Chapter 5

The next morning Shane woke up and smiled when he saw Morgan next to him. Had he really thought that she wasn’t his type? Or that they’d have nothing in common? He didn’t know how it would all work out, but they had chemistry and he could see that when it came to some things, they were definitely on the same page.

Things like being kind, helping people, not playing mental games with anyone. Those were solid places to start, he thought.

He propped up on one elbow and was debating the best way to wake Morgan up when he saw her tattoos and took a minute to study them.

There was a purple flower, about three inches in diameter, on her left arm below the shoulder. A small bird hovered near the flower, and the letters RTA were on one of the petals.

Under that was a black band in what he though was a Celtic design, and he remembered the circle of eight arrows from the night he’d first been to the store. She murmured in her sleep and shifted forward, and he saw a small banner with three Chinese characters on her shoulder blade. He wondered what it all meant.

“You’re staring at me,” Morgan said, her eyes still closed. “You’ll make me self-conscious.”

He laughed and kissed her neck, pleased when he felt her shiver a bit in response. “Somehow I don’t think anyone could make you self-conscious.”

“I’ll put on a good front, anyway.”

“You have a gorgeous front,” Shane said, sliding a hand around to cup her breast. “See? Perfect.”

“Mmm.” Morgan squirmed against him. “That feels really nice.”

“Only nice?” He nipped at her ear.

She giggled. “Okay, more than nice. Unfortunately, I think I need to get to work.”

“Oh, no. I’m a bad influence on you. That’s my line.” He nudged her to roll onto her back. “Next thing, you’ll be working overtime without compensation.”

“Ooh, talk finances to me,” Morgan teased.

He cracked up. “I don’t think anyone has ever said that to me before.” He cleared his throat and pitched his voice low. “Compound interest. Capital gains. Return on investment.”

“Oh, baby, baby,” said Morgan before she started giggling.

“Did it work?” He wiggled his eyebrows. “Did that turn you on? Did it convince you to stay?”

She smiled and dragged a finger along his jaw. He caught her hand and pressed his lips to her palm.

“Staying sounds great,” she said, “but the drawback of owning your own place is having to work weekends.”

“Yeah, but who’s going to give you a hard time if you’re late? You’re the boss.”

Morgan rolled her yes. “Casey would never let me forget it. She’d guilt me all day. Probably end up with me buying her lunch.”

“Terrible. I guess I’ll have to let you go, then.” He kissed her forehead, then her lips. “Which will be harder the longer we stay here.”

“It will,” she agreed. “I’m sorry I have to go, but maybe I could see you later? Or tomorrow?”

“That would be fantastic.” He kissed her once more and then moved so she could get up.

“Do you need a ride anywhere?” he asked after they were dressed. “I was going to go meet my brother, I could leave early.”

“I’m going home before I go to the store, but I can call an Uber.”

“No, I’ll drive you.” He smiled and pulled her to him. He couldn’t help it. “Gives me more time with you.”

“How can I resist that?”

“You can’t, that’s the idea. Come on, I’ll treat to coffee and you can explain your tattoos on the way.”

“You want to know?” she asked, surprised.

“I do.” He nodded. “It’s not my thing, but I know they have meaning for you, and I’d like to know what that is.”

They left, stopped for a coffee and as they drove Morgan explained her tattoos. The flower and hummingbird on her arm were a remembrance of a high school friend, Reina, who had died of leukemia. The Chinese characters were for strength and confidence. On her other arm there was the Enterprise from Star Trek.

“Casey has one too,” Morgan said. “We got them when we opened the store.”

“What’s the broom with the girl on it?” he asked.

“Character from a movie. A reminder to be yourself, have faith in your abilities.”

“And the gray rabbity thing?”

“Another movie. It’s a Totoro, a protective, helpful forest spirit. Fictional, but very cute.”

“I sense a couple of themes.”

“I suppose so.” Morgan smiled.

“So do they all mean something?”

“Well, I like all of them, or I wouldn’t have gotten them, but I have some that are less serious. I have a couple of Pokémon, some other flowers, things like that.” She looked at him and he was surprised that she seemed nervous. “Does--do my tattoos bother you?”

“No, they don’t,” he said. He patted her knee. “I think they’re pretty cool, really.”

“Okay,” she said. “Thanks. I know tattoos are really common anymore, but still, not everyone likes them.”

“I get that, but I can honestly say that they don’t bother me.”

“Good.” Morgan looked relieved.

He pulled up outside of her building and leaned over to kiss her once more before she stepped out. She sighed and his blood shot right to his groin and he wished he had either more time and a larger car.

“Bye, thanks for the ride,” Morgan said.

“No problem.” He shifted in his seat and Morgan stifled a grin when she saw his discomfort. “Don’t laugh. This is awkward,” he said, but ended up laughing himself.

Morgan kissed him once more before stepping out of the car and heading into her building. He watched her go, wishing the day would go faster already so he could see her again.

As Morgan scanned the store’s social media feed later that day, she kept smiling, remembering the night with Shane. She suspected she was falling, and hard, but at the moment it felt good and she was happy, so she wasn’t going to talk herself out of it. Besides, if she had doubts, she could talk to Casey and her friend would no doubt set her straight.

Casey had observed even before last night Morgan smiled whenever she thought about Shane, and was relentless in reminding her.

Being with Shane had felt right, which was not something Morgan thought she could say about previous relationships. Not that they’d felt entirely wrong--if they had, she wouldn’t have ended up with the verbally abusive asshole--but none had felt like this. Shane was funny, and open-minded, and honest. He didn’t say much about her geeky interests, but he didn’t criticize them or make her feel bad or silly over them. He accepted that it was part of her, and that was a big departure from her previous experiences.

All in all, it was great, and she let herself revel in it for a while.

Her good mood faded as she read some of the insults people had posted. She went through the usual steps: block, report, delete wherever she could. People loved to yell about censorship when she did that, but she had no patience for it. She was not the government, and they could go complain about The Neutral Zone elsewhere. She and Casey and their customers did not have to put up with trolls and threats.

The chime sounded and she looked up to see two guys, both probably in their late twenties, enter the store. One wore a leather jacket, the other a hoodie. She tensed for a moment before realizing they were not the same men who had thrown a brick through the window. Even so, Morgan was wary.

She could be wrong, she reminded herself. They could be potential customers, and she should treat them as such. Don’t judge, she reminded herself. For other concerns, Josh was there, so she wasn’t alone.

“Hi, is there anything I can help you with?” she asked. “Are you looking for something in particular?”

The guy in the hoodie spoke first. “Hi, I’m Jim. This is my buddy, Dave. We do the Comics Confidential podcast and video channel.”

“I’m Morgan, I run the store,” she said. She thought she’d heard of the podcast, but couldn’t quite recall.

“You do?” Dave looked surprised.

Morgan managed not to roll her eyes. “I do. My friend, Casey, and I have been here about three years.”

“Well, one of the things we do besides check out comics and all is check out stores,” said Jim. “We wondered if maybe we could talk about your store on the show.”

“What would you want to talk about?” asked Morgan. She was still uneasy; her spider-sense was tingling.

“Different stuff,” said Jim. “We talk comics, sci-fi, fantasy, that kind of thing. We’ve had some other people on that run bookstores.”

“I see.” Morgan nodded. “I’d have to speak with Casey before giving you an answer. We don’t make these decisions alone.”

“When will he be in?” asked Dave.

“She will be in later,” said Morgan and got some satisfaction from Dave’s look of distaste.

“So it looks like you cover the bases here,” said Jim as he took in the comics, novels, cards and games. He gestured at a poster for The Expanse TV series. “That’s a great show.”

“It is,” agreed Morgan.

“The books are fantastic, but the series is good, too,” said Jim. “Have you read them?”

“They’re on the list,” said Morgan. “Funny thing about running a book store is you don’t always get time to read. But I’ve watched the series twice, it’s excellent.”

“Yeah?” Jim and Dave traded a look. “What’s the name of the ship Holden and his buddies take from Mars?” Dave asked.

Morgan let the fury wash over her before she spoke again. “It was nice to meet you, but you can leave now. I don’t do gatekeeping.”

“Oh, come on,” said Dave. “It’s just a question. I mean, if you’re a fan--”

“I am a fan whether I can name the ship or not,” said Morgan, “because I enjoy the show. There is no right or wrong way to be a fan.”

“Come on, man,” said Jim. “Let’s go. She’s just a poser running the store.”

Morgan narrowed her eyes. “Holden, Naomi, Amos, Alex and Shed were on the Canterbury, then investigated the Scopuli using a shuttle called the Knight, then were picked by up the Martian Navy with the Donnager, then escaped on the Tachi, which was later renamed the Rocinante. It also had a short run as the Pinus Contorta, but they switched it back.”

Both men gaped.

“I think I’ve passed your stupid test, so you can leave,” she said.

Dave scowled. “We’re going to discuss our experience here in our next episode. We’ll be advising our audience to shop somewhere else. Our large audience, I’d like to add.”

“Great, I can live with that.”

“That’s rude. Look, if you apologize, we’ll forget it and just not say anything,” said Jim.

“Hey, Morgan, everything good?” Josh came in from his break.

“Yep, fine.” She nodded. “This is Jim and Dave, they do the Comics Confidential podcast.”

He thought for a moment and then shrugged. “Huh. Don’t know that one.”

Jim and Dave’s faces both darkened as Josh walked behind the counter.

“They’ve offered to not talk about our store if I apologize,” Morgan told him.

“For what?”

“Apparently for being a woman who is reasonably knowledgeable about the genre, and not putting up with their shit tests.”

Josh snorted, then shook his head. Jim and Dave were red with anger and embarrassment. “Some people.” He busied himself with the card displays behind the counter.

“You are going to be sorry,” Dave said. “We are going to give you such a bad review you’ll be begging us to apologize.”

“I don’t think so,” said Morgan. “Now, get out.” They tried to stare her down, but she didn’t flinch.

They glared and grumbled, but left. Morgan waited until they were out of view before sitting down and dropping her head in her hands.

“You okay?” Josh asked. “They sure seemed like assholes.”

“Who was an asshole?” Casey asked as she came in.

Morgan told her what had happened.

“Wait, you mean the two guys in the leather jacket and the hoodie?” Casey said. “I just passed them on my way in.” She scoffed. “They were definitely assholes. Yet another fucking night alone for them, I’m sure.”

“They’re coming out of the woodwork,” said Morgan. “I just went through Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and felt like I was reporting every other fucking thing.”

“Glad you do it, and thanks,” said Casey. “I wouldn’t have the patience.”

“Hey, Casey,” said Josh. “How’s Vincent?”

“He’s all right.” Casey sighed. “We got his stuff with no trouble. Jeremy is on a business trip, so that was a lucky break. He can stay with me and Astrid until he finds a place.”

“He can crash with me, too,” said Morgan.

“And me,” said Josh. “Come to think of it, I’m going to need some time off, like a week. Maybe he can watch my place for me while I’m gone.”

“Sure, Josh, just keep us posted,” said Morgan. “What’s up? Something fun I hope.”

“Some friends and I are trying to work out a hiking trip, maybe part of the Appalachian trail. We just need to work out the details.”

“Excellent,” said Casey. “You’re looking pale. You need to get outside more.”

He laughed. “Can’t wait to get rid of me, huh?”

“That’s the plan.” Casey grinned at him.

Morgan shook her head and patted Josh on the arm. “She’s awful, ignore her. Go, hike, have fun and come back. Just give us the dates.”

“I hate to say, it might mean missing your book launch,” Josh said with regret. “Sorry about that. I really don’t want to but it’s hard to find a time that works for everyone.”

“No problem,” said Morgan. “I appreciate the thought, but don’t worry about it.”

“Save me a copy.” He checked the time. “I guess I’m done, unless you need me for anything else?”

“Shoo, get out of here,” said Casey. “Go home and pack and work out how to find Bigfoot.”

“Thanks, guys.” Josh grabbed his jacket and left.

“Hey, you got some last night didn’t you?” Casey asked after he’d gone.

“What?” Morgan threw her hands up. “How could you possibly know that?”

“I didn’t, I was just messing with you.” Casey grinned. “But I was right. Good for you. Hubba hubba. Getting it on with Sexy Shane.”

Morgan covered her face. “Oh, god. Stop. That’s horrible. Yes, you’re right and that’s all I’m going to say.”

“Now that’s out of the way, I want to ask: you okay?” Casey crossed her arms and leaned against the counter.

“Yeah.” Morgan sighed and rolled her shoulders. “They were just jerks. Wanted to show they knew more, or that I didn’t know enough. I don’t think it was going to get physical, which is not to say I’m not glad Josh was here. Ruined a perfectly good day, too.” She shook her head. “They were lame. Quizzing me on TV.”

“Better lame questions than bricks,” said Casey.

Morgan studied her friend, who didn’t seem herself. Casey was loud and brash and cursed for the fun of it. She’d hardly sworn at all since arriving, and was nowhere near loud despite her earlier teasing.

“Are you okay?” asked Morgan.

“Yeah, mostly.” Casey ran her hands through her hair. “It’s just a lot. I’m happy to help Vincent, but it does bring back a lot of bad fucking memories.”

“I’m sure. Maybe you should talk to a therapist, too.”

“Yeah, Astrid said that.”

“Astrid’s right. Listen, if you want to go home, I’ll cover for you. I don’t have any plans.”

“What? No plans?” Casey nudged her. “You’re not planning another night of hot, delirious sex with your hottie boyfriend?”

Morgan laughed. “Jesus, you’re awful.” She caught Casey’s hand. “You’re deflecting. I’m serious. I can stay tonight.”

“Dammit, you’re being nice to me.” Casey pulled Morgan into a rough hug. “Thanks.”

“You’re welcome.”

“But no, I’m fine. Really. I’m better to work, with things to keep me distracted.” Casey stepped back. “Go on, get out of here. Go find Shane and make that boy have some fun. Tomorrow we’ll work on plans for your book signing.”

“Why would you go see Shane?”

Casey and Morgan both turned to see Brianna come into the store. When Casey shot her a questioning look, Morgan shrugged.

“Hi, Brianna. I’m good, thanks. You?” Morgan asked.

“Hello.” Brianna looked around with distaste. “I can’t believe this is the best you can do.”

“What do you want, Brianna?” Morgan felt her patience thinning.

“Why would you see Shane?” Brianna narrowed her eyes.

“I don’t believe that’s any of your business. Anything else?”

“Are you sleeping with him?”

“Again, not your business.” Morgan crossed her arms. “If that’s what you want to know, the conversation’s over.”

“Hey, Morgan.” Evan walked in and waved. “How are you?”

“Good, thanks, Evan. How’s work?” Morgan smiled.

He shrugged. “Same old. Not too bad.”

“Never mind that,” Brianna interjected. “Why did Casey ask about Shane?”

Evan looked puzzled. “I told you, Brianna. Shane and Morgan are dating. I’m sure he’s met Casey.”

“Why would Shane date you?” Brianna asked. “You’re completely not his type.”

“Jesus.” Morgan rubbed a hand over her face. “Not. Your. Business. What do you want?”

Evan wandered over to look at the comics and chatted with Casey. Morgan envied him.

“We’re having a meeting tomorrow night,” Brianna said. “We need to make sure everything is on schedule. We’re already off because you didn’t do the dress fitting with everyone else.”

“I was just there two days ago, and it’s all caught up. My dress will be ready with everyone else’s.”

“Good.” Brianna shrugged. “Just make sure you’re there tomorrow.”

“I will be. Just tell me when and where.”

“Seven o’clock at Evan’s parents’ house.”

“Great.”

Brianna paused and studied Morgan. “You’re really dating Shane?”

“Yes,” Morgan said.

“I don’t get it. You’re not his type, like I said. I mean, he’s in finance. He doesn’t date women like you. Oh well, I guess you’re a novelty for him.” She shrugged. “I imagine it won’t last long. Novelty wears off. Come on, Evan, let’s go.”

After they left, Morgan went to the breakroom and dropped into a chair.

“Hey, you okay?” Casey stood in the doorway.

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

“No, you’re not.” Casey sat next to her. “You shouldnÕt let her get to you like that.”

“I know.” Morgan smiled ruefully. “She just knows which buttons to push, and hits them hard.”

“She does, but she’s wrong. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.”

“Morgan, don’t let her get to you. It doesn’t matter what she thinks. It only matters what you and Shane think, and you cannot believe she knows the first goddamn thing about him or how he feels.”

“I know, you’re right.” Morgan took a breath. “I shouldn’t let it get to me. You know, I even told Shane when we started going out that I wasn’t a starter kit, or a novelty. Then she goes and says that. It’s uncanny.”

“Forget about her. Sharon’s here, so you can go home, or go find Shane and let him help you forget about her.” Casey grinned. “Try something new so you both have some novelty.”

Morgan laughed. “All right, fine. I’m leaving. Thanks, Casey.”

“Brianna said that? Really?” Shane darted a glance at Morgan as he drove to Evan’s parents the following night.

“Yep.” Morgan sighed. “She did. I just wanted you to know in case she says anything tonight.”

“She is a piece of work.” Shane gave a low whistle. “I’m sorry she said that.”

“Thanks. I’m trying not to let it bother me. It’s not fair to you if it gets under my skin, and it doesn’t do much for my mood either.”

“Maybe later I can help improve your mood.” Shane reached over and rubbed her shoulder.

“Maybe you can.” She sighed. “I hope we can get through this without arguing. I know it’s partly my fault sometimes, but I try. I swear, I try.”

Shane knew she did. Tonight, as she often did with these gatherings, Morgan had worn nice slacks and something to cover her tattoos. This time it was a light shawl, black with little white dots of something so that it looked like a field of stars. He liked it; it gave her a mysterious and exotic air, like she was a fortune teller from an old fairy tale.

“Yeah, I know the feeling.” Shane gave her a half-smile. “I had a similar thing with my parents for a while. Trying to keep things running smoothly, but they were determined to have obstacles.”

“Yeah, Casey says some people need to complain to be happy, and Brianna has decided to complain about me. No matter what I do.”

“That is the problem,” he agreed. “No matter what you do to solve the problem, or remove the reason to complain, they’ll find something else.”

“How did you deal with it?” Morgan asked.

Shane thought. “Well, definitely some therapy.” They both laughed. “There was a point where I realized--no, accepted, that I had to stop doing that. At least, I did if I wanted to have some semblance of sanity in my life.”

“How did it go over?”

“My parents had fits at first when I first held my ground. It was hard, but my brother and sister were behind me a hundred percent, so that made it easier. They had realized the same thing, but way earlier than I did.”

Morgan nodded. “It always helps when you have support. I know I temper a lot of what I do and say because I don’t want to upset Jenna or my parents. I have Casey, and that’s great, but she’s not usually there in the moment, which is when I could use the support.”

Shane smiled. “If you need any support tonight, I’ll do my best.”

“Thanks.”

A few minutes later they pulled into the driveway, and Shane took her hand as they walked up to the house.

“You came, finally,” Brianna said as Morgan entered.

“Hi, Brianna. I’m good, how are you?”

Shane hid a smile as he realized this was how Morgan began all her encounters with Brianna, recalling she’d done the same thing at the ill-fated dinner.

“Hello. At least you’re not late. I’m sure I can thank Shane for that.”

“Hello, Brianna,” said Shane.

“I apologize for her holding you up. Come in. We’re almost all here.” Brianna rolled her eyes. “Jenna’s late. She says she got stuck at the salon.”

Shane saw Morgan tense as Brianna turned and indicated they should follow. He squeezed her hand. She looked at him, startled, then smiled as they followed Brianna.

Everyone had settled in the den, and Shane and Morgan found room to sit on a sofa after exchanging some greetings with the others around the room. Jenna came just as they were sitting, making a bee-line to Morgan. There wasn’t room on the couch, but Jenna took a spot on the floor.

“Jenna, don’t be a child,” said Brianna.

“There aren’t any seats, Brianna,” said Jenna. “I don’t mind. I’m just glad to get off my feet.”

“Spare me,” said Brianna. “Never mind. We don’t have time to deal with this. I assume at the wedding you’ll manage to use a chair.”

“I’ll give it my best shot.”

Morgan coughed to cover a laugh, but Shane saw her lean forward and squeeze Jenna’s shoulder.

“Anyway.” Brianna glared at Jenna. “We have a little over eight weeks. We need to start taking care of things. Shane, did you plan the bachelor’s party?”

“Yes, we are set to go to a baseball game next month. It’ll be an afternoon game and we’ll grab some dinner afterwards at a great barbecue place.”

“Baseball and barbecue?” Brianna asked. “Seriously?”

“It sounds great, Brianna,” said Evan. “It’ll be a great way to chill out and have some fun.”

“I hate baseball,” she said.

“I discussed it with the other groomsmen,” said Shane. He made himself be calm, as he’d often had to be when his parents were obstinate. “This is something we’ll all enjoy, and it’s what Evan wants, so that’s what we’re doing.” He wanted to add that since Brianna wasn’t going, it shouldn’t matter, but he knew better.

“Ugh. Fine. Whatever.” Brianna waved a hand. “For the bachelorette party, I want to go to Miami, or maybe Vegas, for a long weekend. I’m good to go about three weeks before the wedding.”

Silence greeted her announcement. Shane watched the women exchange glances.

“What?” asked Brianna. “What’s the problem?”

“I’m not sure I can do that, Brianna,” said Katelyn, the maid of honor.