…Every time we get frisky, and I start to lead him south he says he’s still not ready. A girl can only try so many times before she gets disheartened, so I’ve just settled for great orgasms while I wait for him to do whatever he needs to do to prepare. The inequity of howmanyorgasms I’ve had compared to him is starting to weigh on me, but one day, I’ll get him back.
September leaks in, bringing a cold breeze off the lake that changes the leaves from green to gold. We finally fill the associate role with Mike, the kid from the local market looking to get someextra hours. I quickly discover the last book he read wasCatcher in the Ryein his junior year of high school. So that needs to be quickly remedied.
I send him home with a reading list and a new subscription to Audiful, since he hasn’t read for pleasure in such a long time. He likes to go to the gym, though, and that’s the perfect time to listen to great books.
By the Equinox, he’s chatting avidly with customers about his favorite sci-fi books, and even a few romantasy reads. His bored, dead eyes have been replaced with excitement and enthusiasm. It makes my heart soar to see him fall in love with reading and stories again.
Finally, fall arrives in earnest, and it’s time to roll out the sweaters again. The town takes Halloween very seriously, and I am adoring it. Every shop has a pumpkin—or ten—out front, and so I know we need to bring the magic.
I invite Renee and Andrew over for dinner to discuss designs. They arrive with pumpkins, and I prep the pizza, even making a meatza for my dear carnivore friends. Oscar sneaks a meatball or two—okay I give them to him—and he’s just the happiest cat-sith on the continent.
“Okay, so, what’s the idea?” Renee starts as she pours each of us another glass of wine.
I accept mine giddily and sink into my chair. “I want a giant dragon emerging from the awning of the front door, breathing fire!”
Bastian grins. “You’re obsessed with me, aren’t you?”
I tsk. “Dragons are a staple in fantasy. The shop has fantasy in the name. It just makes sense, and also I can make it breathe fake fire with my magic.”
He wraps his arm over the back of my chair. “She’s obsessed with me.”
Renee and Drew laugh.
“Yeah, we know,” she adds.
I shush her, my cheeks glowing, and not from the wine.
“What else for the decorations?” Drew asks.
“Well,” I start, swirling my cup. “If we do a dragon out front, I want to have a warrior maiden inside by the primary display, and then maybe some kind of bad guy monster leaping off the second floor toward her.”
“We can do ballroom-like sconces for lighting!” Renee says.
“Oh, and we could make custom bookmarks to give away with every purchase,” I say, feeding off her excitement and squirrely energy.
“Daggers, swords, and arrows, oh my,” Bastian adds with a smile.
The conversation flows as we throw out idea after idea, the vibes high and the wine pouring. Drew and Bastian wander off to start prototyping wooden bookmarks, so Renee and I whip out my laptop to design custom tote bags.
By the end of the evening, we’ve solidified a beautiful tote design with some stock vector images and clever typography done by Renee. The boys wander in with their prototypes while we’re discussing magical sconces. Bastian is beaming as he holds out his creation for me to inspect.
It’s a rose just like the one in the stained glass of the front door, but the thorny vine is wrapped around a thick sword. The words “Second Chance Fantasy” are etched down the center of the blade in curling letters.
I grin up at him as I run my fingers over the gorgeous bookmark. “It’s perfect.”
He captures my chin and kisses me swiftly before whispering, “You’re perfect.”
“Am not,” I huff, giving a sideways glance at Renee.
She’s busy inspecting Drew’s design.
“You are to me,” Bastian says, then kisses me again.
