Page 18 of I Met Him At The Library

“Actually, yeah. They are currently sitting in a jar of water.”

“That’s good, in a couple of weeks you should be able to plant them. Hey, you didn’t tell Levi anything about what I actually do, did you?”

The question came out of left field, but the curiosity had bubbled over in me. Based on his widened eyes, and how his mouth gaped open for a second in shock, he hadn’t said a thing. I knew well before this point he hadn’t, but I had to make sure.

“No, of course not. Why?”

I waved my hand. “It’s probably a coincidence but he had asked me if I knew any authors since I’m a ‘freelance writer,’ and it seemed weird.”

His eyebrows pinched together briefly before understanding dawned in his eyes. He chuckled a bit before explaining.

“We were talking about the library funding and ways to increase it, he was probably thinking about contacting authors.”

“Oh, does the library need more funding?” I asked.

“Libraries can always use more funding. Part of my job is searching for donations and additional funding. It was a random conversation, and Levi was likely hoping he could help.”

Something seemed off with his response. His shoulders dipped, and his eyes scanned the sidewalk in front of us. I’d gotten the email about the town council meeting, and the public funding for the library was under fire. Now I was beginning to believe this meeting was more crucial than I originally thought.

“Does this have something to do with that town council meeting?” I asked.

“A little bit. They cut the funding last year, so when I was notified about another meeting concerning the library, my friends all started plotting ways to boost the funding again.”

“They’re good friends - proactive.”

It sounded exactly like Trey and Levi. I might not be close to them anymore, but they were both fixers, even back in high school. When something went wrong, they were bound and determined to find a solution. I was pretty positive Preston and Ryan would be the same way, birds of a feather and all of that.

“They are sometimes too proactive.” Ryan huffed a laugh.

“It would suck if the library lost more funding,” I said, and Ryan’s lips dipped a bit as I tried to determine just how bad the situation was.

“Of course, you’d lose your office.”

“And,” I peered up at him. “I wouldn’t get to see you as often.”

His head turned to me, his cheeks heating slightly as he smiled down at me. While I absolutely would want to take this friendship slow, to see if it could lead into something more, butterflies burst in my stomach as his eyes roamed over my face.

“Did you hit your writing goals today?” He asked.

“Yes, surprisingly,” I replied.

“Why surprisingly?”

“I find myself a bit distracted these days, so the story seems to be taking a little while to process and get out.”

“I thought you came to the library so you wouldn’t be distracted,” he asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not mad about this distraction. Sometimes it’s a good thing and can still spark creativity.” I bit my lower lip as I checked Ryan out of the corner of my eyes.

“Am I the distraction?” Ryan asked with a smirk.

“Yes, but like I said, I’m not mad about it.”

“I spark creativity?”

“You’re my brainstorm buddy after all.”

He laughed, and just like that, whatever weight he seemed to carry on his shoulders lifted. A feeling of happiness came over me for being the reason the world was a little lighter for him, and it made me want to be that for him more often. I never would have thought working at the library was stressful, but I guessed, when it came to funding and dealing with small town politics to get that funding, it would be challenging.

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