Page 11 of I Met Him At The Library

On the one hand, I enjoyed holding Emily’s attention for so long, and it was obvious she appreciated talking to me too. On the other, I worried that I only bothered her. What if she thought she couldn’t get peace and quiet working here anymore, and stopped coming? When would I have the chance to see and talk to her again?

I didn’t even get her number. If she didn’t return to the library, I would know she wasn’t interested in me in the slightest. But, I really, really hoped she was interested in me.

After checking my emails, I responded to a few before noting the time. Trudy would be manning the front desk tonight and should already be in. I grabbed my messenger bag, which sat next to my desk, locked the door on the way out, and headed toward the entryway.

After saying goodnight to Trudy and Betsy, I left for the bar. Walking through town, a few of the planters' dirt was freshly tilled. The business owners were already preparing for spring to arrive.

The only bar in town would be considered a hole-in-the-wall or a dive bar in Chicago. The outside was unassuming with only a small neon sign in one of the windows to identify it as the local pub. Inside it was all dark wood with vintage posters, license plates, and old signs hung on the walls. Walking in, the same old regulars were perched on their seats at the bar, but most of the other limited seating was empty, it was still early. Preston was waiting for us in our normal booth, looking freshly showered.

“Is the shop still slow?” I asked, sliding into the dark brown leather booth across the table from him.

“Yeah, Zeke thinks we’ll pick up again in a week or two,” Preston responded, “How was your day?”

Ezekiel, or Zeke, owned the only mechanic shop in town. He was a nice guy and even though he was the only shop in town, he kept his prices fair.

“Well, I finally did it.” Preston’s hazel gaze turned confused, so I clarified, “I talked to Emily.”

“Oh? How did that go?”

“Great, we have a bit in common with our favorite types of shows, and we talked about her work, and a little bit about mine.”

I purposefully left out how the conversation started, still embarrassed by the entire unfortunate situation. Thankfully, she didn’t run away screaming and calling me a pervert. That could have ended badly for me.

“That’s awesome. Are you going to ask her out?” Preston asked.

“Ask who out?” Trey asked as he and Levi slid into the booth.

“He finally talked to Emily,” Preston informed them.

“Great job buddy, I knew you could do it,” Levi teased and I glared at him.

“Yeah, yeah, but keep it down. I don’t want the rest of the town to get wind of this and have the rumors start up.”

“So are you going to ask her out?” Trey questioned.

“I think I’ll focus on getting to know her better, then we can see from there.”

“Friends first is a smart idea. Less of a chance she turns into a conniving wench,” Preston remarked as we all raised an eyebrow at him.

We didn’t know much about Preston’s past, other than he grew up in the pacific northwest and some woman messed him up bad before he moved here. Every now and then he’d make those types of comments and we’d give him a little bit of time to dive into why, but he never did. He always moved on like he hadn’t revealed a bit of the still simmering hurt he was obviously holding on to.

Moving on from the conversation, Levi started talking about the latest job they were working on. I was only half listening. My mind kept traveling back to my conversation with Emily.

As much as I was trying to remain chill about it all, the excitement over finally speaking with her left a warm fuzzy feeling over me. I only had to not blow it with blundering responses or conversation starters. However, after the way our conversation started today, I couldn’t imagine it got any more awkward than that.

After about an hour and one beer, I gave an excuse about being tired before I left the bar. Typically on Friday nights I rallied, but I wanted to bask in the glow of my success today in the peace of my home. Driving home, I was excited for Monday and the chance to see Emily again.

Saturday came, and I found myself slightly bummed I wasn’t going to see Emily. I practically obsessed over her all night to the point I even dreamt about her, followed by the disappointment of not waking up next to her.

Fortunately, I didn’t have to wait until Monday to see Emily again. As I walked through town to do some Saturday shopping, I spotted her entering Trudy’s Treasures.

Unable to resist, I made a beeline for the shop I had only stepped in a handful of times since I moved here. I never had a need for unusual tchotchkes, art, or any of the other things Trudy had in her store. Unfortunately, that realization came a bit too late as I stepped into the store and had no other excuse to enter other than the woman with auburn hair currently looking through boxes of colorful frames.

“Oh, Ryan! What brings you in today?” Trudy spoke loudly as she slid up to me.

Emily’s head snapped to me and the corner of her heart shaped lips tipped up in a grin. Turning my attention to Trudy, she smiled brightly at me, the small lines at the corner of her eyes creasing. The tight curls of her dark brown hair framed her face and fell around her shoulders. She wore a cardigan with a colorful floral pattern with the sleeves ending past her elbows over a bright red camisole.

Trudy was a part of the gossip brigade, and one of the most eclectic people in our town. She was friendly with everyone and was one of the many people who made this town amazing. If we didn’t have people like Trudy, I don’t think this town would have been the right fit for me, or anyone who wasn’t rich or religious.

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