Page 17 of I Met Him At The Library

With dinner planned, I put the leftovers in the freezer as an emergency meal for another time. I didn’t order out often, but every now and then I craved a good burger. Shrugging on my jacket, I grabbed my purse and keys before I left my apartment.

After locking my door, I spun around to see my tall beautiful upstairs neighbor heading up to her apartment. Her long black hair was up in a ponytail, she had a button nose, and a body to kill for. She smiled brightly at me.

“Hello,” she said, her voice sweet, and I nodded my own greeting before we went our separate ways.

Outside, I walked toward the diner enjoying how it was finally starting to warm up a bit, though this could be another round of false-spring. The town was beautiful in the spring when the flowering trees along the main drag were in bloom. Many of the shops had planters outside of their stores they would fill with flowers, adding lots of color to the old buildings with vintage styles in the signs and awnings.

Footsteps pounded behind me on the sidewalk, and I turned to see Levi running up. His dirty blonde hair was long on top with the underside shaved. He was an inch shorter than Ryan, but Levi’s job had him more muscular than Ryan’s lean stature.

“Hey Emily,” Levi shouted as he approached.

“Hi Levi, how are you?”

Catching up to me, he paused before answering, “I’m good. Hey, do you know any authors or publishers or anything?”

“What?” I asked, my eyes widening as worst case scenarios about who shared my secret profession flashed through my brain.

“You’re a freelancer. You write for websites, right?”

“Yes, websites. I don’t know any authors.” I turned and began walking toward the diner again, my steps slightly hurried.

“Damn,” Levi frowned and shoved his hands into jeans pockets as he walked next to me, his longer stride keeping up with mine.

Against my better judgment, curiosity grew in me, and I blurted out the question, “Why?”

“Oh it’s nothing. I had an idea and thought you might know some people so I could pick their brains about the possibility of it,” Levi waved me off.

“O-okay. Headed to the diner?”

“Yep, picking up dinner.”

“Me too.”

Levi didn’t expand on whatever his idea was, and I didn’t dig, trying to avoid the too close for comfort conversation. I learned a long time ago that I was likely better not knowing the things going on in this town. At least then I could stay somewhat innocent in all of the gossip.

We chatted shortly about a job he was working on, a full kitchen remodel, while we walked. Levi reminded me a lot of Trey, they could practically be brothers. In high school the two of them spent every weekend working with Trey’s dad. After that many years of hanging around the same person, I guess it made sense for them to have some of the same mannerisms.

We didn’t talk much, due to my closeness with Poppy - Trey got Levi, and Poppy got me in the break-up. While the four of us were close in high school, I didn’t hang out with them like I used to. I could still count on them if I needed anything, and I’d be there for any of them if they needed me too. It was just too awkward directly after the break-up and we never really picked back up.

We went our separate ways after picking up our food, and I tried to let go of the weird coincidental question from Levi. The lie left an icky feeling in my stomach, because I did know a few authors, and if I could help a friend maybe I should have come clean to him. But I’d already shared my secret once this week, and the more people with that knowledge, the more likely it would get out.

The next day went like most days, and right before packing up after a successful day of writing, I checked my email for the first time in about a week. In my inbox was a message from Ryan’s work email. Opening it, the bulk email informed library card holders of an upcoming city council meeting.

The city council was trying to decide if the library should continue to receive as much funding as it had, which seemed odd to me. There were plenty of books needing to be replaced, the computer lab could use new computers, and there were several things needing updates. How much funding would the city council want to cut? I doubted the library could afford it.

It also confirmed why Ryan was absent. Normally, he at least greeted me when I walked in, but I hadn’t seen him at all today. I even stuck around a little bit longer than normal, but I was supposed to meet with Meghan soon.

After I packed up my things and walked toward the front, I smiled when Ryan fell into step next to me with his bag on his shoulder.

“Can I walk you home?” He asked.

He smiled softly and I, for a second, got lost in his warm eyes, before I turned my attention back to the question and cleared my throat.

“Actually, I was headed to the diner to meet up with Meghan.”

“Well, then can I walk you to the diner?” He smiled down at me and I nodded.

“Were you able to get a few clippings from your Pothos?” I asked.

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