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IT WAS A TUESDAY AFTERNOON—usually the kind of day that brought in a trickle of familiar faces from the neighborhood, along with the occasional out-of-towner looking for something obscure. Jocelyn leaned against the counter of her bookstore, absently flicking through the pages of a worn paperback, her focus somewhere between the words on the page and the soft hum of customers filtering through the aisles. She loved it here, surrounded by the quiet shuffle of turning pages and the faint scent of old and new paper alike. For Jocelyn, this place was her sanctuary, her small corner of predictability in an otherwise unpredictable world. She got the opportunity to be surrounded by the books she loved and books she grew excited to read, and got paid to do so.
The bell above the door suddenly chimed, its soft ring cutting through the bookstore's quiet and successfully breaking the blonde from her trance. Her eyes tore from the pages and over towards the now swung open door to see two women stepping inside, their confident energy disrupting the stillness she had curated within these walls. The first, with short, blonde hair and a mischievous smile, looked like she knew her way around a good story, her eyes flicking from one shelf to another with intent.
But it was the second woman who snagged Jocelyn's attention and held it fast. She trailed casually behind her friend, hands in her pockets, moving with a kind of effortless ease. Jocelyn's eyes lingered on her—the way she looked around with an amused curiosity, like nothing in the room could really hold her attention. Jocelyn could tell in one look that this wasn't someone who chased after much; things probably just came to her.
"Hi there," the blonde began, her voice bright and confident as she stopped at the counter, successfully ripping Jocelyn's attention from the other woman. "My name's Alice."
Alice leaned casually on the counter, throwing a glance back at her friend, who was now drifting through the shelves, one finger trailing lazily over the spines. "I'm writing an article about lesbian literature. Figured I'd come to the source, you know? Hoping to get recommendations on anything worth highlighting that's also not too mainstream."
The Cain woman nodded, her mind racing through her mental catalog. "We actually have a section on LGBT authors in the back. Some great anthologies, memoirs, and lesser-known novels. I think you'll find what you need there."
As Alice flashed a grateful smile, Jocelyn began to bookmark her page, ready to set it aside to help. "I can show you where it is, if you'd like." She then offered, preparing herself to step out from behind the counter.
"There's no need." Alice replied, waving off her fellow blondes attempt at helping. "No, you were reading when we came in. We can take it from here, thank you though. Come on, Shane, let's go check it out."
