Chapter Nineteen
Ronnie enjoyed her time with Shawn and Andi, but knew some serious girl time was in order once they finished eating. She sent Shawn home, promising to call him in a couple hours if she could. After kissing so long Andi cleared her throat and muttered something about a room, Ronnie let him go. She beamed at her best friend as she watched her boyfriend walk away.
“I don’t think I need details anymore; I just got a firsthand look at how your night went,” Andi teased as she wound her arm through Ronnie’s. Ronnie giggled as they started down the street. They got in when they reached Andi’s car, buckled up, and Andi pulled away from the restaurant.
“It wasn’t all making out,” Ronnie said, reaching up to touch the necklace still around her neck. A smile brightened her eyes as she realized she had slept with it on. “He gave me this,” she told Andi holding out the necklace with her thumb. “I almost cried.”
“You didn’t,” Andi’s eyes widened as she tried not to giggle. Ronnie nodded.
“He remembered,” she said simply. Andi grinned at her and returned her attention to the road.
“So, tell me about dinner.”
“It was amazing. It was like I got to see this whole other side of him he usually keeps hidden. He opened doors, held my chair, and I let him order for me—he was a complete gentleman all night. And it was so easy. I thought I’d be nervous being out on a real date with him, but we just sat and talked like we always do. I couldn’t believe how easy it was to be with him.”
“Well duh, you guys have been friends forever; of course it’s going to be easy. So, when did all the kissy stuff start happening?”
Ronnie blushed as she told Andi about walking to the park after dinner. By the time she got to the part about seeing the wraiths, she was all warm and tingly and didn’t want to talk about something unhappy so she stopped talking.
“Perfect timing,” Andi commented and pulled to the curb in front of The Reading Corner. Ronnie eyed the front door warily but didn’t move to leave the car. She remembered Rick’s words about always being here when she was and worried she would run into him now. Considering what she now knew about him, that was the last thing she wanted.
“What, you don’t like to read anymore?” Andi asked, her hand on her door handle. Ronnie shook her head and took a deep, fortifying breath. She looked through the window into the store and felt compelled to go inside. It was like she could hear the books calling her name. Only slightly trembling, she pushed open the car door, climbed out onto the sidewalk, and walked into her favorite store. She stopped just inside and immediately scanned what she could see of the place—and sighed when she didn’t see Rick.
“What’s wrong with you?” Andi asked. Ronnie mentally shook herself. She had to pull herself together; Rick wouldn’t try anything since Andi was with her. There was nothing to be afraid of.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” she told Andi, still silently convincing herself it was true as they walked further into the store.
“Okay.” Andi shook her head. “Let’s get lattes and find something to read.”
Ronnie grinned as Andi grabbed her hand and pulled her towards the café. They were almost to the counter when Ronnie noticed Rick sitting at one of the small round tables. His head was bent and he appeared to be reading, but somehow Ronnie knew that Rick knew she was there. She didn’t want to see him.
“I need to pee,” she told Andi and headed for the bathroom. Once she was locked in a stall, she pulled out her phone and sent a text message to Gavin.
Hey, guardian angel, I’m at The Reading Corner and could use a little protecting, she sent and waited impatiently for his reply.
5 minutes. And just remember, angels aren’t always seen, he sent back. She put her phone away, wondering what he meant by that. Still, she felt better knowing he would be there watching over her, whether she saw him or not. She stepped out of the stall, washed her hands, and headed back to Andi.
“You okay?” Andi asked when Ronnie joined her again.
“Yeah, I’m fine. Just had to go,” Ronnie replied.
“Okay, because you got out of here pretty quick after we saw Rick.”
Ronnie automatically looked to where he had been seated and was curious when she saw his table empty. “Where did he go?” she wondered aloud. Andi shrugged as they stepped up to the counter to order their drinks.
“I don’t know. He nodded as he went by but he left kind of in a hurry,” Andi told her a few minutes later while they waited for their lattes.
“Huh, guess I missed him,” Ronnie said, silently thanking the gods she didn’t have to see him again.
“Missed who?” Gavin spoke up behind them. Both girls turned around. Andi beamed, obviously still smitten even though she knew he wasn’t interested.
“Rick. He was here but he left while Ronnie was in the bathroom,” she told him.
“Lucky you,” Gavin said to Ronnie, who only nodded.
“What are you doing here?” Andi asked him. “Not that I’m not happy to see you, but I’ve never seen you here before and, well, I’ve never seen you read a book.”
He shrugged one shoulder and gave Andi an adorable smile. “Guess there’s a first time for everything. Why don’t you show me around?”
Andi giggled as she told Ronnie they’d be back. Ronnie knew she wouldn’t see them again until they were ready to check out. Andi loved this store even more than Ronnie and could spend hours just wandering the aisles seeing what was new. Gavin was in for a treat. Ronnie took her latte to a table and pulled out her phone again as it began to ring. She smiled when she saw Shawn’s name on the screen.
“Hey, I was just thinking about you,” she told him.
“That’s why my ears were ringing,” he teased. She giggled.
“I think that’s when someone’s talking about you, and that would’ve been twenty minutes ago,” she corrected him.
“Well, they’ve been ringing for a while. So, where did you girls go? Shopping somewhere?”
“Where do you think we went?”
“The Reading Corner.”
“Bingo, though now I’ve been left alone. Gavin showed up and asked Andi to show him around. It’s cute that he’s so nice to her.”
“Maybe he needs a friend.”
“Yeah, maybe. So what’s up? You couldn’t have called just because your ears were ringing.”
He chuckled. “Nope, just miss you.”
She grinned. “Aww, I miss you, too. Does this mean you think I should ditch the other two and meet you at my house?”
He laughed. “You said it, not me. If that’s what you want to do, I can do that.”
She glanced around the store and immediately saw Gavin and Andi not far away looking at the new magazines. Andi was really showing him around – and by his smile and relaxed disposition, he seemed to be enjoying it. Of course, maybe they didn’t have magazines and book stores where he came from. She wondered what they did have on his home planet. He had to have some kind of human learning if he knew English and how to function in a human society. Of course, maybe that was part of his training to be that defender thingy. And he said his mom was human. Gavin seemed to feel her eyes on him and glanced in her direction. The smile he shot her made her knees weak and she was thankful she was sitting down.
“Ronnie,” Shawn said, his voice cutting into her musings about Gavin. She blushed as she tuned into her boyfriend again.
“I’m sorry, what were you saying?” she asked sheepishly, silently scolding herself for thinking about another guy while on the phone with her boyfriend.
“I asked if you want to go to a movie and then to Romero’s for a pizza,” he repeated.
“Yeah, I’d like that. What’s playing?” she agreed.
He read her the movie listings and they decided to go see a new action/romance starring Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer. The movie started at five-fifteen and it was only two now. Ronnie remembered what she said about meeting at her house, but sh
e knew her mom would somehow know and ground her for it. She sighed.
“What?” Shawn asked.
“I just wish we could meet at my house,” she admitted.
“Just say the word.”
“You’re not supposed to say that. You’re supposed to dissuade me—you know, remind me that my parents will know and all that.”
He laughed. “Ronnie, I’m a teenaged guy. I’m going to take any chance I get to be with my girl alone.”
Ronnie blushed as she sipped her drink, thrilled that he called her his girl. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” she murmured. “But, we can’t meet up for all those reasons I said. My mom will know. She’ll ask what I did and I’ll admit it right away.”
“Okay,” he agreed with exaggerated acceptance, making Ronnie giggle again. “How long do you think you’re going to be at the book store?”
Ronnie glanced out at Andi and Gavin again and found Andi walking towards her.
“What’s going on?” she asked as Andi sat down across from her.
“He found Manga. He’s going to be here a while,” Andi informed her. Ronnie laughed. “Do you have Shawn on the phone?” Ronnie nodded. “Well, you might as well get out of here. Gavin’s preoccupied and I have a stack of books I want to peruse before purchase.”
“But I thought we were spending time together,” Ronnie argued.
“We did. I got what I wanted out of you so you’re free to go. Give Shawn a kiss from me, just not one with tongue or anything gross like that.”
Andi giggled as she left the table to return to Gavin. Ronnie returned to her conversation with Shawn. “I guess I’m free to go,” she told him and he cheered into the phone.
“All right. I can be at your place in ten minutes.”
“Why don’t you just pick me up from the book store?” She had no idea where Rick had gone and she didn’t want to get caught by him while she was alone. Since Gavin was busy, she had to rely on Shawn to be her knight in shining armor.
“Okay, I’ll be there in ten minutes.”
“You get everywhere in ten minutes.”
“Yeah, pretty much.”
“Okay, well, do you want anything to drink? I can get you something while I wait.”
“Vanilla iced coffee.”
“Okay. I’ll see you when you get here.”
They said goodbye and she ended the call, dropping her phone back into her purse as she stood up to order Shawn’s drink. She tried not to jump when Gavin materialized next to her.
“How do you do that?” she gasped.
“Do what?” he asked.
“Materialize out of thin air. You weren’t there a second ago.”
He smirked as he leaned towards her. “It’s one of my many secrets,” he told her in a low voice and straightened. “So what’s going on? You that thirsty or getting out of here?”
“Shawn’s coming to pick me up so I’m getting him a drink. It’s the least I can do since he’s going to walk me home.”
“Yeah, I’m sure it’ll be a hardship driving you to an empty house with no parents in sight.”
She blushed. She forgot he probably saw the note on her refrigerator from her mom. “It’s not like that,” she mumbled. He arched an eyebrow, obviously not believing her. She couldn’t meet his gaze; she knew he was right. It was exactly like that.
“Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do,” he teased and walked away. Ronnie’s turn at the counter came up, saving her from sticking her tongue out at Gavin as he walked away. Of course, she realized, he probably would have seen that.