Page 90 of A Farmer’s Guide To Gamers

“Okay, okay, I got the message. Be safe, omega,” he all but growled. I leaned up on my toes to kiss his cheek before rushing upstairs to change and grab my things.

“Just take your phone with you! Just in case,” he called out as I changed.

Five minutes later, I was rushing out the door with my bag and phone in hand to jump into the car with my bestie.

Slamming the car door shut, I put my sunglasses on and smiled at Sabrina.

“This is just what I needed.”

“Of course, I am,” she smirked and took off.

We played some of our favorite songs, jamming out and letting loose as she drove through the back roads towards Belmont.

Belmont was the closest big city to Magnolia Ridge and it had a great selection of thrifty and vintage stores that we always loved to go through.

“Need anything in particular?”

“Hmmm,” I hummed, thinking over my house and trying to figure out if I needed anything. “I can’t think of anything specific but we both know that has never stopped us.”

“Let’s start with coffee,” Sabrina suggested. “There’s a new local place that just opened that I want to check out. And there’s a new nesting store near the thrift stores that I have to check out. Apparently, they have some cozy gothic things that I need.”

“Cozy gothic?” I asked, trying and failing to picture what that looked like.

“Think like pastel Halloween.”

“Ohhh! That’s so fun!” I smiled, instantly loving the idea of it. It wasn’t my style but it was completely Sabrina without a shadow of a doubt.

“Oh! I have a great idea.” I clapped my hands, a habit we developed to keep track of us changing subjects without warning. “The guys love video games and I can’t figure out technology to save my life — we should be on the lookout for those old school Tamagotchis! I bet they have some at that game store that we always pass by.”

“Oh, my gosh! I never could keep mine alive,” she reminisced with a laugh. “They totally need it and so do we! Looks like we get to thrift and shop for all kinds of things today.”

“The best kind of day,” I agreed before turning up the song and singing the whole way to snag coffee. The first sip of warm caffeine mixed with cool air, best friend time, and amazing music just spoke to my soul.

“Oh, there it is!” she shouted over the music, pointing at the new store next to our go-to thrift shop.

“It looks cute,” I said as I read the sign and burst out laughing. “Knottily Ever After? Really?”

She smirked. “You know I love a good play on words.”

“And shopping,” I said.

Sabrina just grinned as she pulled into the parking lot, snagging a spot right in front between the two shops.

“The real question,” she started as we climbed out, no longer yelling over the music, “is where do we go first?”

I glanced between them before heading for the nesting store. “This one.”

The moment the doors slid open, we both froze, glancing around like kids in a candy store. I wasn’t generally a nester. But this place might just have converted me.

“Look!” Sabrina squealed as she tugged me over to the exact pastel gothic section she’d been gushing over. I snagged a cart, knowing damn well she’d need it. She already had a purple holographic bat plush, hugged in her arms. “Isn’t he perfect?”

“Definitely,” I agreed.

She got lost in shopping and I let my eyes roam over the other sections nearby. There was a full gothic one, moody and dark, pretty pinks and bright colors, then I spotted the plush pig and bright sunflower art and walked over like I was in a trance.

The moment I stared up at the display of farm chic, I was lost. My omega perked right up and my hand ran over the selection of blankets, snagging a crocheted one in sunny yellow and a plush throw with chickens printed on it.

A worker brought me over a cart by the time I’d picked up a few art prints and was struggling.