Sunday flew by with nothing major happening. I spent the day with Evelyn in my apartment. We had planned to binge a bunch of old horror films but Evelyn did more talking than watching. Apparently, the date was a success and Evelyn was going to Emma’s house later to have dinner together. As for me, I didn’t have any strange dreams that night.

Now it’s Monday and I’m back at work, unlocking the door and turning on the lights. Aspen isn’t coming in today so I’m left to log in and put away the new cart filled with returned books. 

Just as I was finishing logging the last book from the pile a ding sounded. 

“Welcome to Riverstone Library!” I called out. 

“Um,” A deep voice sounded and I felt a sense of deja vu. I looked up to see Damien standing in front of the desk. “I finished the book,” He said, placing it on the desk. 

I smiled up at him. “How’d you like it? Was the vampire too much of an asshole?” I joked.

Damien rolled his eyes. “Yeah. Vampires were way too romanized in this one.” I laughed, taking the book and logging it as ‘returned’ on the computer. “Uhm… could you help me find that other book you recommended,” Damien asked, rubbing the back of his neck.

I gave him a cheesy smile as I got up from my seat. “You sure you wanna read it? It has vampires in it,” I teased. Damien just scoffed and rolled his eyes, walking beside me as we made our way over to the fantasy/supernatural section of the library. I decided to make small conversation, “I had a dream the other day- well more of a nightmare but I was in a forest running from a giant wolf. I woke up just before it was about to bite my leg.”

“Bite you?” Damien chuckled.

“Yeah?” I said, not seeing what he found funny.

“I think you’ve been reading too many fairytales,” Damien teased, just as I held up the book he asked for.

“Look who’s talking,” I laughed, handing him the book.

“Are you here by yourself today?” Damien asked.

“Yeah, Aspen isn’t coming in today. Something about their cat climbing on the roof- I don’t even know, I was half asleep when they called me this morning.”

“So,” Damien smirked, “that means you’ll be able to talk my ear off without getting in trouble?” He teased.

Suddenly I was extremely nervous. I know he apologized and I forgave him but I don’t know if I’m completely ready to be on close terms with him yet. Memories from high school lingered in my mind every time I was around him. If I ever became Damien Sawyer’s friend I’d have to learn to forget these memories and move on. 

Before I was able to respond a ding sounded followed by children laughing. “Looks like you’ll be quite busy today,” Damien said, rubbing the back of his neck once again.

I exhaled deeply. “Guess so.” I made my way to the front of the library. Angelina stood at the desk with 7-year-old Tommy and 6-year-old Toby. They frequented the library a lot and I absolutely loved them. Most of the time they visited they brought me drawings they made. I have a few hung on my fridge at home but most of them were hanging on the wall behind the front desk. Tommy was the more outgoing and tougher of the two brothers, while Toby was more shy and quiet. He always carried around a little pink bunny plush. The two brothers never let go of each other’s hands which I thought was adorable. 

“Kayden!” Tommy screamed running at me, dragging Toby along with him. I got down on one knee and opened my arms.

“Hey, Tommy! How’s my favorite rock star?” 

Tommy and Toby ran into my embrace. “Good! I made a new song! Toby even agreed to play the drums!” Tommy yelled excitedly.

“You play the drums, Toby?” I said, with equal enthusiasm. Toby gave me a shy nod, hugging his bunny plush close to his face. “Woah that’s so cool!” I said, making both of them beam at me. Tommy said he needed to look for music books so he and Toby could make more songs. I greeted Angelina briefly, who motioned to the books she put on the return cart before I was dragged off to the children’s section of the library. I helped them look for books and then returned to my spot at the desk, organizing the returns so I can start putting them back on their shelves.

The day went by with a few more people walking in and checking out books or returning books. By the end of the day, the pile of returns was back and I knew I’d make Aspen deal with it tomorrow for leaving me alone. The clock eventually hit 1:00, my lunch break. Normally I’d be done for the day but since Aspen wasn’t here I had to be back in an hour and keep the place running until 5:00 pm. I had already informed anyone in the library, including Damien, that we’ll be closing for an hour. I went around and double-checked no one was still inside before leaving and locking the door. Then I took out my phone to text Evelyn.

Me: The usual spot?

Moron💕🌙: Already here

Evelyn and I ate our burgers. We mainly talked about how her dinner with Emma. I swear Evelyn was emitting a light glow as she talked. Her voice was softer than usual and her eyes held nothing but pure love and admiration for the girl that was at the center of our conversation. As much as I joked about being jealous of the girl I sincerely hoped it worked out between them. I haven’t seen Evelyn this happy about someone in a long time. She had her heart broken pretty terribly about a year ago and it’s taken her a while to get past it. When I heard the story, I immediately got up and set off toward the guy’s house. First time I ever punched someone in my life. Also the first time I ever broke someone’s nose. But with this new girl, Emma, Evelyn finally seems to be opening her heart up for someone, other than me of course.

When it was time to leave, we said our goodbyes and went our separate ways. I headed back to the library and decided to log some of the returns since sitting in the quiet library alone was quite boring. The rest of the day went by unbearably slow with only three more people coming in and leaving. But eventually, the clock hit 5:00 pm and it was finally time to go home. I shut all the lights off and made my way out the door, locking up the place for the night. I was about to hop on my skateboard when I felt a hand grasp my shoulder making me jump, I whipped my head around to see who it was.

“Damien,” I breathed, “what the hell, man? You scared the shit out of me. You were so quiet.” I relaxed slightly.

“Sorry,” he chuckled, “I didn’t mean to startle you, just wanted to catch you before you rode off.” He faded off, seeming to go into deep thought for a second.

“What’s up?” I asked.

“Nothing. I was just wondering if maybe you’d like to hang out sometime. I just bought my new apartment and maybe wanted to see if you’d help me decorate it. Sorry I just suck at interior decorating. I’ll even let you do it bee themed if you want.” Damien rambled on all in one breath, rubbing the back of his neck the entire time. I almost laughed out loud, picturing such a tall and muscular man living in a bumble bee-themed apartment. It was a comical scene.

Without hesitating and basically throwing all my fears about Damien out the window at that moment, I said, “sure. But I don’t think a bee-themed apartment suits you.” 

“Okay. Yeah. Great. Uhm could I get your number so we could pick a good time we’re both free?” He said, holding out his phone and still rubbing his neck.

“Sure.”