Page 3 of Check You Out

Rolling my eyes and ignoring their discourse, I turn to Aidan. “I’ve been meaning to ask, what’s it like living with Xander?”

He lifts his shoulder. “It’s fine. He’s quiet. Clean.”

“Why haven’t you brought him to Trivia Night?” Nicole asks, shaking her head.

“I don’t go to Trivia Night,” Xander replies, crossing his arms.

“You don’t have to go,” I say to Aidan with a lowered voice. “Sometimes I go, but not often.” He doesn’t reply and I continue talking to fill the space. “Would you be interested in book trivia? I’ve been thinking about starting on up.”

He nods and flashes a faint smile. “Sure, I guess.”

I purse my lips and study him for a few seconds. Am I doing this wrong? Why isn’t he getting my subtle hints that I find him attractive? I know I’m not the best at flirting, but I feel like my middling attempts have worked in the past. Am I just annoying him and he’s too polite to say anything?

Am I the problem?

Mayor Zelda Harrington calls the meeting to order, wrangling my mind back into focus. She’s a petite woman, with curly black hair and dark brown complexion.

“Thank you all for coming to this last-minute meeting.” She stands at her place of honor in the center of the long table in front of us. “The subject of today’s meeting is a rather serious one. The Douglass County Proposed Operating Budget was released for the next fiscal year by County Executive, Stephen Gott.”

There’s some murmuring in the crowd.

Nicole nudges me hard in the ribs. She does this every time my high school boyfriend is mentioned. My ribs are still sore from when he was elected County Executive last year.

That’s the problem with staying in your hometown, everyone remembers the stupid mistakes you made when you were fifteen. It’s even worse when that mistake gets elected to represent the entire county.

I shrink in my chair, willing myself to disappear into the Lisa Frank cat-barf carpet.

Mayor Harrington looks at the gathered crowd. She continues, “The new budget has very steep cuts. Especially for the Douglass County Public Library System. As a result, the Summerville Branch Library will close permanently on June 30.”

My mouth drops.

This can’t be happening.

What in the actual fuck?

2

Aidan

Charlotte’s body brushes up against me, sending a sparkling feeling down my spine. I impulsively grasp her hand, my gaze intently zeroing in on her now pale face.

She lets out in a hoarse whisper, “The library is closing? What? Why?”

I squeeze her hand.

“Are you ok?” I whisper in her ear. I get a whiff of lavender and vanilla, and I try my best to not breathe in too deeply. That would be creepy

She blinks but doesn’t turn toward my voice. I run my thumb along her knuckles. My skin is on fire from the feel of her smooth skin against mine.

I’ve had the biggest crush on Charlotte Ferguson ever since I first walked into her bookstore seven months, two weeks, and four days ago. It was a warm August day, and I had just set up my new classroom. I walked into Sunflower Books carrying a maple cinnamon latte from Triple C and a desire to spend way too much money on books than my teacher salary allows.

Charlotte gave a cheerful, “Welcome!” from behind the dark wood counter near the center of the bookshop. I’ve always been attracted to people that read, and I was entranced by her smiling blue eyes, golden-brown waves, and curvaceous body.

I immediately bought two books, Iron Widow by Xiran Jay Zhao and The Measure by Nikki Erlick, and read them both. I came back two weeks later, once my paycheck hit, and bought Parable of the Sower by Octavia E. Butler. I’ve repeated the routine biweekly since then, building the courage to finally talk to the beautiful woman selling me books.

She’s always nice, and she seems like she enjoys my company. So much that every time I see her, I wonder if perhaps she feels similar. I’ve wanted to ask, but every time I open my mouth I wonder if she’s just polite and has great customer service skills. And I don’t want to be that guy.

I have the social skills of a platypus.