“Clear my head.” I riffle through one of the racks holding more sandals.
He nods, taking the sucker out of his mouth. His lips are stained red and so are his teeth. “Shut your eyes and clear you head of that place you keep going to every time I hold one up, because if you do it, I think you’re going to love this one.”
The store is vacant except for the clerk, who’s very distracted by the magazine. I’m glad there’s no one, otherwise I’d feel silly. I close my eyes, inhale through my nose, and then exhale through my mouth. “All right, trying to clear head in T minus five seconds.”
He laughs at me and then pinches my arm. “Don’t just try to clear your head. Clear your head.” I feel him shift as he moves closer. “Here, do this. Picture Mitchell.”
I peek one eye open. “I don’t think that wi
