Us At Midday

The Plan (pt2): Books, Beverages and Bliss

So we went to the bookshop, Enshrined In Spines. I hadn't been in over a year to be honest, I don't know what possessed me to tell him about the bookstore. What if it was closed?

"Do you even know where we are right now, Ris?" Sol's head was in his phone. We have been looking for the bookstore for at least an hour.
I hummed, looking at the shop that was in front of us. Another dead end.

"Yeah, sorry, it's just been a hot second since I've last been here, ya know?" I turned around and marched off. He tapped on my shoulder.
"You know I could just google it, righ-?"
"No no, I know where we are, we just took a wrong turn. It's just around this bend." I was losing his attention.
"I'll prove it." I grabbed his wrist and marched off into a random direction.
All these paths looked the same now that everybody in the stores were leaving, it was getting dark out, but the best part is that the bookstore was open 24/7.

He pulls away, "Stop that. I'll look it up, and your pride can suck it."
He takes out his phone, checking his phone for messages from Aisha.
I huffed, my nose turned up and I looked up at the glass ceiling. The sunset was breathtaking today.
I looked around, stepping on a bench, pretending that I was walking the plank.
"Join me, Sol." I stretched out my hand to the very busy Soleil. His thick eyebrows drew itself in a squiggly line.

"Arr, laddy, what brings ye upon me ship?" I try to stop myself from giggling, Sol presses his lips in a thin line, a snort pushes itself out his nose, he shakes his head.
I spun around dramatically but my boot got caught in a crack - falling on Soleil.

"Oh my god, are you okay?" I asked but he began to burst out laughing.
"Very." He slid from under me, getting up and holding his hand out to me. He had those irresistible kind eyes again, the type that made me melt, made time stop and I couldn't figure out how.
I cleared my throat, taking his hand and got up.

"So are you guys gonna come in or are you guys going to be cute dorks some more?" It was Chris, I believe, the bookstore cashier. He got thicker since I was last here, same blue eyes and blond hair.
I couldn't believe it, we were in front of it the whole time, neon sign and all.
"Hey, yeah, we're coming in." We sputtered at the same time, walking in.

The place itself hadn't changed much, lacking a poetry section and still had the ridiculous local's section (right next to the philosophy so let's be honest, nobody goes near there and it's just a waste all around.)
The lanes were also smaller than I remembered.

"Is there something you guys are looking for, specifically?" Chris rubbed his hands together but we shook our heads.
"Just browsing today, thank you."

I took Soleil to the back, where they kept the better stuff: fiction, fantasy bestsellers, manga, etc.
"This place is amazing," Sol was enamored by the stacks, shelves and piles of books.
I smiled, pleased that we found the place. "Yeah, it's like a dream, right?"
"I've never seen so many at one place."

I slid past him, looking at a copy of a book with a bright red truck and a sunset on the cover. "Huh."
Soleil squeezed next to me, "Wassup?" "Never read this one before."
He plucked it from my hands, smiling. He knew it. "It's a good one. Reminds me of you."

I was overwhelmed with his proximity, his breath on my neck, the things he was saying. Bet he didn't know it.

"Wanna head to this diner I know? I promise I know where it is this time."

...

"Welcome to The Majestic Mug, may I take your order?" The waitress, Tina on her name tag, asked.
We were at the diner, in a red booth, sitting across each other. He put down his ratty rucksack beside him, looking at the menu, "Hey, yeah, can I have a caramel milkshake?" "And can I have a lime one?"
She nodded, scribbling our order down and walked away to the kitchen.
It was quiet again.

Sol looked around and whispered. "Imagine if the teachers could see us now." His eyes were shiny, mischievous, like a kid who didn't get caught stealing the last cookie.
We were supposed to wait at the arcade for Aisha and Co soon but what could one milkshake do?

"Yeah, especially Ms Eli," I smiled. She would probably faint on the spot. She talked about us in the teacher's lounge - I was friends with the secretaries.
He chuckled as Tina came back. She was pretty, like Tiana of Princess and The Frog, even with the red uniform.

She dished our drinks off her tray, smiling. "Here you go, enjoy."
We said our 'Thank you's and she went to another table.

Sol and I took the paper off our straws and began drinking our milkshakes. He slurped happily but me? There wasn't enough syrup, I thought. But I wouldn't tell Tina that, so that left ...
"Hey, wanna trade to taste?" I asked. Sol shook his head.
"Should've taken the same as me then."
"Please?"
"You sound just like Arthur." He never mentioned his brothers much, so I didn't wanna push it but like I said, I was curious.
"Is that a bad thing? You never talk about your family."
"Cos there's nothing to say. I have three brothers, married parents and a cat every once in a while."

I nodded. "How about you? I don't see you mentioning your family much either." He drank some more of his beverage.
"Same here."

Tina walked past again.
"Hey, sorry to bother you, but could we please get our receipt? Thanks." I slurped some of my kind of bland drink and sank in my seat.

I was one child of 4, like Soleil. Second youngest, same as him. Story closed.