Just Lunch
Amber
I felt him again before he walked through the library’s front doors with a grin on his face, carrying food from the exact place I asked him to get it. I had to give him props; he came back.
When Lane came back to cover my lunch break, he glared at the man who gave me cozy sensations with lightning tingles that would make any woman fall at his feet.
“You're having lunch with him?” Confusion filled Lane’s voice as his gaze came back to mine. “Didn't you just meet him today?”
I blushed and shrugged, getting up from my seat. “Yes, and yes. I like him. The two of us hit it off this morning.”
Lane’s face turned sour, and he bluntly asked, “And we didn't?”
My lips formed an O. I twisted to keep eye contact with him as he slid into my spot. “I'm sorry, Lane, but I don't date co-workers.”
“You should have told me that earlier this year instead of letting me act like a fool this whole time, thinking I might have a shot.”
I drew back, frowning as my eyes darted downward. “I didn’t realize you felt that way.”
His jaw clenched. “Well, I did. Go to lunch, and come back. I have other things I could be doing right now. Go.”
Hurt and feeling a sting of guilt for not being completely forward with Lane on my stance of his intentions, I turned slowly back to Aaron. He stood at the front desk, trying to convince Frankie he had a date with me at the same time she was saying he couldn't bring food into the library.
Taking a deep breath and trying to ignore what Lane said, I walked over and put my hand on Aaron's arm. Baby sparks crackled between the two of us.
Smiling at Frankie, I said, “It's okay. We do have a lunch date.”
The older woman’s eyebrows lifted in surprise. “You do? But you never date.”
I rolled my eyes. “It’s just a lunch date.”
She nodded. “Fine. Just as long as the food stays in the lunch area and”—she turned to Aaron—“you keep your gorgeous hands off her.” She waved her hand. “Go. No sneaking out food either, you hear?”
I smirked as Aaron snorted.
“We won't.” I tugged on his arm and navigated him toward the elevator across the way.
“She's a hard sell,” he muttered once we were in front of the shiny metal doors.
I pressed the call button to bring the elevator to our floor. “She's just strict and has been here awhile.”
When the elevator doors opened, we stepped inside and turned. Just before the doors closed, I noticed Frankie still staring at us from her desk across the way and gave her a finger wave. The doors shut before I could see her reaction. She was such a busybody.
“Is she always like that?” Aaron asked, arms full of drinks and food bags.
“Yes.” I shifted, reaching to grab the drinks from his hands. “Here, let me help you.”
He let me take the drinks, and I held onto them, turning back to the elevator doors once again.
“Is everyone, like, that…nosy?”
I chuckled. “Yeah, most everybody here has to be in the know about everyone's business. I mean, we’re our own chapter book, each one of us with our own story. The library tends to thrive on them.”
He lifted his eyebrows. “So, do you do that? Get nosy with others, wanting to know their lives?”
I shook my head as the doors opened, and I walked out. “No, not when I can barely figure out mine.”
“What's that supposed to mean?” he asked as he followed.
“Exactly what I said.” I led the way down the hall to the lunchroom.
When we entered, polished white floors greeted us with typical, round lunch tables and bare walls which left the décor with something to be desired.
We had the space to ourselves for the moment. I found a spot at the back and set the drinks down on the table. Aaron followed with the food bags.
We both sat, and he sifted through the bag, glancing at me as he did so. “Care to elaborate on your last comment?”
“So, it's nothing.” I raised my hand in the air, nonchalantly. “I have some memory issues.”
“What kind of memory issues? Is it like that one in that movie?” He passed over my meal and took out his. “Are you going to forget me tomorrow?”
Sifting through my memories, I couldn't recall what movie he referenced. “I don't think I know that one.”
“It’s the one where she’s in an accident and she loses her memory, after that day, she loses her memory every day when she wakes up in the morning.” He opened his container, and the room filled with the wonderful smell fried fish and chips. “They have to tell her her whole life every day.”
My eyes bugged out. “How horrible! No, I haven't seen it. Is it a horror movie?”
He chuckled. “Actually, it isn't. It's a romance.”
I looked over his buff frame and semi-rugged features. He didn’t seem like a man who would watch that genre, but he reads it, so... “Romance?”
He picked up a fry, put it in his mouth, and shrugged, giving me a look. “What? Guys can’t like romances, too?”
I shifted, crossed my legs, and nodded. “I guess I'll give you that.”
He pointed a fry my way. “So, Ms. Librarian.” His voice held a teasing tone as he popped the fry into his mouth, “Tell me, how long have you worked here?”
“A little over eight months.”
“Just this job?”
“It’s the only one I could get in the beginning.”
“The beginning of what?”
I sighed. “A year ago, I lost my memory, like the girl you described in that movie, but I can remember everything after, just not from before. After I lost my memory, no one came to claim me. So the people who found me, the Jameses, they took me in and helped me get back on my feet and helped me find this job. I really appreciate them.”
A single eyebrow rose. “And you don't know anything about what happened to you or who you were before?”
I shook my head. “Nope. I sure don’t. All I can do is go forward with who I am now, and maybe my past will open up later on, and I’ll remember. Kind of like what's going on between you and me.”
Aaron sat back and sobered. “What do you mean?”
I picked up a fry, swiping some ketchup across it before popping it in my mouth. “I mean the tingles, the sensing you before I see you. I don't understand it.”
“Have you had it with anyone else?” he asked cautiously.
I want to say yes, but then thought maybe I shouldn't.
His mouth pressed into a flat line. “That pause tells me you have.”
“Yeah,” I admitted. “I have. One other person.”
He reached over and trailed his fingertips across mine, letting the crackle release between us. My heart sped up with excitement, and my body clenched with anticipation. I stared at our fingers, his a rough contrast with my soft hands.
My eye shot up to find his gaze on me.
“It's special.” His hand drew back, taking the sensation with him. He picked up another fry and sat back in his chair. “A special thing that usually doesn't happen. Something happened to you before you lost your memory. Something that caused this.”
I grew guarded. “How would you know?”
“Because the same feeling you're getting, I'm getting, too. The only difference is, I know why I’m feeling this way with you.”
My heart sped up. “Why is that?”
He shook his head. “It’s not time to tell you. Maybe never. It all depends on you and your choices.”
I swallowed, now afraid. “Do you know me, from before? Did…were you the one who hurt me?”
His eyes sharpened. “No. I could never hurt you. That's the exact opposite of what this is.” He put his hand back on mine and let the sensation fly. “You feel this with someone, anyone, know that it means they could never hurt you. It’s physically impossible.”
I pulled my hand back, comforted by his confession. “Well, that’s a little deep.”
He shot me a winning smile. “It is what it is. You’re safe with me.”
I gave him a discerning eye. “What do you do for work?”
“Army. I’m visiting a friend while on leave.”
Aaron and I talked a bit longer about other stuff, like what we liked and our differences. When I tried to approach the subject of our connection again, he ignored it and went on about other stuff.
By the time we finished eating, I still knew nothing about Aaron. He stood and gathered our trash, throwing it away as I got up, waiting for him.
He came up beside me, hands in his pockets. “Will you go out on a date with me next week?”
I cracked a smile. “Maybe.”
“Maybe?” He grinned. “Honey, now, you’re just teasing me. Can I at least have your phone number so we can arrange something? And so I can make sure you’ll remember me tomorrow?”
A laugh escaped my lips as I watched his eyes dance. “You’re such a flirt.”
“I could call you. You could ask me more questions,” he teased me.
My breath caught in my throat. “Are you serious?”
His expression sobered. “As serious as chocolate cake.”
The air I held escaped in a slight chuckle. “Okay, you've earned it. I’ll give you my phone number.”
He programmed it into his phone before he leaned in, his lips brushing mine briefly. “Thank you.”
Shocked, I stood there for what seemed like a whole minute until I followed him to the elevator, pondering my first kiss. Well, the only one I remembered.
I moved like a zombie until we reached the main level, and he leaned in to kiss my cheek. “Catch you later.”
As he left me in a daze, I hoped I wasn’t making another mistake.