Page 92 of Adorkable

“It does.” He caught my hand, eyes playful, as he ran his thumb along the back of my knuckles. “I’ll miss you, Sally Spitz.”

I laughed. “Miss you, too, Stryker.”

“If things don’t work out with Becks, let me know.”

With one last grin and a gentle kiss to my temple, he walked off.

I stared after him for longer than I should have. Ash might as well have told me he was an alien from the planet Vulcan. It would’ve stunned me less if he had. A boy, not just any boy but Ash “The Whip” Styker, liked me, Sally Spitz, a first-class dork with a degree in geek. Not just liked, butliked. The news was about as believable as science fiction, but he’d been serious. And that kiss had definitely been real. My lips were still on fire.

Shaking my head, I went inside. Besides tossing me into a confusion spiral, and let’s face it, upping my confidence as a woman, the talk with Ash made me realize one indisputable fact: Boys were strange.

I got further confirmation of that a little later as I was in the middle of reading Harry Potter. Ten of the twelve kids registered had shown up today. We were at a really good part, the one where Hagrid finds Harry and the Dursleys holed up in a shack surrounded by the sea. The kids were loving it. I’d been doing all the voices, and not one of them could resist the pull of Jo Rowling’s writing.

Lowering my voice, I gave the kids a conspiratorial wink then said, affecting Hagrid’s deep Cockney accent, “‘Ah, go boil yer heads, both of yeh.’“

They giggled as I got shushed by my boss, Mrs. Carranza, librarian at large.

The young eyes around me were saucers, pitched forward as the announcement drew closer.

“‘Harry—yer a…’“

I stopped mid-sentence, catching sight of Becks, standing at the edge of our circle, looking at me with a smile in his eyes.

“A what? Awhat?” Gwen Glick said, tugging at my arm.

“Shut up, Gwen. Let her finish.” Vince Splotts pushed her hand away.

I looked at him sternly, trying to forget about Becks. “Now, Vince, you know we don’t talk that way during Corner.”

“I know, but—”

“Apologize, please,” I said.

“But Miss Sally, she was being annoying. I was just saying—”

“I heard what you said.” I crossed my arms and tilted my head toward Gwen whose lip was now quivering. “Tell Gwen you’re sorry, please.”

Vince rolled his eyes and mumbled, “Sorry.”

I looked at the girl in the fadedStar Trektee. “And what do you say Gwen?”

“Apology accepted,” Gwen muttered, turning a glare on Vince. “And I amnotannoying.”

“Gwen.”

“Sorry, Miss Sally,” she said. “Now can we hear the rest? What does Hagrid tell Harry he is?”

“He’s a wizard,” Becks answered.

As Gwen saw him, she smiled and waved like a mad woman. He grinned back.

“That’s right,” I said, flipping the book closed, “and I think it’s picture time.”

The kids groaned, and Vince said in a pitiful voice, “But Miss Sally, we didn’t even get to the end of that chapter.”

“We can finish it next week.” Usually I tried to read them two chapters per session, but Becks was here now, looking like he had something to say. I wasn’t sure I wanted to hear it, but my concentration was blown. “You guys just go up to front desk, and ask Miss Carranza for some paper and crayons. I’ll be right over.”

The kids got up, grumbling as they made their way over to the reference desk, and Vince shrugged, saying, “I’ll just watch the movie anyway.”

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