FicWad

Pete yawned softly as he opened his eyes, blinking at the harsh sunlight that was filtering into the room. He groaned as he stretched out on Casey’s bed, sighing when he came out of the stretch. He frowned when he looked over ans saw that Casey wasn’t still asleep beside him, even though it was her day off. He got up and yawned, stretching again, before he pulled on his pants and left the room.

There was no noise in the empty apartment, save for the outside noise coming in from the busy road. A soft meow broke the silence when Jasper padded over to him and made his presence known. Pete looked down and chuckled. “Hey Jas,” he said as he bent down and scooped up the gray kitten. “Where’d your momma go?” He asked, chuckling when the kitten gave the underside of his chin a hard head butt.

He rubbed behind Jasper’s ears as he carried the cat to the kitchen. Jasper leapt from Pete’s arms to land on top of the refrigerator. A loud meow made Pete smile. “Nuts,” he said as his eyes spotted a small piece of notebook paper on the fridge.

Pete,
Hey Babes, got called in for a couple of
hours. Go chill with the guys and work
things out ^.^ Or chill here, or do
whatever, ok? Call you, or see you, when
I get out.
-Me

Pete couldn’t help but laugh when he was done reading the note she had left him. How many times had girls woken up with only a note, if that, from him? Karma, he thought.

- - - - -

As he entered the building, Patrick mused to himself how it looked better as a bookstore than the diner it once was. He was brought from his thoughts when an older woman approached him. “Good afternoon,” he said with a forced smile. The way the woman’s confidence radiated from her, making her seem to tower over him, made him feel uneasy.

“Afternoon kid,” came a very heavy New York accent. “What can I do for ya?”

“I, um, was wondering if you have any good romance books in,” he managed to get out. “My girlfriend is sick and I wanted to get something to make her feel better.”

The woman wrinkled her nose and made a face. “Beh, romance,” she said before smiling. “Tell you what, I don’t read that crap, but my girl does. Let me get her so she can help you out, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” he said as she went behind the counter.

She picked up the phone and dialed a number. “Hey Troubles, get yer ass up here and help out this customer,” she said into the phone. “He needs it.”

Patrick blushed under the sympathetic look she gave him. “Th-Thanks.”

As the woman waved him off and went out from behind the counter, a girl that had to be no taller than five foot four came around the corner, a short blonde bob surrounding her face. “Hi!” She smiled. “Are you the guy that needs help?”

Patrick eyed her name tag, that did read “Troubles”, and held back a frown. “Yeah, hopefully you can-” He paused when the bell above the door jangled.

“Sorry I’m late Dolly!” Called a voice as a familiar figure dashed by him and down a row of books.

“Troubles” rolled her eyes, obviously irritated at the interruption. “Sorry about her Sir,” she said.

Patrick opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when the girl turned and walked away. “Um, okay...” He muttered as Dolly looked in his direction in time to see the blonde walking away.

“Did she at least make a suggestion?” The woman asked as she came over to him.

“No ma’am,” he answered. “Is there someone else that can help me?”

“I don’t think the whirlwind that rushed by reads that junk, but I’ll call her up for ya,” Dolly said as she went behind the counter again.

“Thanks...”

Patrick looked around from his spot, stepping back so “Troubles” could push past him, leaving the store. He shook his head at her and frowned when Dolly talked quietly into the phone and hung it up. He turned his head, looking at a John Grisham display.

“Patrick?”

He turned his head, looking at Casey as she came up to the counter. “Hey Casey,” he smiled.

“Hey you, what are you doing here?”

“Wait, is this the boyfriend you were telling me about?” Dolly asked as Patrick had started to answer Casey’s question. “He don’t look like the high praises you were singin’ to me.”

Casey made a small sound that sounded like a cross between a giggle and a chuckle as she looked at Dolly. “No Dolly, this is one of his friends,” she said. “You can go now, I got him,” she said with a joking tone.

“Don’t you sass me young lady,” Dolly warned.

“Sass me one more time Dolly, and you’re fired,” Casey grinned.

“Oh please do Cas, relieve me of this damn headache,” Dolly laughed.

Casey and Patrick chuckled as she led him away to the Romance section. “So, are you the one looking for a Romance book?” She asked.

“Yeah, but I didn’t expect to see you here,” he smiled. I thought Pete was lying to make you look good, he thought. “How long have you worked here?”

“I’d say about six months or so,” she said with a shrug, “So, what kind of romance are you looking for?”

“Nothing steamy, but something where the love kind of comes together at the end, but still flows with the story.”

“The story leads up to it?”

“Yeah, along those lines,” Patrick said with a nod as they stopped in the aisle. “She has a couple, but she’s already read them with being stuck at home and all.”

“Go for something by Kristine Grayson,” Casey said with a small nod. “If she likes that type of Romance, without touching steam, then get her something by Kristine Grayson.”

“Thanks Casey,” he said. “Hey, did you see Pete yesterday?”

“Yeah, he was here when I got out last night,” she answered, frowning slightly. “He seemed really upset with you guys, but I didn’t push or pull it out of him,” she said as she bit her lip. “I had to leave him a note when I got called in, feel kinda bad about it. To my knowledge he’ll be free when he wakes up, so he might call you. I told him he should call last night, but his tension and anger wore him out.”

Patrick frowned, feeling even more guilty than yesterday. “So, you have no idea as to why he’s mad at us?” When Case shook her head, he frowned. “Alright, thanks for the help Casey, it was nice seeing you.”

“Nice seeing you too Patrick,” she smiled before walking away.