Page 26 of With Stars in Her Eyes
“Aww… I was hoping for another chance to see the rascal. Too bad.” Thea knocked once on the counter. “I came by for two reasons other than wanting to see if Baxter was here. One… I need a book.”
“Definitely in the right place for that.” I was grateful that I had a counter in front of me. I needed to remember a normal way to have your hands during a conversation if you weren’t holding anything.
“Two… I’m a thief.”
“Bold of you to just admit that with your full voice. Should I call the cops?”
“I’m hoping I can just pay for what I stole, buy another book along with it, and then maybe we can call it even?” Thea slipped the copy ofA Wrinkle in Timeout of her bag. “This ended up in my bag.”
“Oh… oops. That was my fault. I was an accessory I guess. Should we run off and be outlaws?”
“An enticing idea.” Thea leaned over the counter conspiratorially. “But if this is going to be a Bonnie and Clyde scenario, I’m going to insist on being Bonnie because she had the best hats.”
“The best hats?”
“In the movie. My grandfather watched a lot of old movies with me when I was growing up. All I remember about that movie was Faye Dunaway’s hats.”
“Pretty sure the main point was that they had guns and did crime?” I swiped on my phone to google the movie. “Also, no way am I being Clyde. He was played by Warren Beatty. I didn’t know he was an actor. I thought he was just a rich guy.”
Thea nearly cackled. “That’s WarrenBuffett.”
“Wait, who’s Warren Beatty, then, and how iconic are his hats if this is the role I’m being forced into?”
“All I know about him is that he had a reputation with—er—the ladies.” Thea’s eyes went to the side like a gossiping church lady.
I looked closer at my phone. “Google says he slept withhowmany women?Jesus. But he was married to Annette Bening. Well, she’s a ten, so well done, Warren, I guess?” My face was probably fixed in a half grimace.
“Celebrities.” Thea shrugged.
I shook my head solemnly. “Seriously. They lead different lives.”
“How did we get here?”
“Hats,” I said flatly. “And petty theft.”
“Ah. Right. If I’m going to live here permanently, I want to avoid felonies.”
“I’m pretty sure accidentally stealing a used book isn’t a felony,and are you implying that if youweren’tgoing to live someplace permanently, you wouldn’t avoid felonies?”
“Now, do I look like a criminal to you?” Thea smiled her biggest smile yet. All five dimples on full display. It was fatally angelic and made it absolutely clear that she had a superpower she could use for evil if she wanted to.
“You’re a little scary.”
“Little ol’ me would never hurt a fly.” Thea batted her eyelashes. Her eyeliner was as sharp and perfectly drawn as ever.
“Here you go pulling out the Southern charm whenever you want to again.”
“You think I’m charming?”
“I think… I think you might be trouble.”
“Maybe…”
“Also I already paid for the book myself. It was a used copy, and it was two dollars. Not a big deal. You could have called, and I would have told you that.” I had been trying to match Thea’s suggestive tone, but the words ended up not sounding anything like what I wanted them to. Why was I so rusty at this?
“Oh, okay then.” Thea shifted her weight, smile faltering slightly. “Now I just need to find…”
“Could I help you find something? Don’t want to take up too much of your time if you need to get back to Squid.” I tried again to make my voice sound flirty, but it might have just come across as strained and stressed.
