The Truce

Chapter 23

"Alright, where are we going?" I asked when I noticed a sign out the car window that declared that we were in Williamsburg Pennsylvania. I assumed when Sebastian said he wanted to surprise me for this date, he had something in mind along the lines of dinner and a movie, but we'd been driving for two hours already, and I was completely stumped as to what we could be doing. There were no big attractions here that I was aware of like there were in the other Williamsburg, and there were plenty of those more common places we could have gone to back home. So what in the world would bring us all the way here?

Sebastian smirked. "You get how a surprise works, right?"

I frowned. "I just thought you had a special restaurant in mind or something."

"Well, we probably will go to a restaurant at some point, but that's not the surprise."

"You're kidnapping me, aren't you?" I joked.

He snorted. "Yeah, that's why I told your parents exactly where we'd be."

"You did?" Now I was really curious. This must have taken some planning.

"Of course. Do you think I'd be stupid enough to bring you so far away without asking first?"

"So, everyone knows except me?" How annoying.

"Pretty much."

"Bastian..." I whined. He knew I hated waiting for things. Being the only one in the dark about those things was even worse.

He chuckled. "Don't worry. We're almost there."

Perking up a little, I paid attention out the windows, but it was no help. Nothing looked remarkable. It was just an average street with houses and occasional groups of shops.

Knowing it would do no good to ask again, I waited a very long fifteen minutes until he pulled the car into a space reserved for customers of Off the Shelf Books.

"A bookstore?" I asked, confused.

"Yep."

"You know, we probably passed twenty or thirty bookstores on the way here," I pointed out, baffled as to why he thought to drive so far for this one.

He laughed. "The surprise is what's inside, Mikey."

Excited, though I had no idea why I should be, I got out of the car and waited for Sebastian to join me. When he did, I grabbed his hand and began pulling him to the front of the store.

"You don't even know what it is yet." He was amused by my enthusiasm.

"I know it's about books!" And I was dying to know more.

When we emerged around the corner, I stopped and eagerly looked over the storefront. I loved these small shops. They had so much personality. But before I could take note of many specifics, Sebastian covered my eyes.

"Bastian!" I complained, pulling at his hand.

"No hints yet." His hand stayed firmly in place.

"You expect me to walk in there blind?" I asked, exasperated.

"Yep."

"We're going to look ridiculous," I tried.

"That's okay. I'm sure we won't be the only ones."

Okay, now I had to know what was going on, so even though I felt stupid, I started walking. "Just don't let me crash into anything."

"I think I can handle it."

Getting through the door was awkward and even though I was in a hurry, I couldn't make myself move faster than a shuffle while in the dark. Thankfully we didn't have far to go. Once inside, Sebastian urged me forward for a minute and then turned me to the left. When his hand fell away, I looked around eagerly, but I was still totally lost.