“But it startles you when I remove it, so I’m… trying to be better about it.” The tips of his little rounded ears were bright pink, and he awkwardly rubbed his thumb along the edge of the dusty cover—another book written in a language I couldn’t read. “But I startled you anyway just by sitting here in broad daylight, so I’m beginning to think maybe the problem isn’t me.” I glanced at him in shock only to find him staring at me with the smallest hint of mischief in his eyes. He wasn’t smiling per sé, but he could have been, if you squinted really, really hard.
