changing. Looking around, there was a group of moms in yoga pants pushing strollers down the sidewalk, laughing as they conversed. Others were on their phones, walking with determination while dressed for a day at the office. An elderly couple walked to their car and I watched as the gentleman held the door open for his wife and made sure she got in safely. I wanted to be that man in forty years.
I passed by a bookstore and thought maybe that it could be my version of a coffee shop. Walking through the security detector, I nodded at the guy at the cash register and began looking at the sections labeled on top of the bookshelves. Cooking, children’s literature, autobiographies, self-help, romance. I read them off in my head and didn’t have a clue where to start. Walking randomly down the aisles, I was about to throw in the towel and give up when I saw an attractive woman at the end of the romance section. Dressed in dark blue jeans and heels, I allowed my eyes to wander up to her tiny waist and full chest.
I pretended to look at the titles, but clearly, I had no fucking clue what I was looking at. I only knew that I wanted to get closer to her. She was slowly making her way toward me, and I pulled out a random book from the shelf to look at. It had a shirtless guy on the cover, and before I could put in back in its rightful place, I heard her trying to stifle a laugh.
“You have a thing for men in power and the poor, defenseless girl submitting to him? I didn’t peg you for that genre.” Her laughter continued and I shook my head, not knowing how to recover.
A blush crept up my face as I searched for an explanation. “I, uhh, I thought I’d get my sister a new book for her birthday. As you can see, I might be a little clueless on the topic of what she’d enjoy reading.” I looked over and caught her smiling at me, but her eyes were looking me over. After a moment, her eyes drifted back up and she knew I’d caught her. She had hazel eyes that had a beautiful green hue and her blond hair was pulled into a high ponytail.
Smiling back, I held out my hand. “I’m Tate.”
“Morning Tate, I’m Brianna. You don’t look like you belong here. Bars not doing it for you anymore?” She went all in and didn’t hold anything back. She was still smiling but had curiosity written all over her face. She scrunched her nose as she tried to figure me out.
Her bar comment made me wonder if she knew my routine at the bars. Had I taken her home before? I didn’t remember deleting a Brianna on my phone. I think I’d remember her curves and doubt she’d be this nice to me if we’d met before.
“I’m kind of past that stage in life. I’ve had my fun, for sure, but I’d rather settle for a hot cup of coffee with a beautiful woman instead of trying to have a conversation over the loud speakers from the DJ.” I sounded so damn cheesy; I hated it.
“Really now?” She eyed me curiously as if she was trying to see if I was lying.
“Yes, ma’am.” She bent down to look at one of the books on the lower shelf. Images of her lowering herself on top of me came to mind, and I tried pushing the thought away. No way was I getting a hard-on in the bookstore. She sat that way for a moment, reading the description on the back, before gracefully standing back up and looking over at me.
I teetered back and forth on my heels, unsure if I was supposed to be pretending to look for more books or if this was really working.
“You have no idea what you’re looking for, do you?” She was right in more ways than one.
“Am I that obvious? I was honest about not being interested in bars anymore, but I feel like a fish out of water. I have no clue how to flirt in a bookstore.” I ran my hand through my hair and blew out a sigh. I needed to walk away and never come back.
“Little bit. For starters, you stick out like a sore thumb. Most are going to assume you’re in here to pick up women or to buy a book for your girlfriend. My