Warren gestured for Felix to follow him around the desk, where the books that had been knocked off the shelves and smashed by the tree branch were piled into a returns bin. Most were salvageable, but some were beyond repair. Since Emma was holed up in her office, furiously rescheduling the week’s children’s events, Warren directed Felix to catalog the damaged books in a spreadsheet so that replacements could be purchased.
Warren returned to his office, then, and Leni headed off to retrieve Jo’s book, leaving the two of them alone in the lobby. As Felix got to work, Jo sidled over to his end of the desk.
“Hi.”
His heart skipped a beat. “Hi there.”
She smiled, shyly ducking her head, and his heart stopped skipping and did a full-on cartwheel.
“What happened after I left last night?” she asked.
Felix explained the whole story—from Warren’s arrival to the firefighters clearing the debris to the three hours spent emptying the children’s area bookshelves in case of rain. Somewhere in the middle of all that, Leni returned and checked Red Storm out to Jo.
“Next weekend, over Memorial Day,” Felix concluded, “the contractor who was just here is going to do the repairs so we can be fully open in time for summer events to start.”
Jo tilted her head. “Does that mean the library will be closed next weekend?”
“We’d be closed Sunday and Monday anyway, but yes. We’ll close Saturday too.”
She opened her mouth and took a breath in, then hesitated. Felix gave her a questioning look over a bent copy of Charlotte’s Web.
“So… you’re free?” she said cautiously, tapping her fingers on the plastic covering her book. “Are you working Friday?”
Damn, she was cute when she got flustered. Her cheeks turned the most delicious shade of pink, like a juicy summer peach. He wanted to bite them.
“Out with it, Jo,” he said with a grin.
The words tumbled out of her. “There’s a convention next weekend for MnM, and I thought you might want to come and see what it’s like to play a real game. If you’re free. But if you have plans for the long weekend already that’s okay. I was going to ask you last night, but, well. Tornado.”
“MnM has conventions?”
“That’s your takeaway from this?” Leni muttered, not looking up from her computer screen.
Felix ignored her. “That sounds fun. Is it in Wichita?”
“Um, no, that’s the thing,” Jo said, gripping her book tightly. “It’s in Indianapolis.”
Felix’s body got very warm. Was she inviting him to a weekend away? He liked the sound of that. No. No, of course not. This was a work event. She was probably nervous because of whatever it was in her past that made her a little shy about putting herself out there. Like the way she shrank back at Stan’s after getting “too” silly or “too” nerdy. A convention for Monsters and Mythology certainly sounded supremely nerdy.
Jo was still talking. “I know it’s far, but it’s drivable in a day. I’m already going and meeting up with my friends from California, so I can drive us. It’s no problem. I looked it up, and there are still tickets and hotel rooms available. I’m going up Friday and coming back Monday.”
A road trip. Convention tickets. A hotel room over a holiday weekend. None of that sounded cheap. Ever since he’d learned about the possibility of budget cuts, Felix had been as frugal as possible. His only indulgence in the last two-plus weeks was that drink with Jo. But he had some savings that weren’t reserved for Tito in case of medical emergencies. And the library did have a modest budget for travel. Might as well use it while they had it, if he could get Warren to sign off on it. He could manage.
Besides, how could he say no, with Jo looking at him like that, her eyes round and expectant?
“Okay,” he said.
“Really?”
“Yes, it would be good to see how MnM works on a larger scale. Maybe get some ideas for events here.”
“Yeah, that’s what I was thinking,” Jo said, nodding and breaking into a smile. “Okay, great. Um. Okay. I’ll text you to figure out the details.”
“Perfect,” Felix said, fighting a dopey grin that kept trying to make itself known. “Will you also send me links to book the hotel and ticket?”
“Sure, absolutely.” Jo started to back away. “Okay. This is great. But you’re busy. I’ll leave you alone. Bye, Felix. Bye, Leni!” She vanished out the door.
Leni craned her neck toward the hall leading to Warren’s office. She tapped her toes rapidly on the floor, using them to spin her chair to face Felix. She dropped her chin and raised her eyebrows. “What the hell was that?”
“What was what?” Felix asked, more high-pitched than he’d intended.
“Did your voice just crack?” Leni cried. “Oh my gods, you’re so into her.”
“Leni, please stop,” he said, darting his eyes toward Warren’s office.
“Sorry, that’s fair,” she said quietly. She rolled her chair closer and leaned in to whisper, “But just in case you’re really dense, hun? She’s obviously into you too.”
Felix shook his head and focused on his spreadsheet, trying and failing to ignore the way his pulse pounded through his body.
Jo
So I’m dumb and forgot about this when I saw you this morning, but I still want to do a sample game with you. Especially if you’re sure about coming to Indi-Con. Aida says it’s like drinking from the firehose of MnM and she’s not wrong! Maybe we could do that this week? Before we leave on Friday?
Felix
How about Tuesday at 6:30pm?
