and staring back anxiously.
“Am I Dorsey?” I ask. The shy smile that turns up his lips is all the answer I need to set my stomach fluttering happily. “Oh my god, I’m the hero in a fucking James R. Tucker book,” I squeal in a way that might be embarrassing if this wasn’t the coolest fucking moment of my life.
Riot laughs as I cross the few feet between us and kiss the hell out of him.
A banging on the door forces me to drag my lips off of Riot’s reluctantly, his fingers digging into my hips tells me I’m not the only one who would rather keep kissing than bother to let our boyfriends into the shop.
“Sucking face at work,” Bishop tsks as I open the door. “How very unprofessional.”
“Is that so?” I tease, grabbing him by the neck and dragging him in for an obscenely sloppy kiss until he’s laughing against my lips and grinding himself against me at the same time.
I let go of him and greet Leo with a kiss as well.
“This place looks great,” Leo says when we part.
“Glad you think so, because I’m probably officially more broke than you are now, so you can finally put that inferiority complex to rest.”
He rolls his eyes at me. It’s a bit of an exaggeration because I do still have most of my trust fund, but I’d rather save that in case this place totally tanks, and I need something to live on while I figure out a plan B.
“An hour until the grand opening, right?” Bishop asks. “How can we help?”
“I have snacks and drinks I want to bring out and put on those tables, and then it’s just a matter of waiting to see if that social media campaign I launched will bring any customers in for the grand opening. We may end up just sitting around here eating all the snacks ourselves.”
Bishop
Unsurprisingly, we do not end up sitting around eating all the snacks ourselves. An hour and a half later the store is so packed there’s hardly any room to breathe.
It’s clear mentioning Riot in the ads was a smart move because he’s getting swamped by fans asking him to sign books and answer questions. But on the bright side, most of them are also buying comic books and talking about how cool it is to have a place to sit and play board games.
Leo and I take up residence in the sitting area in order to stay out of the way.
“Look how happy he looks,” Leo says, nodding toward Hudson, behind the register, chatting with the customers as they come up to pay.
“I’ve never seen him so happy,” I agree, a warm fullness taking up residence in my chest.
Riot catches my eye over the crowd and shoots me a flirty wink. I lean my head against Leo’s shoulder and smile.
“Do you think it would be super lame if the four of us got matching rings?” I ask.
“Like wedding rings?”
I shrug. “Like commitment rings, I guess. I know we can’t get married obviously, but it would be nice to have something to symbolize our love, wouldn’t it?”
Leo seems to think it over for a few seconds before nodding. “That would be nice. Why don’t we pick some out to surprise them with?”
“That sounds fun,” I agree.
“Speaking of commitment,” he says, clearing his throat. “I found a few houses that seem nice. I thought we could schedule showings and take a look at them.”
“Really? That’s great. Schedule them as soon as possible. I’m getting sick of having to shuffle between three different apartments.”
“Hey, at least you have a closet for your clothes,” he points out.
“I know. It’s time we get settled.”
Leo puts an arm around me and kisses the top of my head. “I couldn’t agree more.”
Riot
The grand opening goes by in a whirlwind. Bishop has to remind us when ten o’clock rolls around so we can hurry along the remaining customers and close up the store.
“I’ll sweep,” Leo offers, disappearing into the back to grab the broom.
“I’ll tidy up the racks,” Bishop throws in.
“Then I guess I’ll count out the cash register because we actually made a fuckton of sales today,” Hudson crows. “Thanks to our resident celebrity.”
“I might’ve brought a lot of them in, but they bought your stuff because you have a good selection and a great looking store. I think you’ve got yourself a whole lot of repeat customers on your hands.”
“Here’s hoping,” he agrees.
With all four of us pitching in, it