Page 64 of I Met Him At The Library

After checking the weather, which was supposed to remain good through the day, I left my house. The sun had barely risen and the roads were quiet the entire drive in. It was the thing I loved the most about small town living. The only time there was traffic was when cows blocked the road. Even when the farmers needed to pull their tractors out on the road, it wasn’t a big of a deal, and passing them was easy enough.

I didn’t miss the blare of horns, sirens, or the flashing lights blinding you in the city. I liked seeing the stars in the sky every single night. Sure, I was starting to see the downside to living in such a small town, but at least here I didn’t feel lonely like I had in the city. Here I had friends who always had my back. Here I had Emily, if I could win her back.

As I drove I made a promise I wouldn’t leave. No matter what I was staying in Maple Creek. All I had to do was get through this day first. I’d figure out what I’d say to convince Emily not to break up with me, and how I was going to make living here a possibility, tomorrow.

Arriving early at the library, I parked and got out of my car with my bag. There were people already here setting up the tables and signs. I unlocked the door to the library and walked in. Turning on all the lights, I left the main part locked up. This way the people outside could come in to use the facilities if needed, but no one would be in the main part for the day. Betsy, her sister Ruby, Trudy, and Sadie were all going to be here today to help out with the festival. My friends would be here soon, too. Meghan would probably show up with them.

After putting my bag in my office, I locked up the offices and exited the library. Turning toward the surrounding park, I walked down the path. I walked through the park to see if I could help out at all. Tables had been set up on either side, meaning my friends had probably already arrived. We were having people walk the path and the entire perimeter of the park, before eventually landing in the center where our panels would be. Meghan had set it up so the most popular authors would be toward the end of the path to give some smaller authors the chance to spark the interest of our attendees who may not know of them.

I spotted Trey by the stage he had finished building a few days ago as he was putting the finishing touches on the tables and plugging in the electronics.

“Hey man, you’re early,” Trey said as I walked toward him.

“Yeah, well, slept like shit last night and nervous about today. Meg made me promise not to check anything about the event, and she’d handle it.”

“Oh yeah, she handled it,” Trey said with a smirk I didn’t quite understand.

“What the hell happened?” I asked.

“You’ll see soon enough.” Trey nodded his head toward the parking lot, and I turned to look.

My sister was getting out of Meghan’s car along with the only person I actually wanted to see, Emily. I barely registered the chuckle that came from Trey as my feet started toward her. Meghan was pulling a foldable wagon from her trunk, and setting it up, before the three began loading boxes into it.

Emily spotted me and stopped as I approached. Out of the corner of my eye, Meghan and Lacey glanced at me before Meg pushed a book into Emily’s hands.

“We’ll let you two talk,” Meghan said quietly, as she gripped my sister's arm, and pulled her away with the loaded wagon.

My sister complained about wanting to see what happened, but Meghan shushed her. Emily smiled softly at me. Once again she took my breath away, wearing the sundress with the little flowers that reminded me of the time I bent her over my desk. Her hair was up in a ponytail, and she stared at me with wide sad eyes, but a small glimmer of hope shined in them.

“Hey,” she whispered.

“Hey,” I croaked before I cleared my throat and repeated myself.

She glanced down at the book in her hands, and my eyes followed hers as she said, “I wanted you to have this. Read the dedication.”

The book had a large ARC sticker on the cover. I took the book from her and opened it to the dedication page.

To my brainstorm buddy,

Thank you for all your help with market research and the unwavering support you’ve given me. You’re the reason I’m able to take this next step in my career.

P.S. I looked it up, and yes, penis enlargement is a real thing.

I laughed out loud and fixed my eyes on her in question. “What does this mean?”

“Meghan didn’t tell you?”

“Tell me what?”

“I’m a signing author. I went public and announced I was attending this event.” She jutted her chin out toward the event, and I glanced behind us to where Meghan and Lacey were standing by a table and watching us.

“You went public?” I questioned, “I didn’t mean you should. I didn’t want to pressure you.”

“Ryan, I needed that pressure. I needed someone to push me, or I would have spent my entire life hiding. I don’t want to hide who I am, or hide who I’m dating anymore. Let them see. Let them talk. I know the truth, and so do those closest to me. Who cares what the rest of them believe?”

“Who’re you dating?” I asked.

“You.” She smiled brightly, and heat rose in my cheeks, “I love you, Ryan.”

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