Pit Stop: Baby! (Crescent Cove 4)

I caught it and laughed. “Freaks some people out.”

“Don’t worry. I won’t say anything. Nobody’s fucking business anyway. Freaking small town busybodies don’t need any other fodder.”

I laughed. “I’m quite happy not to be part of that club.”

“Give it time, Houdini.”

We finished cleaning up in the quiet. The café really was peaceful without the bustle of people shouting orders behind the counter.

Macy’s perpetual Halloween aesthetic had seemed weird when I first moved in, but now it just was. She had a wall of cubicle-style shelves, each decorated with a different type of scene. The overwhelming horror and fall elements made me smile.

I shifted a mug with the Scream Ghostface mask on it. “You a slasher flick fan?”

“Hell, yes.”

I laughed. “I think I’ve seen every movie you have showcased in here.”

“Oh, that’s just for the regular people. The bottom two shelves are for the true aficionados.”

I crouched and laughed at the woman wearing a machine gun for a leg. “No freaking way.” I turned toward Macy standing behind me. “Grindhouse?”

“Girl, sometimes you just want to watch a girl blow some shit up without any of that politically correct bullshit.”

“None of that in those movies for sure. God, they’re so deliciously bad.”

“You like them?” She cocked her hip with her arms folded over her chest. “Now I’m doubly glad I didn’t call the cops.”

> I grinned up at her. “Me too.” I tugged down my babydoll sleeping shirt. “I’m really sorry. I can’t tell you how sorry.”

Macy waved me off. “Forget it. No real harm done. Now that I don’t think I’m losing my mind, or that zombies are infiltrating my café at night.”

I laughed. “Well, my mom says I look a little zombie-like when I do the sleepwalking thing.”

“It is a little freaky on the video I have. You kinda shuffle along like you’re confused, but still have a destination in mind.”

“Ugh. That sounds about right. The worst part is the insomnia that comes with it. I could stare at the ceiling for hours. Rain apps, thunderstorms—”

“White noise app,” Macy interrupted.

“You know the drill then?”

“Girl, I haven’t slept correctly since…ever. Why do you think I invent ways to caffeinate?”

“And I live for your lattes. Only way I get through the day.”

“However, I do have a fairly cool way to chill out.”

“Those edibles you mentioned?”

She snorted. “No, those just made me even more anxious and panicked. Pass times eleven, thanks.”

I sighed. “Me too.”

“Sucks.” She crossed to a little end table by the couch along the wall. “However…” She plucked a little remote out of a hidden panel on the side of the table. “I do have this.” She pushed the button and a huge screen lowered from the ceiling.

“Oh my God. That is glorious.”

The screen filled with dozens of movies from her collection in iTunes. “I’ve got anything you could think of for movies.”