4. Kylee #2
Just as I'm taking my first bite, he casually reaches over and steals my tomatoes.
Normally, I'd be disgusted by watching someone eat the disgusting ingredient.
However, there's something about watching him part his lips and devour each slice whole that has my gaze lingering more on his mouth than on the act itself.
"No point in wasting such a delicious vegetable." Using his tongue to flick away the excess juice, the corners of his eyes crinkle as he catches me in the act of staring.
I can't tell if this guy is aware or not of how tempting he is acting. If he is aware, it feels like he's making a weapon out of it at this point.
Trying not to stare, I murmur my appreciation as I enjoy the sandwich. Halfway through, I'm clearing my throat.
"So, uh, can I ask about what happened? Back then, I mean. I don't typically get heavy bleeders in my store, so I'm a bit curious." Taking a napkin to swipe at my mouth, I sit back to extend this moment for a few more minutes.
"Ah." Casper looks away and squints like he's trying to figure out his words.
While I don't expect him to spell out the truth or anything, it would be kind of nice to know more than what I already do, and that bar is pretty low.
"I guess you could call it a disagreement of sorts.
I just happened to run into someone who doesn't like me, is all. "
"Do you have a lot of those? People who don't like you?" I try to imagine someone not liking this guy, given how cheeky he is all the time.
I don't know anyone who would go out of their way to make a meal for someone they've only met a few times, briefly at that. Outside of his more shy side, he seems like a pretty friendly guy.
He chuckles as if my question amuses him. "You would be surprised. Typically, when I meet someone, they're not quick to befriend me. Most of the time, they try to keep their distance. Maybe that's why I like you so much, sweetheart. You're something special, you know that?"
A small compliment like that shouldn't make my heart feel like it's leaping in my chest, yet I'm fighting the urge to clutch the front of my dress to help calm it down.
"You barely know me," I remind him as I drop my eyes. "What you're feeling is probably some kind of gratitude, but I really didn't do much. So, after today, you should really go back to doing... whatever it is you do."
Drawing a line is the smart thing to do.
After all, the last thing I need is to fall for this guy's charm before he moves on with his life and leaves me behind.
Yet, even if I spell it out to myself, my chest is still acting up.
From my lungs tightening from not enough air, to my heart straight up going rogue.
He hums as if considering my words before he shakes his head. "I've got a lot of free time. Enough that picking up hobbies would be a pretty good thing for me. Even if that means finding love in reading. So I think I'm good. You're just going to have to accept that you're stuck with me."
He sends a smirk in my direction that makes the butterflies in my stomach double.
This guy is a troublemaker in every way, if I don't know any better. Probably a heartbreaker, too.
I can't entertain this. Not any more than I already have.
"Then I look forward to every sale you purchase in the future." Making sure my voice is unaffected and friendly, I cut off any excuse to struggle with any more words by shoving another bite into my mouth.
"Ouch." Rubbing his chest like I physically hurt him, his attention on me goes nowhere. Thankfully, he continues eating as well.
Wrapping lunch up quickly, I help clean up. By the time I'm flicking on the lights and reopening the shop, he's making himself comfortable over in the mystery section.
Is he really interested in the genre? Maybe I could give him a few suggestions if he's actually here to find something.
Then again, that means I have to get into his space and risk falling for those smooth words of his.
"You won't scold me if I pick one of these out and flip through it, will you?" Leaning back, he peers through his sunglasses. "I'll buy any that I touch."
Instead of telling him that the tables and chairs are there for a reason, I'm nodding my head at the promise of a purchase.
"Then feel free to touch whatever you want," I say smoothly, gesturing to the shelves.
The words leave my mouth before my brain can stop them. Casper’s hands freeze on the spine of a thriller, and the slow, wicked smirk that spreads across his face tells me exactly that we're thinking the very same.
Heat instantly explodes across my cheeks as I turn away and try to remember what I was working on before he appeared.
"Good to know," he murmurs, his eyes dropping past my face. "I might hold you to that."
Moving—no, running away, I head toward the back room. The quiet friction of my sandals against the carpeted floor doesn't make a sound, leaving nothing but the frantic, hammering rhythm of my heartbeat to fill my ears.
I duck past the employee door, needing a wall, a distraction—anything to put distance between us before I completely lose my footing.
But as I lean my back against the closed door, my hand trembling as I grip the patch of my dress where my heart is hammering, the truth settles heavily in my chest. It doesn't matter how much space I try to put between us.
My brain can try to convince me of what is safe all it wants, but my body has already surrendered.