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But when I made it all the way up to my favorite, secret spot in the library? Ashley Freaking Randall was sitting in my chair.
Seeing her all cozy and concentrated does something to my insides, but I tamp that down and clear my throat, not wanting to scare her. She doesn’t even look up, so I step closer and drop my bag on the table. She has me rattled, clearly, because I—soon-to-be pro hockey player—miss the table completely and my laptop bag crashes to the ground. She startles and looks up.
“Ashley Randall.”
“Koz…Kozlow? How don’t I know your real name? Please tell me your parents didn’t name you Koz.”
“Neil,” I say, perching my bubble butt on the tiny little ottoman next to her chair.
“Neil? As in Patrick Harris?
“Uh, I guess. Or, more accurately for me, as in Neil David Kozlow.”
She looks at me closely, almost as though she’s seeing me for the first time. “I can see that.”
“I’m so very glad you approve of my name,” I deadpan. “It’d be a bitch to change it after having it for twenty-one years, but if my name displeased you, Ash, I’d change it in heartbeat.” My sarcasm is palpable, and she rolls her eyes. I know I annoy the shit out of her, but it’s fun, so I keep the conversation going. A part of me feels a twinge of guilt. Am I cheating on Seriousley617? Just as quickly, I dismiss the thought. First off, I have no shot with Ash. She hates hockey players, and she’s not my biggest fan. I’m like a fly who won’t stop pestering her. And also, I haven’t even met Seriousley617 yet. I mean, if our coffee date is anything like our conversations, I have no doubt my heart will get over Ashley in a hurry.
“You here to study?” I ask.
“Um, yea. That’s generally what people do in a library,” she says snarkily. Damn does the girl have any other setting? And why do I like her snark so damn much?
“Fair point. I hit up Drip for caffeine, but they’re closed, so I’m here to hit the books, too. Well, the laptop, I guess.”
“Great, so you can study and leave me to do the same.”
“Leave you? You’re in my spot.”
“Your spot? I didn’t realize the library gave out assigned seats.”
“Holy shit, write this day down. We just discovered something that the great, all-knowing Ashley Randall doesn’t know.”
She itches her nose with her middle finger and I bark out a laugh.
Just then, the intercom sounds above us, but the message is muffled.
“Shhh, I’m trying to listen,” Ash scolds.
“They’re probably telling us about the clogged bathroom downstairs.”
“You better hope they’re not telling us something important.”
“Uh, just what kind of important library announcements are you expecting on a Friday night? They’re ditching the Dewey Decimal System and have decided that now is the perfect time to let us all know? And by “us all” I mean you, me, and the kid working the front desk downstairs.”
“They’d better not. If we didn’t have the Dewey Decimal System, how would we find anything?”
I fake the motion of stabbing myself in the chest. “You wound me, Ash. I thought you had better taste than that. Down with Dewey. It’s arcane and outdated.”
She looks at me like I’ve sprouted an extra head.
“What? A dumb jock can’t have an opinion on academic matters like books?”
“No, it’s not that. It’s just---”
“Oh, I see. Jocks can, just not me.”
“That’s not what I was saying.”
“Really? Because you looked absolutely shocked to see me in the library, let alone spouting ideas about one.”
