Bookstore Girl

I'm a reader and I like real books. You can keep your ebooks and such, just give me a hardback or paperback book and I'm happy. So call me a Luddite (Google it), I don't care. I like the feel of a book in my hands. I like having bookshelves that are full of books, some of which I've read once, others many times, and a few which I still plan to read.

I'm Maeve, (one syllable pronounced Mave, rhyming with save), 25 years old working as a contract worker on tech jobs. I like reading all sorts of things, including tackling Chaucer in Middle English. (FWIW Shakespeare is considered modern English, though it seems archaic to many.) I had a volume that had Canterbury Tales in modern English on one side and Middle English on the other.

I'd read a sentence in the Middle English, then in modern English until I got it well enough to stick with Middle English apart from a word here and there. So call me a nerd too, that's fine. I did try tackling James Joyce, but didn't get him at all, so maybe I'm not as nerdy as some. At any rate, I was in a bookstore, one of my favorite places, looking at books.

I noticed they had a new clerk in that store, or at least one I hadn't seen before. She was early 20s, with light brown hair, straight, and not quite reaching her shoulders. Her hair framed her face nicely, and she had a cute face, not gorgeous, more girl next door type, and a warm smile that would not stop. She had a medium build, maybe a touch slim.

I won't say she was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen, but there was something about her which captivated me. Maybe it was the sweet smile, I don't know, but there was something about her which was unlike anyone else I'd seen or dated. Yes, I date women, there's nothing wrong with men, they just don't make me feel warm inside like a woman does.

I found myself staring at this woman, when she turned her head, saw me, then tilted her head slightly to one side and her smile seemed just a little broader. I was shocked, but smiled back, than looked away, embarrassed at being caught staring at her. I resumed browsing at books, but could not help but think about this woman.

I found a book by Stephen Jay Gould that interested me, and another by Joseph Stiglitz, then found an interesting book on Buddhism. As I went to pay for them, I wondered what the new clerk would think of someone buying books on biology, economics, and religion, all at the same time. Should I have tried to get something really erudite to try to impress her? Who knows?

Though they had two cashiers, she was the one to help me, not that I minded at all. She had a name tag with the name Zooey, which is a slightly unusual spelling of that name. She looked at the books I was buying, then looked at me and smiled.

"Are these all for you?"

"I have eclectic reading tastes."

"There's nothing wrong with that."

"Your name is Zooey?"

"My mother loved the book by Salinger, Franny and Zooey."

"I thought in that book, that Zooey was male."

"Yeah but it's close to the female name Zoe, and she didn't want to name me Franny."

"Well there certainly aren't many Zooeys, and even fewer spelt like that."

"Spelt huh? A bit of an Anglophile, maybe?"

"Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"So you know my name, what's yours?"

"An Irish name, Maeve."

Zooey looked at me, smiled, and leaned forward very slightly. "So are you 'she who intoxicates' or 'she who rules'?"

"I guess that depends on who I'm with."

"So who are you with, if you don't mind my asking?"

"You, at the moment, but no one apart from that."

"That seems a shame."

"But I'm open to possibilities."

"Do tell."

"And who are you with, Zooey? Miss 'life' herself."

"I've had boyfriends and girlfriends in the past, but no one at present."

"So you're a switch hitter?"

"Nothing wrong with that, is there?"

"I suppose 'life' should be open to all possibilities."

"So which way do you bat, Maeve?"

"Let's just say, it was no accident that I was staring at you earlier."

"Well, I see."

'So Zooey, do you have a break anytime soon, or do they not let you consort with customers?"

"I consort with who I wish, but sadly I've had my afternoon break."

"C'est dommage."

"Mais, oui."

"Perhaps after work?"

"After work, my mother is expecting me for dinner, and I don't think she'd welcome a plus one."

"Maybe some other time then. I'm in here regularly."

"Till then."

By then Zooey had rung up my purchases and bagged then, and there were people in line waiting. After I left, it occurred to me that I should have asked her for her phone number. The second clerk had gone to help a customer find something and there were four people waiting to be checked out so I knew I should not slow things down, besides I knew I had to work on my current project.

I was doing some clean up on a project, mostly documentation, though there were some minor fixes as well. I had another project that the client was in a hurry for, so I needed to wrap this up so I could start the new one. I get very focused on my work and the rest of the world just disappears. After a while, my stomach told me that I needed to eat some dinner.

I do a very little bit of real cooking, but mostly keep it simple. I cooked some pasta, then nuked some alfredo sauce with chicken and a few frozen mushrooms and peas. It doesn't take long nor much real work but can be tasty and filling. Plus it's better than constantly getting take-out or eating out by myself. Frankly it's faster than going to get something, and cheaper too, plus probably better for me.

After I ate, I relaxed a bit and found myself thinking about my book store girl, Zooey. She said she was also into women, and managed to keep up with my obscure nonsense, even throwing in a little of her own. Besides, she was pretty clearly flirting with me, much as I was with her. I really regretted not getting her number while I had the chance.

Given my work backlog, it might be a few days before I could get back to the bookstore. I was half afraid she'd either think I was not interested in her, or that I was playing games with her. Neither of those was particularly good for me, not that I thought I was looking at some forever thing anyhow. Still I'd rather not ruin my chances before I ever really got a start.

As I said, I tend to bury myself in my work, but anytime I came up for air, I found myself thinking about Zooey. I like women anyhow, but she really had captured my interest much more than most did. I felt like she was interested in me too, but could not break from work to get to the book store. It was probably three days later before I made myself take a break to go back.

I walked in and looked around and saw two other clerks, but not Zooey. I wondered if maybe she was in back or doing something elsewhere in the store. I spent half an hour wandering around but saw no sign of Zooey. I was tempted to ask one of the clerks when Zooey was scheduled to work, but first that was too much like stalking, and second, they seemed to be busy any time I wandered up that way.

I was disappointed and went back home without buying anything, which may have been the first time I ever left a bookstore without buying a book. I went out and searched social media for Zooey and came up with lots of references to Zooey Deschanel, but not much else, and nothing I could tie to my Zooey. Funny, I was already thinking of her as mine and I'd never done more than flirt with her for a few minutes.

I went home and buried myself in my work again. I wondered if Zooey had tried to find me, though given how popular my name is in Ireland there are a ton of Maeves out there. At any rate I was up to my ears in it for the next few days. I barely had time to begin to read the books I had bought the other day. A few days later, I made myself take a break to go back to the book store.

When I walked in, I looked at the cashiers, and neither one was Zooey. My heart dropped, but I wandered through the store in a depressed daze until I rounded a corner and found myself face to face with her. She gave me a smirky smile before speaking.

"Can I help you find anything, ma'am?"

"I came here looking for something special."

"And what might that be?"

"Well, I think I might have just found something special."

"So special, it took you a week to come back here?"

"I was in here a few days ago, but didn't see you."

"A likely story."

"It's true. I wouldn't lie about that."

"What would you lie about?"

"I -- uh -- wouldn't lie to you."

"But you just implied that you would."

"That wasn't what I meant."

"So what did you mean?"

"I should have asked for your phone number the last time I was here."

"Now I suppose you think I should give it to you?"

"How about if I give you mine?"

I pulled out a business card with my phone number and gave it to her. She took it and looked at it for a minute before speaking.

"Maeve Connor -- and you do contract programming."

"I've been working on a couple of projects with tight deadlines, but I paused to see if I could find you again."

"So you took time from your busy schedule to come see me."

"I thought about you a lot and came in three days ago in the late afternoon, but you weren't here.

"That was my day off, but Claudia told me the woman I'd been flirting with came in and looked like a lost puppy while wandering around the place."

"So you knew I was here?"

"Yeah, but I wanted to make you sweat a little bit."

"So will you give me your phone number?"

"I'll text you at your number, but you better not wait a week to get back with me again."

"Why wait? Are you free for dinner tonight?"

"I have to work tonight."

"Maybe tomorrow then?"

"Are you really sure that's what you want?"

"Absolutely. Lorenzo's at 7 pm. You can meet me there, or I'll pick you up wherever you say."

"Is that a date? And are you paying?"

"Yes, and yes, unless you object to either."

"I'll meet you there, but after I text you, text me the address and confirm the time."

"I'll certainly do that."

"I don't accept dates from strange women, but you're only moderately strange."

"I don't ask strange women for dates, but in your case, I'll make an exception."

"Touche."

She smiled and walked off, and had a sexy wiggle as she did. When she was about 30 feet away, she paused and looked back to see if I was still looking at her. She smiled and went back into the stockroom. I was half tempted to follow her, though there was a sign saying 'employees only'. There was a spring in my step as I left the store, and halfway to my car, I had a text from her.

I created a contact and saved her number. I googled the address of Lorenzo's and texted it back to her with the time as 7pm, then called the restaurant and made a reservation for two. I didn't really mind that she'd busted my chops over taking so long to see her again. Frankly, I felt bad about having taken so long. At least now I had a date with her.

I drove home to get back to work, but my heart was still in the book store. I think I whistled happy tunes the whole way home. As I said, I pour myself into my work, but any time I came up for air, Zooey was on my mind. In spite of that, or maybe because of that, I think I was even more productive than normal. I made great progress on my project that day and the next.

As my work day drew to its close, I began to think about how I should dress for my date with Zooey. I never wear skirts or dresses, always slacks or jeans. Did I want dressy jeans or nice slacks? I decided the jeans were a sign that I was not taking the date so seriously, so I opted for nice slacks, with a nice top and some flats.

I arrived at the restaurant ten minutes early and as I walked in, I saw Zooey sitting at the bar. She wore a cute skirt, just above the knee, along with a nice top and heels. She had a glass of white wine and was taking a sip as I walked up to her. She heard me approach and turned around, then smiled when she saw it was me.

"Getting a head start on me."

"You know how first dates can be."

"Have you paid for that?"

"Not yet."

I pulled out my credit card and waved it at the bartender. He asked if I wanted anything, and I told him we had a dinner reservation. I gave him a nice big tip then we went to the hostess to get out table. They were only about 2/3 full, so we'd have been okay even without a reservation. The waitress came over right away and I ordered a glass of white wine.

"I assume you've been here before, Maeve. What's good?"

"Nothing is bad, but the Veal Piccata is especially good."

"That's a possibility."

"Their seafood pasta is also excellent, with shrimp and scallops in a garlic butter sauce over angel hair pasta."

"Maybe I should order one and you the other and we can share both dishes."

"That sounds perfect."

They brought me my wine and we ordered our meals and began to relax.

"I saw you buy that book by Gould the other day, Maeve. Do you really buy all that evolution stuff?"

"Biology, archeology, and geology are all pretty much in agreement. There are thousands of fossils, which map out the range and extent of evolution. It's science, what can I say?"

"What about the Bible and Genesis?"

"I don't believe that was ever meant to be a scientific explanation for creation."

"But there's creation science."

"Which has no science whatsoever."

"But evolution is just a theory."

"A theory in science is different from nonscientific theories. Gravity is just a theory, so is relativity. They are explanations which have considerable evidence behind them. So-called creation theory has no evidence behind it. I'm surprised that someone as literate as you seem to be would accept something nonscientific."

"I accept evolution. I just like to play devil's advocate to feel people out."

"You scared me there for a moment."

About that time our food arrived and we shared our two dishes, both of which were excellent. I found myself thinking that Zooey, beyond busting my chops, also liked to pull my chain. I found myself a little concerned about that. We did talk further and she said she had just finished college as an English lit major, but wasn't interested in teaching school.

She was starting to do some editing and proofreading for hire, but wanted to become a writer. Working in the book store gave her a steady income while she worked on other things. She had published a few short stories online, but nothing that paid any money. She was considering writing a novel and trying to self publish it. It can be hard to get a publisher interested in your work.

Zooey was fascinating as well as having an air that I could not explain. Her eyes sparkled when she spoke, even when she was pulling my chain. She told me about a couple of her stories and I found them fascinating and wanted to know where I could read them. She gave me the site and the name she posted under and I told her I'd read some and we could discuss them.

"That's assuming I accept a second date with you." Zooey replied.

"That's assuming I ask you."

"Uh -- well, why wouldn't you?"

"I'm not generally masochistic."

"Masochistic?"

"I don't spend a lot of time with people who enjoy pulling my chain."

Zooey looked a little chagrinned. "I guess my sense of humor is a bit pointed."

"You think?"

"How can I make it up to you?"

"Since I'm buying you dinner, maybe you could make me dinner."

Zooey bit her lip. "I'm not much of a cook."

"Cook spaghetti, sauce from a jar, garlic bread from the store. Pretty easy."

"I'm sharing a place with three roommates."

"So you do it at my place."

"I -- I'm not sure I'm ready to go to your place."

"Just dinner -- nothing more."

"You swear?"

"Frequently."

Zooey laughed, but the laughter seemed to take the edge off her nervousness. Given that she's flirted with me in the book store, I was kind of surprised that she seemed nervous.

Zooey seemed calmer as she spoke. "I just -- "

"Grocery store near your shop -- spaghetti and a jar of sauce. If they don't have garlic bread ready made, get a jar of their garlic butter spread and some French bread. Both are in the bakery section. I'll have wine."

Zooey had a flirty pout. "Trying to get me drunk then."

"Not hardly. You need to be sober enough to drive home after dinner."

"So you don't want me to spend the night?"

"When I take a woman to bed, it's because she wants to be there. I don't think we're there yet."

"We'll have to see how dinner goes."

"If you say so."

"I'm not sure what you want, and I'm not sure you know what you want."

"So what do you want, Maeve?"

At that point we'd finished eating, had boxed up our leftovers, and I'd paid the bill, leaving a nice tip. We'd each had one glass of wine only, and I had a sip of mine left. I raised the glass and drank the last sip, before standing.

"A good night kiss, after we leave."

Zooey had a funny little squirm as she got up, then got herself together and grabbed the box with the rest of her meal. She held out her arm, so I took it and walked her out of the restaurant. As we got outside I looked around.

"Where is your car?"

"I got a ride share here."

"Okay."

"Could you maybe drop me off at my place, Maeve?"

"As long as I get that good night kiss when we get there."

Zooey had another funny little squirm. "I thought maybe you wanted one now."

I took her arm and walked her to my car. I unlocked it and opened the door for her. She turned and looked at me somewhat expectantly, and her lips opened slightly, as she leaned forward very subtly. Far be from me to turn down a chance to kiss a willing and attractive woman. I leaned forward and kissed her. We didn't kiss long but after her eyes were larger and she was breathing hard.

She sat down on the car seat. Instead of putting her knees together and swinging both legs in at the same time. She put one leg in at a time, which caused her short skirt to rise giving me a brief glimpse of a pair of lacy panties. I closed the door and walked around to the driver's side and got in. Zooey seemed to swing between flirty and hesitant.

As I drove, I came to the conclusion that she was somewhat bisexual but hadn't been with a woman, and was still somewhat uncertain about it. Of course it could also be another way of keeping me off balance, which she seemed to enjoy doing. She told me where she lived and I knew that area well enough to get there without directions.

She was in a building with four apartments, rather than an apartment complex. It was close to the college, and not far from the book store where she worked. She told me she had to work evenings for the next two days, so we settled on having her come over the day after that. She didn't have a car and asked if I could pick her up from the book store and take her to the grocery store.

I pulled into a parking place in front of her building. She turned to me and looked down before quietly speaking.

"You said you wanted a kiss when you dropped me off."

She leaned slightly toward me, lifted her head and looked at me. I gave her a kiss, more passionate than the one before she got in my car. I was surprised when she grabbed my head and pulled me tight and continued the kiss far longer than I'd have expected. She had another funny little squirm as she leaned back and unbuckled her seat belt.

I hopped out of the car and came around and opened her car door, then offered a hand to help her out of the car. Again she got one leg at a time out of the car, giving me another glimpse of her panties. I helped her stand and she smoothed down her skirt before giving me another kiss.

"I'm afraid with three roommates that I can't invite you in."

"Understood."

"I'll see you in a couple of days then."