Page 13 of Falling

I snorted. “Thanks.”

“You know what I mean,” Booker said. “Everyone here’s a little weird. Everyone on the whole planet is a little weird. We just don’t make an effort to hide it here. Where do you belong?”

Where did I belong?

“I don’t know,” I said. What the hell kind of question was that?

I’d brought it up, I supposed. It was a fair question.

I just didn’t have any kind of answer.

Booker hummed. “Well, Seth told me I’m supposed to encourage you to stay.”

“Why?”

I’d only been here three days and none of them had exactly showcased my incredible librarianship skills, which I was beginning to think I didn’t actually have. Maybe my entire career to this point had been a combination of cronyism and being just competent enough to scrape by.

“Because you’re decorative.” Booker grinned at me. “And because this is the last chance to save the library, and he cares that we’ve got one here. We all know it’s a hard job to take on. You’re still alive after your first day open, so I think you did okay. You’re already making friends. Is it so bad?”

“I’m already making friends?” I asked.

Booker shrugged. “Unless we’re not friends?”

Oh. Right.

“I’d like to be friends,” I admitted. I hadn’t made a friend of my own…

Maybe ever. I’d relied on Evie being a social butterfly and some of her friends apparently kind of liking me as well.

“Friends, then,” Booker said, offering his hand.

I gave him mine, thinking he planned on shaking it. Instead he squeezed it once, firm, then let it go again.

I liked that. I liked that all the way in the pit of my stomach, which was doing happy little backflips at the thought of making a friend.

“So, is there anywhere I can order a pizza from around here?” I asked. “Because it’s my turn to feed you and I have neither groceries nor cooking skills.”

“We can work on that, if you want,” Booker said. “Some other time.”

“I’d like that, but I’d also like to eat today.”

“We’re definitely working on making sure you eat more than once a day,” Booker said, firm this time.

I supposed he was allowed to look out for me. After all, we were friends now.

“And I’ll show you how to light the fire while we wait for pizza,” he added in a tone that didn’t leave any room for argument. “Even if you’re not sticking around, who says you won’t need to know sometime?”

“Do you know you’re a sweetheart?” I asked, smiling at him. I hadn’t felt myself smile in a while, either. Not without forcing it.

“I hear that a lot,” Booker said. “Glad it’s working on you.”

6

BOOKER

“So, that was your second date.” Andre flipped a dish towel over his shoulder as he came out of the kitchen with three plates.

“It wasn’t a date,” I said, half-distracted, looking over the offerings. Andre had a way of making food look as good as it tasted and these plates were no exception. I couldn’t see why he hadn’t pursued cooking seriously before now. I was glad to have him, though. “Why does everyone suddenly want me to date?”