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The door to the comic shop swung open and Allison froze in
horror. Oh no, not today, not when
she'd forgone her shower this morning, skipped her makeup, and spent the
past two hours moving boxes and restocking comics. Not today, of all days.
But no one heard her plea, because Erica sauntered in, tossing her blond curls over her shoulder and looking as devastatingly sexy as always.
Allison wanted to crawl under the front counter and hide, but there was no one else to watch the shop and besides, Erica had already seen her. And was grinning. And was coming over.
Shit.
Erica perched one elbow on the counter and winked. "Good morning, Allison."
Allison gripped the edge of the counter so she wouldn't do something stupid, like fall over in a faint or jump across the counter to kiss her. "Hey, Erica. What can I help you find today?"
"Well..." Erica drew the word out. "I'm looking for something really special."
Allison raised her eyebrows. "Oh?"
"Yeah." Erica bit her lip and traced her fingernail in a circle on the countertop. "Valentine's Day is next week, and there's this girl I've kind of got a thing for..."
Allison's heart plummeted. "Oh. And you're going for comics instead of flowers?"
"Trust me," Erica said, "she'd prefer the comics."
Allison nodded numbly and hoped her utter disappointment didn't show on her face. Granted, it was her own fault for not saying anything to Erica sooner, for keeping her crush quiet, but still. It hurt.
She walked around the shop, picking up the comics Erica asked for, her heart sinking further with each step. Whoever this girl was, she had excellent taste in comics. Allison had waxed poetic about every single one of these to Erica at some point in the past month.
She rang them all up and packaged them, and passed the bag to Erica. "Here you go. I think she'll really like them."
Erica's face lit up. "You think so?"
"If she doesn't, she's an idiot," Allison said with feeling.
Erica actually glared at her. "Hey, don't talk about yourself like that!"
Allison gaped. "What?"
Erica's eyes went huge and she slapped her hand over her mouth. "Omigod."
"What?" Allison said again, because apparently her brain wasn't processing anything.
Erica's face turned bright red. She dug in her purse, pulled out a pink card, slapped it on top of the bag of comics and pushed the whole thing across the counter to Allison. "Um. Here. Happy Valentine's Day. Do you want to go get coffee sometime?"
Allison stared down at the bag of comics, the ones that she loved, topped with the pink card that said "To Allison" in red glitter. "Oh my God."
Erica rested her elbow on the counter once again, clearly trying to look casual despite the fact that her face was still red. "So, what do you say?"
"Yes," Allison blurted out. "Yes, of course, I'd love to get coffee with you. And maybe dinner?"
The casual look faded, and Erica grinned. "I could be persuaded for dinner as well, I think."
"Great." Allison picked up the comics and hugged the bag to her chest. "I'm free after noon tomorrow."
"What a coincidence, so am I." Erica crossed her arms and leaned across the counter. "Pick you up at one?"
Allison nodded quickly. "Yeah, that sounds perfect."
Before she could lose her nerve, she darted forward and kissed Erica on the cheek. Erica looked surprised for all of two seconds before she gave a blinding grin. "Okay, then. I'll see you tomorrow."
Allison was pretty sure her own grin was equally bright. "Yeah, tomorrow."