Page 39 of Unfiltered
Ricki held up her hands and backed away, laughing as she did. “Damn. Librarians take reshelving books pretty seriously.”
Embarrassed by her outburst, heat rose up Abby’s neck. “Uh, I just thought… I mean…” she stammered.
“It was a tricky one.Animal Farm.”
“I put it right next to1984.”
Ricki snatchedAnimal Farmfrom the shelf and walked several steps away and slid it into an open space. “I keep it in satire, not dystopian.”
Abby slapped her hand against her forehead. “Ugh. I knew that. I noticed when I picked it from the shelf. Apparently, I promptly forgot.”
“You still got an A.”
“But I wanted an A-plus.” Abby tried to scowl, but her smile gave her away. She pointed to the stack of books still on the ground. “Maybe I should try again.”
“I told you that you didn’t have to do that.”
Abby had already picked up the stack and studied the titles. When she finished, she turned to Ricki with hope in her eyes.
Ricki grinned and shook her head. “A-plus.”
Abby raised her hands over her head and did a dance but stopped when she realized what she was doing.
“Don’t let Blythe catch you doing that, or she’ll insist on filming it.”
“Don’t you dare tell her. I already look like enough of a geek without doing the happy dance because I reshelved books correctly.”
“It’s a talent. Others would be jealous.”
“Yeah, I doubt that, but thanks.” Abby let out a long, slow breath. “Well, I better get downstairs.”
“Let me show you back to Blythe’s room.”
“You don’t mind?”
“It’s my pleasure.”
“Good. Because you never answered my question about whether you shot all of Blythe’s videos.”
“She’d like me to.” Ricki made her way to the door that led to her bedroom. She held it open and let Abby pass and followed her through. “She talks me into shooting as many as she can.”
“You do quality work.”
They made their way down the stairs.
“Thanks.” Ricki smiled over her shoulder at Abby. “At least I get to use a little of my photography skills—I suppose.”
“Well, I think your work is exceptional.”
When they arrived in the living room, a wave of nervousness washed through Abby. What did Blythe expect tonight? They hadn’t even kissed, but they would be sleeping in the same bed. Abby clutched the copy ofThe Color Purpleto her chest.
Ricki gave her a puzzled look. “You okay?”
Abby nodded. “Yeah, I just wanted to thank you again for letting me see your library.” She held up the book. “And for letting me borrow this.”
“You’re welcome. I enjoyed it.” Ricki put her hands in her jeans pockets. “You know where Blythe’s room is, right?”
Abby swallowed hard. “Yeah. You showed me earlier.”
