Chapter 2
Shayla
Things I Love About My Job:
1) There’s nowhere better to work than in a library. It’s like a place where dreams live, and it’s so easy to believe that anything’s possible when you’re there.
2) It’s so calm. (Unless it’s story time for preschoolers. Then all bets are off.)
2) I can read when we’re not busy, and it’s totally fine. Where else can you read on the job without getting fired?
Things I Don’t Love About My Job:
1) It’s been so not busy lately, I’m burning through novels at a scary pace.
2) We don’t have the budget for buying new books, which means the best part of my job is on hold.
3) I’m terrified I’m going to get laid off any day now.
4) Oh god, what will I do with my life then?
We’re already on minimal staff. Everything’s shelved and organized. There’s not much left to do today.
At least our branch is too small to have a self check-out. I can still talk with everyone who comes by to check out actual books. It’d be even better if they weren’t outnumbered by the group of regulars who stop in daily to use the computers to check their email. They never talk to anyone, and they always leave without a book in hand.
My supervisor breaks into my thoughts, startling me as she leans in close and lowers her voice. “Got another one for you, Shayla.”
I squeeze my eyes shut as she walks off. I’m the newest employee. So on top of the work I love doing, I get stuck with the nastier tasks too.
Steeling myself, I walk around the counter. It’s not hard to spot the guy she’s talking about. He’s new here. If he wasn’t, he’d take off when he sees me coming towards him.
“Excuse me.” I can’t bring myself to call him sir. He’s a teenager and that makes him younger than me.
His head whips up, his face already turning bright red. He doesn’t say anything. It’d be easier for both of us if he’d just run away in shame.
“You can’t look at that material on the library’s computers.” I manage to keep a straight face while I gesture at the monitor. The first few times I had to do this, I nearly burst out laughing.
He’s tried to hide it, of course. But you can’t do that. Not with our system.
It wouldn’t matter anyway. I’ve already caught more than an eyeful of the porn he’s been trying to watch without anyone noticing him.
Why would a guy come to a library to look at porn?
I don’t really want to know.
He looks like he doesn’t know what to do. Most of the time, any guy getting caught here would have turned and fled by now.
We stare at each other. Both of us are wanting to be anywhere else, and still we’re unable to look away.
“Probably best if you leave now,” I prompt him.
He nods as if he’s made a decision. “Okay.”
And the boy turns and walks out as if nothing unusual has come to pass. I sigh as I reset the browser to point back to our catalogue. Out of curiosity, I check the history. Man on man. I guess that might explain why he wasn’t taking the chance of being caught elsewhere. I don’t recognize him, and this town is small enough that I probably would. Likely he drove here from somewhere nearby.
“Hey, gorgeous.”
I turn around to have Jett gather me up into his arms. “Hi.” I disengage myself quickly. I don’t like PDAs when I’m working. “What’re you doing here?”
He frowns. “We’re going to your parents’ place for dinner tonight. Right?”
“Yes, but I can’t leave early today.”
“It’s not early.”
I glance at the time. He’s right. The day ended up going by a lot quicker than I thought it would.
“Okay. Let me see if I need to close up.”
My supervisor tells me she’s staying for awhile longer, so I grab my things and go find Jett. He’s looking through our CD section.
“Let’s go.”
The moment we get into his car, Jett pulls me in for a long, slow kiss. We come up for air and he strokes his fingers through my hair.
“You look amazing. Like a picture-perfect sexy librarian. I want to take that dress off you right now.”
I start to laugh, but he’s serious. My breath catches. I don’t know what it is about Jett, but he can turn me on in an instant. Even on the way to my parents’ house for Sunday dinner.
“Probably not a good idea.” Reluctantly I push his hands away, settling back into my seat. “There’s not enough time.”
At the next traffic light, he turns to face me. Fingers trailing lightly over my thigh, his brown eyes are intense as he gazes into mine. Instantly desire rises up in me. He’s an extremely good-looking guy and he’s even sexier than usual right now.
“We could pull over…”
“Later,” I manage, although I hate to say it. I want him. I could tear his clothes off right here in the car.
If only we weren’t three blocks from my mother’s place.
“Okay. But not too much later.”
We pull up in front of the house and Jett leans in to kiss me once again. Pausing before our lips meet, his eyes catch mine and I can’t look away. We’ve always been crazy about each other but even since he got the news about the tour, Jett hasn’t been able to keep his hands off me. Not that I’m complaining. Not one bit. But he’s going to make it hard to get through dinner, and I don’t want to feel that way. I like seeing my family. It’s not a chore.
Finger under my chin, he tilts my lips to his. My hands move like they’ve got a will of their own, pulling him as close as possible. His tongue glides over mine as our kiss gets deeper. His hands rove down my back, holding me tightly against his body.
I kiss him until I feel like I’m drowning, and I’m forced to come up for air. “We need to go in. They’ll see your car, if they haven’t already.”
“Okay.” Jett rests his forehead against mine, the moment giving us both the chance to slow our breathing down to normal. Or at least as normal as I can feel right now.
I take another sip of wine. My mother’s not usually like this. I don’t get it.
She turns to Jett. I swallow quickly, nearly choking because I want to cut her off before she starts in on him.
It’s too late.
“What do you say, Jett? What are your plans for the future?”
Isn’t this something that fathers are supposed to do? Grill the boyfriend, the first time he comes around? Not my usually easy-going mother, talking to Jett like she’s never met him before. She’s always liked him, or at least that’s what she told me. I can’t even imagine what’s gotten into her tonight.
Jett calls up his charming smile, but it doesn’t faze her. She’s still staring at him like he has the cure for cancer and he won’t tell anyone about it.
I chew ferociously on a piece of asparagus. There’s no way to stop her now. Once she sets her mind to something, she won’t let up until she gets what she wants.
“I know our upcoming tour will be a success, Margaret. When it’s done, we’ll see what the future holds.”
Mom’s not impressed with his answer.
“I hope you’ll give it some serious thought, Jett. Shayla needs to know where her relationship’s going. More potatoes?”
Suddenly she’s normal mom again, offering me more food. I don’t get it. Frowning, I take the potatoes from her and take a couple of spoonfuls.
Everything’s good for the rest of the meal. I help her carry the empty dishes into the kitchen so we can have a moment alone.
“Why are you being weird, Mom?” I set a stack of plates beside the sink.
“What do you mean, darling?” She’s busy cutting up big pieces of chocolate cake. My favorite, but I can’t let that distract me.
“I mean, why are you grilling Jett about the future? What brought that on?”
“Oh, Shayla. You’re getting older. Don’t you think it’s time to think about the future? Where your relationship’s going?”
“I’m twenty-four. So, no. I don’t.”
She hands me a tray full of dessert plates. “Time goes by faster than we realize. A stable relationship and commitment are important, you know. It’s something to be aware of.”
“Okay, Mom.”
At least Jett doesn’t look bothered when we get back to the table. He gives me a big smile as I sit down next to him. There’s nothing I’d change about us and the way we are now. We’re in love. Where else would I want to be?