Page 47 of Left on Read

Excitedly, I hurried over to the left side of the space to get a feel for how the store was organized.

For the next two hours, River followed me around while I explored every nook and cranny that I could. I tried to cut the visit short multiple times, but River just waved me off and told me to keep going until I was finished.

His enthusiasm was contagious, and by the time I was done checking everything out, I’d forgotten to worry if he was bored or if I was taking too long.

“I’m just going to see if there’s a washroom I can use. How about you meet me outside?” River suggested when I’d assured him I was finished looking.

“Okay.” I clutched the book I’d bought to my chest. I’d found a first edition of one of my favorite sci-fi books and hadn’t been able to pass it up.

Still feeling like I was floating, I left the store and waited for River to finish up.

Was that it? It wasn’t late, but he had to work tonight. Was the bookstore his plans, or did he have something else in mind?

I was still pondering what could possibly happen next when River came out of the store with a paper bag in his hand.

“What’s that?” I asked. “Did you find something?”

“Nope.” He extended the bag to me.

Slowly, I took it and peeked inside. “River,” I said breathlessly when I saw the box set I’d contemplated buying but had ultimately put back. “You didn’t have to do this.”

“I know.” He kicked his toe against the sidewalk, his eyes down. “But I wanted to. I know how hard it is to spend money on yourself, especially when everyone tells us we’re poor because we have the audacity to treat ourselves every once in a while. You were so happy when you saw it. I wanted you to keep feeling happy.”

“I…thank you.” I swallowed hard and looked back down at the set. It hadn’t been exorbitantly expensive, but it was more than I could justify spending on myself.

“You’re welcome.” His apparent shyness melted away, and he smiled his usual River smile again. “How about a coffee? There’s a shop down the street that has cats.”

“Cats?” I blinked at him.

“Yeah. Like actual cats. They just chill, and you can pet them and everything. Quinn said they’re shelter cats the owner adopted and they go to work with him.”

“I’ve never heard of it.”

“Me either. Not until Quinn told me about it. You mentioned you’re a cat person, and I like cats. I thought it could be fun.”

“Yeah. It sounds amazing.” I slipped my book into the bag with the ones River bought me. This felt like a date. But we were just friends, right?

“You okay?” he asked with concern.

“Fine. Just feeling like a slacker because you planned this awesome day, and I didn’t even put on a big boy sweater.”

River laughed and put his hand on the small of my back to give me a little nudge. I started walking, and he fell into step beside me. He dropped his hand, but his arm brushed mine as we walked together.

“You’re not a slacker. I planned a day we’d both enjoy.”

“But the bookstore was for me, not you.”

“It was for both of us. I had fun. I don’t need to be a reader to enjoy book shopping with you.”

I nodded, even as my mind spun.

I couldn’t remember the last time someone had made the day about me and my interests. I was usually the one pretending to be interested in whatever activity I’d been dragged to.

It felt amazing to know he’d not only listened when I talked about my interests, but he made a point of sharing them with me. It also made me feel incredibly guilty and like I was being a bad friend because the day was all about me.

I kept up with some basic small talk as we walked to the café, but either River could tell I was distracted, or he was, because he didn’t call me on my weirdness.

The café was tucked between a bakery and a vape shop. The outside had decals of cats and coffee cups on the windows and a Don’t let me escape, I’m a runner sign with a photo of a big orange tabby on the door.

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