Death of a Six-Foot Teddy Bear Read Online Free PDF Page B

Belgian chocolate. When he looked up at Kindra, his features smoothed out. He stepped across the corridor to the bench where she sat.
“Hey.”
“Hey,” she said back. Oh great. The vocabulary champions were in the house. Kindra scrambled for something clever to say so she could quit nodding like a bobble head.
“What are you doing?” He leaned a little closer toward her.
She swung her legs back and forth but stopped because it probably made her look like she was eight years old. Not the impression she was going for. “I’m waiting for some friends. We’re going outlet shopping.”
“‘Least it’s cool down in the basement, huh?”
“No AC is a little hard to take.” She really wanted the conversation to get to a deeper place.
He set his bear head on the bench. “You get to see me when I’m not sweaty. I just put the suit on.”
“You look good either way.”
Xabier hung his head and kicked at an imaginary object on the concrete. How cute and endearing. He did everything but say, “Ah shucks, Miss Hall, I ain’t nothing to look at.” Xabier was definitely something to look at. She pointed to the bear head. “You getting ready for your performance?”
“Yes.” The scowl returned to his face. “This is not my idea of a real acting job.”
“You seemed kind of upset a minute ago.”
“I don’t want to dump all my problems on you. It’s just … well, have you ever made a plan, had a scenario in your head of how you thought something was going to turn out, then it turns out to be the exact opposite?”
Kindra crossed her legs, hoping to create a look of sophistication. “This whole trip has been like that. Earl, that’s my friend Ginger’s husband, had a vision for what the outcome of this convention would be. He had everything planned. I’m starting to think that maybe God doesn’t want us to make plans.”
“God, huh?”
Kindra reached over and touched the bear head’s soft fur. Xabier tugged on the ear. He hadn’t had a strong reaction either way to the God reference she had dropped. “Are you angry? ’Cause a moment ago over by the candy shop, I noticed.
“I am angry.” He shook his head. “No, that’s not it. I’m—I’m disappointed in someone. I don’t know why I let myself get hopeful that things would be different. Why did I hope?”
“You’re human, aren’t you?” She moved her finger toward the bear’s ear. His hand brushed over hers. His touch sent a little spark through her.
Xabier touched his furry bear chest. “Yeah, I’m human.”
They both laughed. She liked the way he could get past a bad mood so quickly.
He picked up his bear head and walked backward so he could stare at Kindra. “I’m glad I saw you.” He stopped, glanced at the floor, then the ceiling. He bent his head but never made full eye contact. “Listen, ah … the Little Italy Hotel has a nice rooftop garden.” He swayed from side to side. “Maybe you could meet me up there, say around eleven?”
Kindra bounced twice on the bench. “I’d like that.”
“Cool, cool.” He nodded. “There’s a bench with a trellis over it.”
“I’ll find it.”
Xabier waved a paw at her. She waved until he disappeared around a curve in the corridor. She gripped the bench and swung her legs back and forth. Yep, that Xabier made her stomach smolder. But there was more to love than just physical attraction. She needed to be practical here. After all, she was a future physicist. Now she knew what she would write in her blog entry:
Some things are worth paying full price for. When choosing a boyfriend, don’t go to the clearance rack of relationships. I think it’s possible to think so little of yourself that you keep downgrading what you think you need. It starts by saying, “I don’t need someone who is sold out for God, just a guy who goes to church.” Next thing you know, you start to think the guy who lives with his mother and bids for baseball cards on eBay all day is a pretty good catch. I don’t