The next day dawned brightly,and the sun streaming through my curtains inevitably woke me up. The air conditioning was on in the apartment, and I could hear birds outside. With a groan, I sat up and stretched before climbing out of bed.
All the memories from the night before flooded my mind, and I couldn’t resist the grin that took over my face.
ItouchedTheo. On purpose.
The feel of his skin was still on the tips of my fingers, and it was all I could do not to march back into The Reserved Bean and ask to do it again.
But Theo wasn’t the only person in Strawberry Springs. There were others who I could get to know, and I wanted to test the limits of what I could do.
A quick check outside told me the square wasn’t too busy, and I was feeling brave enough to return the library books that were nearly due.
And if I ran into someone, I could see if I could test my bravery with them too.
I bounded to my closet, reaching for the denim skirt I never had the courage to wear, and made my way outside.
There was a bounce to my step as I headed to the library. When I got close, I walked inside like I owned the place.
Yes.This was what I’d been waiting on.
That was when I almost got run over by a cart.
“Excuse me!” an angry delivery driver muttered. I nearly tripped over myself getting out of the way. “Why does the place always get these heavy boxes?”
“We’re a library, dumbass.” Marjorie’s dry voice hit my ears, and I pressed a hand to my chest to calm my racing heart.
Nearly getting trampled almost set me off.
“Maybe try those e-books next time, lady.” The delivery driver was still going.
“Maybe try kissing my ass next time! It’ll taste better than your attitude.” Behind her, Henrietta’s face fell into her hands.
The delivery man held up a middle finger before going outside, and I finally pulled myself out of my thoughts.
“You okay?” Marjorie asked. “He just about took you out.”
“I am. Mostly.” I swallowed, determined to be okay. “I liked what you said about him kissing your ass.”
“Don’t encourage her,” Henrietta muttered.
“You didn’t stop me.” Marjorie’s hands landed on her hips. “Seems like you wanted me to go off on him.”
“He did kinda deserve it.”
“See?” Marjorie said as she turned to me. “She’s not as innocent as everyone thinks.”
Laughing, I dropped off my books. Marjorie was kind enough to tell me it was slow upstairs and sent me off in search of new books.
Ireallyliked the two of them.
But did I like them enough to touch them?
My whole body shuddered at the thought.
Maybe I was off from the delivery driver. This didn’t mean I was out yet. Walking upstairs, I was determined to calm down while I hunted through books. There was nothing better than getting lost in a fictional world.
I’d almost entirely forgotten about the man with the cart when I ran into someone in the aisles.
Blinking, I knew I’d seen her before, but I couldn’t remember her name. She was recognizable with her long, curly hair and hazel eyes. The day I met her, she’d been with Dean, a guy I tried to ask out once upon a time.
