On the Run (Whispering Key #2) - May Archer Page 0,38
seemed open and relaxed. I wasn’t sure what had happened to get his back up, but it reminded me a little of Marjorie when I first found her.
“I hate Florida. Only Florida could turn something like beautiful sunshine into a thing that’s abusive and rude and hurtful. I can feel myself crisping like bacon.”
I dug a hat out of my gear bag and plopped it on his head. It looked kinda cute on him.
“Hey!” He pulled the hat off and looked at it. “I am not wearing a hat that says Bubba’s Bait.”
“Why not? No one will see you but me, Trey, and we’re already madly in love, remember?”
Toby blinked like I’d startled him somehow, but he replaced the hat on his head without a comment and went back to staring out at the water, which seemed unlike him.
Unlike him. Because you know him so well, Beale? I rolled my eyes at myself but couldn’t help asking, “Everything okay?”
“You mean, aside from the obvious? No phone, no credit card? Having survived near-death experiences with cats and kitchen appliances and yoga stretches? Out in the middle of the great, wide ocean with only the thinnest rubber membrane between me and the briny deep? No, other than that I’m peachy.”
“I meant more like, did I do something to upset you? ’Cause for a minute there, you almost seemed like you were having fun, and then…” I shrugged. “You didn’t.”
Toby shot me a look—another of those curiously vulnerable looks—before his face blanked. “I’m fine. Perfectly fine. Are you okay?”
“Me?” As we passed out of the little harbor, I nudged the throttle a little and sent the boat skipping on the waves. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Toby clutched the baseball hat. “Because people were rude to you back at the Bean.”
“Nah.”
“Yeah,” he insisted. “There was a whole vibe going on about your crystals and stuff. I didn’t like it.”
I was honestly surprised he’d noticed. I didn’t love it either, but…
“I’m used to it. I believe in things they don’t.” I shrugged. “It’s just their way.”
“Disrespecting your worldview is not ‘just their way.’ They don’t have to believe what you believe, but they don’t get to give you shit for it. If you were Buddhist or Wiccan or Catholic, would it be okay for them to make snide remarks?”
“No. Of course not.” I frowned. I’d never thought of it that way before—as something that people ought to take seriously, simply because it was important to me.
“You need to stand up for yourself and—eeep!” The boat hit a swell, and Toby shrieked. One of his hands grabbed the edge of his seat, and the other grasped my hand where it rested on my knee. “Is it supposed to do that?” he demanded.
“Yes,” I reassured him over the hum of the motor. “Just a little chop. You really don’t like little boats, huh?”
“You might say.” He gripped tighter, but his tone was firmly casual as he raised his voice and said, “My point was, don’t let them get to you.”
He was so unfairly cute, half hunched over my lap and braced for us to capsize, though I hadn’t opened the throttle hardly at all.
“I won’t.” I patted his shoulder gently. “Thanks.”
“Being serious,” he insisted, looking up at me from under his lashes. “You’re smart, Beale. No one has the right to make you feel less than.”
I frowned at him quickly before looking back at the water.
“The thing is, I’m a Virgo.”
“Right.” Toby nodded. “Yeah. You kinda indicated that in the car earlier. I, um… I support you. I should have said that earlier.” He reached out a hand and patted my arm. “Thank you for coming out to me.”
“What? No! I’m not… I mean, I am, but that’s not…” I pulled away and felt my cheeks go fire-hot. “I’m a Virgo. As in, my astrological sign. Because I was born in September?”
“Ohhhh. Of course. Duh. I knew that.”
“Also, thanks for the support, but I don’t think people need to come out as virgins. Or Virgos.”
Toby’s brow furrowed. “Fair enough. So, you’re a Virgo. What does that have to do with anything?”
“Virgos generally don’t waste time convincing other people of things. I accept that folks have opinions just like I do—like about how I should live my life, and what kind of a career I want, and what I should do with my share of the treasure money we found…” I looked at Toby, pretty confident Mason had filled him in about all that, and he nodded in confirmation.