new girl in town

 "They're not back yet?" Penny's question awoke Bently who was at his station in the comic book store. He hoped she didn't want anything to drink. All he had was some hot chocolate K-cups for the Keruig. Nobody seemed to think he would know what kind of coffee to buy.

Actually, he thought he could have gotten a box of donuts at the bakery or even some muffins to bring in the cliental, but evidently, that wasn't the purpose of the establishment.

"Nope," He looked up at her as if she was one girl who could probably bring this turtle out of his shell, but then what.

She looked at him as if she had more questions, but she went to pet Sadie's cat in the store window where she was sunning. Penny picked up the cozy cat who was in a slumber and came back to Bentley at his makeshift counter/ desk.

"Aren't you bored?"

"Well, of course, I am, but that's beside the point." Ben figured she would ask of Liam's whereabouts, but Liam was nowhere in sight.

"Do they pay you well?" Another question Ben wasn't fond of.

"As well as they can pay me," he sighed. He looked at his graphic novel that wasn't quite manga. Actually, he'd never seen one quite like it. Some off-brand, he guessed. He looked up at Penny again. "Don't steal Sadie's cat. She'd be mental, you know."

"How would you know? I know her better than you do," she almost winked at him.

"How old are you?" Suddenly, he felt like a little kid and he didn't want to feel that way, but she was talking like a kid herself. Her voice was baby fine. Maybe that kind of tone worked on other men. He winced, thinking she was trying to get at something. He just didn't know what.

"Twenty-five." She blinked as if he should be happy someone as old as her was talking to someone barely eighteen.

Bentley sighed.

Suddenly, Penny slammed her hand down on the pages of the book. Her long pink nails fanned across the captions. The cat fleed from her as she said, "Holy shit!"

"What?" He tried to see what she was looking at but her slender fingers were in the way.

"Are you seriously reading this?"

"I don't know." She'd lost his train of thought the moment she walked in.

She pointed to the girl in the book, "That's Sadie! What's Sadie doing in this book?"