Zelda
Itake a big breath and wriggle my shoulders. “So, now you know.”
“Now I know.”
“You know why I’m a small-town librarian instead of off starting a career in the big city.”
“The big city isn’t that great.” Sawyer looks down at me with real concern in his eyes.
“You like it.”
He smiles, shaking his head. “I still like the city. But maybe the suburbs have something to offer, too.” His voice dips down at the end of the sentence, and I have to catch my breath. If I’m not careful—if I don’t “play it safe,”—then I’m going to be on fire for the rest of my shift.
Who am I kidding? That’s going to happen anyway.
“We should turn around.”
“Has it been that long already?”
I circle him on the sidewalk and start heading back toward the library.
“Mrs. Sanders will be waiting for me.”
“Is that the woman behind the desk?”
“No, that was Donna. I think she has a crush on you.”
“Most women have a crush on me.” He says it casually, teasingly, and it makes me laugh.
“That doesn’t surprise me.”
“Why not?”
“Are you fishing for compliments?”
“I would never.”
“You’re really, really attractive.”
“Don’t I know it?”
“You’re so modest.”
“I think you’re modest enough for both of us.” He casts a look at my skirt and top.
“I work in a library. I’m not normally this—” Another laugh bubbles up. “No, I am. Except when I go out.”
“Right,” Sawyer says, reaching out a hand. “Listen.”
“This seems serious.” My heart beats faster. “Why are you making that face?”
“Because it is serious.” His blue eyes lock on mine, and he steps in closer. He smells like soap and sunshine and spice, and on the next breath it’s all I can do not to rip his shirt away from his body. “It’s very serious.”
“What is it?”
“You said that you weren’t available until Friday.”
“I did say that.” I said it because it’s true. I’m supposed to be working on a group project on Thursday night, and making sure I don’t fall behind on my classes, and that’s all after my shifts at the library.
“I can’t wait that long.”
“For what?”
“To take you on a real date.” He steps back, and I stay where I am on the sidewalk, even though I want to step forward into his arms and never leave the safety of his embrace.
“And trust me, I’m the last person that knows what the hell they’re doing on a real date, but I want to take you somewhere nice. ”
“And you can’t wait until Friday?”
“No.” He keeps his face stony. “I cannot wait, Zelda.”
I raise my eyebrows. “What are we going to do about that?”
“Cancel your class.”
“I don’t have a class. I have a study group.”
“Reschedule it.”
“Are you asking or telling?”
“I’m begging.”
By the time Sawyer drops me off at the library to finish my shift, I’m breathless and pretending not to be. I’m superheated, thinking of him—and it was an innocent walk.
Only walking with him made me want things to get much less innocent.
Shady career or not, I like him. I like him a lot. Maybe too much.
Maybe I’m in over my head again.
Talking about what happened with Eric was a relief, but Sawyer is like an Eric, but all grown up and smarter.
But he would never ask me to walk next to a quarry when I’d had a few drinks. All the time we were walking, Sawyer was watching for cars, then looking back at me. On the way back, whenever we’d cross the streets, he’d put his hand on my arm, above my elbow, in case.
How bad can he be?
How much am I willing to risk?
I settle in behind the circulation desk, taking Donna’s place, and take in a deep breath.
I’m seeing everything with new eyes. It’s a job at the library. I could get one of those anywhere. I could move anywhere, because my degree program is online, and I could start doing the things I always wanted to do.
But what did I really want to do, other than have a little excitement? A little thrill?
Sawyer is breathing plenty of excitement into Greenville, and we haven’t even done anything out of the ordinary.
He is out of the ordinary.
“How was your date?”
Donna asks the question in a low voice as she moves past me on her way to the copy room, and I give her a look. “That wasn’t a date.”
“What else do you call it when an attractive young man takes you out for a walk?”
“A walk.”
She clicks her tongue at me. “Why wasn’t it a date?”
“We haven’t been on a real date.”
“Really?” Her eyebrows go up again. “The way he looked at you, I thought—”
“The way he looked at me?”
“Like he was never going to take his eyes off you again.”
I should have been paying more attention while we were walking out, clearly.
“He’s a friend.”
“Right,” Donna says, a knowing smile on her face. “Until the big date. When’s that going to be?”
It’s not as if Sawyer was going to use the word “begging” and not convince me to go out with him.
“Thursday night.”
“You’ll tell me all about it, won’t you?”
“Of course I will. How could I keep it to myself?”
Donna laughs. “I’d sure keep him to myself. You’d better not let him out of your sight.”
The space between my legs is humming with desire. If I can get another five minutes to myself, I might be able to make it through the day. I open my mouth to ask Donna if I can run to the restroom, but stop short.
Sawyer is standing by the entrance. He hasn’t gone home.
Our eyes lock.
I grab a pile of papers from the desk and put a hand to my forehead. “Copies! I’ll be right back.”
Donna gives me a look, but doesn’t say anything.
Sawyer, because he’s not a fool, looks at the direction I’m heading and disappears back out the door.
At the opposite entrance, I stand in the small lobby next to the stairwell. “Did you forget something?”
His eyes are intent on mine. “Yes.” He rubs a hand over his lips. “If I could…see you for one more minute.”
I shouldn’t. I really shouldn’t.
“Follow me.”
I lead him quickly up to the second floor and into a storage room that houses an ancient copy machine, then shut the door quickly behind us.
As soon as the door closes, his hands are on me, and my entire body sighs with relief and surges with fear at the same time.
“I shouldn’t—”
“The more you argue,” he says, voice low and sexy, “the more likely it is that somebody is going to come in here and find us out.”
The next few moments I’m lost, lost in the ferocity of his kisses, lost in his hands on my ass, lost in finally burying my fingers into his shirt and yanking him closer to me, lost, lost, lost.
“God, Sawyer.”
“You don’t have to stop,” he says.
A knock at the door cuts into the moment, shattering it on the ground. I’m instantly on edge.
We both freeze.
“Yes?” I say it like there’s absolutely nothing out of the ordinary happening, but if anyone opens that door—
“Zelda?” It’s Donna. “Mrs. Sanders is looking for you.”
She doesn’t touch the doorknob.
“I’ll be right there.”
Sawyer’s eyes dance as Donna’s footsteps recede down the hall.
“That was close.”
“Get out of here,” I say, pushing him away playfully. “Get out of here before you get me fired.”
“Don’t forget about our date.”
He doesn’t hesitate. He opens the door and strides out into the hall like he owns the entire building.
I take a deep, trembling breath. How could I forget?
How can I wait?