Shifter City: The Bookstore Girl

"The recent streak of violent burglaries in the city of Oak Grove continued today. Hartman's Grocery was robbed by force early this morning. Three men in hoods entered the small grocery, gathered the customers and Mr. Hartman, and forced them into a deep freezer. But not before viciously attacking one of the customers who tried to resist. The men then proceeded to empty the cash drawer and safe, which was holding the previous day's earnings of six thousand dollars. The men have so far evaded custody, but police are on the case. In the meantime, Chief Martin Brooks advises all store owners and citizens in general to be a little more vigilant."

The small bell above the door rang and Cori stirred from her morning drowsiness. She muted the small television and stepped out of the back office. The smell of books greeted her once again. "Good morning," she called. "Can I help you find anything?"

A tall man with broad shoulders smiled back at her from the near the door. He looked bewildered, as though he'd been dropped into the bookstore unexpectedly. Cori was slightly flustered as well. The man's figure was quite striking, silhouetted by the morning sun coming in from the front windows. Tall and broad, he rippled with muscle as he looked through the different books. As he stepped further into the store, she a scruffy face with sun baked skin and stark green eyes. Though she couldn't see the man being any older than thirty, his cropped hair had streaks of gray through the top and around the temples. He wore a tight fitting knit shirt and a pair of worn jeans which did an excellent job of drawing attention to his ass, whether that was his intent or not. The man smiled nervously as he made his way through the shelves, "I think so, yes. I'm looking for a book of short stories by William Faulkner."

Cori stepped from behind the counter and made her way over to the fiction section. She beckoned the man to follow. "Forgive me for saying this, but you don't really look the type to be interested in Faulkner."

The man rolled his head from side to side in blushing embarrassment, "Yeah, it's on my list."

"List?" He slid his hand into his pocket and Cori bit her lip as she watched. She didn't know what was wrong with her, but she would have given anything to be the one reaching into that pocket. The man pulled out a folded and crumpled piece of paper and handed it over to Cori. A few of the titles, mostly the short story collections, were crossed out. The others works could be found on any top one hundred list for readers. "These are the one's you've read? Love in the Time of Cholera? Jane Eyer?"

"Sure," he said, somewhat boastfully. He stepped closer to her and she could feel the heat radiating off his body. After a quick search, Cori plucked a copy of Faulkner's short stories from the shelf and handed it to the man. He flipped through it until he realized Cori was still staring at him. "Um, I'll take it."

"Oh, right, sorry," she stammered. She went over to the register and he followed. As she started to ring up the book, her curiosity got the better of her. "I don't want to be rude, but I have to wonder. Why are you reading all those?"

"Yeah, it's a little weird right," he admitted. "It's my dad, actually. I didn't get to go to college, so he wants me to read a bunch instead. I don't get it, but he thinks it's best. I like them though. Gives me something to do when I'm hanging around at work."

"What kind of work do you do?"

"Construction, mostly."

"Mostly?"

"Yeah, I do a little contracting work on the side. Say, mind if I ask your name?"

"I'm Cori."

"Nice to meet you, Cori. I'm Andrew. I gotta say, you're a lot nicer than the people at those other stores. I usually just go into one of the big chain stores on the other side of town, but we're working over here this week and I noticed your sign."

"I'm glad you did," she replied. Cori had never flirted with a man a day in her life, but this man, with his perfect physique, startling green eyes, and strange interest in literature seemed like a gift sent from the gods.

Andrew grinned at her, "I, uh, I'm a pretty fast reader. I might need to stop back by sometime this week, pick up something else."

"I"ll be here. Enjoy the book." She handed the bag over to him. As he took it, his hand brushed against hers intentionally and he smiled.

"Say, you know any good places to eat around here?"

"Marco's down the street is good. Sandwich place."

"Do you want to have lunch with me?" Despite her attempts to get him to notice her, actually being asked out came as a tremendous surprise. After she didn't respond for a while, his confidence faltered. "I mean, if you can't make it, I understand."

"No, that's...I mean, yes, I'll have lunch with you. I can close up about 12:30, say we meet at 12:45?"

Andrew nodded enthusiastically. "I'll see you there."

Cori watched Andrew leave the bookstore, making no attempts to be discreet in her admiration of his body. His invitation to lunch had started her heart pounding and it had not slowed since. Once he was out of sight, the heady daze that had seized her the second he walked in abated. Immediately, she felt a new anxiety. Guys like Andrew don't pay attention to girls like me. She drummed her fingers on the counter for a few minutes before going back to the office. She looked at herself in a small mirror that hung beside the office door. She'd never made much of an effort to subdue the mousy nature of her appearance. Even when she'd dated guys, she didn't think her appearance was much of a factor. Cori did not think herself lacking in any good qualities. For her entire life, she'd loved two aspects of her appearance while willfully ignoring the rest. She loved her eyes and spent an almost egregious amount makeup to enhance their appearance. In her daydreams, it was always her eyes that ensnared her future husband, and she hoped that Andrew had been no different. His eyes had certainly jumped out at her.

She turned around in the mirror, frowning at her choice of wardrobe for the day. The other feature of her body that she felt proud of was her butt. She'd actually enjoyed a brief period of attention in high school when her lower half developed before her peers upper halves. Once the boob fairy showed up, and somewhat skipped over Cori, all the boys stopped giving her the second glance. Cori tried to think back to when Andrew had stopped being a customer and started being a guy interested in her. Was it when she turned around? Or had it been her eyes? After a moment's thought, she honestly didn't care which.

The morning dragged by and Cori thought of little other than her lunch date with Andrew. All her life she had been prone to daydream. The tendency to let her mind wander drew her to literature in the first place. She dabbled at being a writer, but found that she preferred to live out the stories written by others than trouble herself to write her own. She imagined sitting across from Andrew in a cozy, dark bar, the haze of smoke swirling around their heads while soft music played from an old juke box in the corner. She would reach out and touch his hand and run her fingertips along the length of this forearm. He would reach over and pull her chair closer, bringing her within radius of his body heat and masculine scent. She would lean into his chest and his arm would wrap around her. Their hands would cross paths underneath the table as each reached out for other's leg. His strong hand would slide against her thigh as fingertips crept slowly towards her sex.

The bell dinged and Cori's daytime fantasies dissipated as a little old woman tottered into the store. A few more customers came and went. Cori pretended to read or attempted to tidy up the shelves when the store was empty, but mostly she watched the clock and thought about putting her hands against Andrew's bare chest. When the time finally came, she locked up the store, spent a few minutes in the bathroom making herself a little more presentable, and then headed out the back. Marco's was a short walk away and Cori made it in record time, her nerves driving her to a quicker pace than usual. As she approached, she saw several burly men all dressed in similarly entering the small sandwich shop and Andrew among them. She had hoped to have time with Andrew to herself and was slightly insulted that he would invite along his whole work crew. She considered going back to her shop and having her planned lunch of chicken salad, but she figured that Andrew's workmates could help to break the ice.

"There she is!" Andrew called out as Cori stepped through the door. He was sitting at a small table near the front windows, the other construction workers had dispersed through the restaurant. Andrew hopped to his feet as she came in, pulling her chair out for her. "I've actually spent all morning wondering if you'd show up."

As she sat down, the feeling of preternatural attraction returned. Maybe it was a cologne he was wearing or something about the shape of his jaw, but Cori couldn't deny that he was almost magnetic. "Why wouldn't I?"

Andrew shrugged, "I don't have a lot of luck with women."

"I find that hard to believe." She more than found it hard to believe. She had to choke back an incredulous laugh at the idea that someone who looked like Andrew would have trouble finding a date.

"Ok, let's say you didn't meet me in your bookstore. Let's say you and I met at a bar after about three drinks. I meet girls like that. They're not much interested in having lunch. You saw me fumbling around looking for something on my reading list. Starts us off in a different place, I hope."

"What bars do you go to?" Something about the idea of Andrew picking up women and sending them off without breakfast the next morning needled at her. She'd barely spent thirty minutes with the man and had no right to be jealous. Even so, she knew jealousy when she felt it.

"I don't. Not much anyway, maybe for one of the guy's birthdays, but I don't have time for that kind of thing. I mean, like Billy over there, the one in the hat, he loves the bars. Comes home with a different girl every night. Like a wild dog. Dad doesn't mind it so much since he's, well he's Billy."

The waitress arrived and they placed an order. While Andrew perused the menu, Cori took a better look at Billy and the other men who had come in with Andrew. They were all enormous. Billy, in fact, seemed to be the smallest and he was likely six feet tall. None of them had so much as an ounce of fat on them. A few wore safety vests, but beneath that they all had on similar tight fitting shirts which showed off their muscular torsos. As she scanned from one to the next, she realized they were all staring at her as well. Green eyes would dart away from her as she turned her head slightly. The waitress moved off and Cori turned back to Andrew, "You mentioned your dad again..."

"Again?"

"Yeah, he gave you the list right?"

"Sure."

"And then you said he doesn't mind what Billy does. Is that your brother? He looks a lot like you."

Andrew laughed and smiled broadly. "No, we're not brothers. More like a cousin. It's a family business. Dad kind of looks after everyone."

"You mean, you're related to all of them?" She gestured towards the construction workers who were being very obvious about pretending to not be interested in Cori and Andrew.

"Well, yeah. Guess the cat's out of the bag on this one. C'mon boys, introduce yourselves." At his word, they all leapt from the table and formed a general line around the table. As they stepped up, they shook Cori's hand and flashed her broad smiles. Each of them, even Billy, had their own allure, but none quite so compelling as Andrew. He introduced them as they stepped up. "This is Carter and Caleb, they're twins and my first cousins on my mom's side. That's Eric, he's Caleb's mom's sister's son. Uh, Greg and Tim are second cousins to me. That's Billy, he's my uncle Paul's youngest." He rattled them off with increasingly obscure familiar connections while Cori tried to take in all of their perfect bodies. Any one of them could outclass a top tier underwear model and here they were in Marco's sandwich shop standing in a line to meet her. As she shook hands with the last one, Andrew waved them all off, "Now you've met her, go eat your fucking lunches and quit gawking."

"Quite the close family." Cori didn't know what else to say.

"That was a bit weird, right? See, I didn't want them to come, but if I didn't bring them they would stood across the street making faces and jumping up and down like hooligans. They like to look after me is all."

"I think it's nice. You don't see big families much any more. Everyone's so disconnected these days. Or Facebook connected at best."

"What about you? Got any family? What's your story?"

Cori gave the other men one last look. They were all no longer even slightly interested in anything other than their meals. She finally felt like she had some privacy. "No siblings. Some cousins I don't talk to much. Parents live over in Carlstown. Probably don't visit them as much as I should."

"How'd you end up owning a bookstore in Oak Grove?"

The waitress returned with their food. Andrew had ordered something that could only be called a meat sandwich. It dwarfed Cori's club. He took a tremendous bite out of it, smearing sauce across his cheek. Cori leaned forward in her seat, fully intending to lick his face clean, but stopped before he noticed. What's wrong with me? "My grandmother left me the money. I was in town visiting a friend and saw we wound up talking to the owner through sheer coincidence. A few months later, I was the owner of a small retail outlet in a dying industry."

Their conversation meandered into the mundane pleasantries of first dates. They talked about their first jobs and exchanged horror stories of working in restaurants. Cori explained about growing up in Carlstown. Andrew talked about Oak Grove and the various exploits he and the other half dozen men had gotten into growing up. Cori laughed at his stories and found herself staring into his eyes more and more. The more he talked about a life in his community, the more appealing it sounded. Andrew and his friends went out together, went to work in the morning together, and ate most meals together. She wouldn't have been surprised to learn they slept in some elaborate system of bunk beds.

"Can I ask you something?" Andrew asked, bringing the conversation to a sudden halt. "How come you just went off and bought a bookstore? Didn't your parents want you to do something? Did you have any desire to follow in their footsteps?"

Cori considered the question. "My parents were teachers, so being a bookstore owner is slightly related to that. My parents just wanted me to be happy and supported me to make my own choices. Why do you ask?"

Andrew nervously looked out across the restaurant. "My dad's sort of a stickler. Doesn't want me to take over the...company until I've proved that I can handle it. Other things too. He thinks that territory is still the law of the land."

"In construction?" Cori asked, slightly confused.

"Yeah, construction. I think a little differently is all. Hey, it's getting late. We need to get back to the site. Want me to walk you back to your shop?"

Cori looked at the time. "Oh, shit. I should have opened back up twenty minutes ago. No, don't worry about walking me back if you're late. I'll need to hurry anyway."

"So, can I see you again?"

Cori could not hold back a smile. "Yes, of course. I'd like that."

"How about tonight?"

They quickly made plans to meet at her shop and then go out for a drink. Cori walked back to her store entirely elated. She almost danced inside as she saw her visions of a perfect evening with Andrew coming true. She unlocked the store and took her position behind the register. She looked at the clock and sighed.

The day dragged on. Few people were out shopping in the afternoon heat. Cori turned to work, doing a mindless inventory, to help distract her from the slow crawl of time. It worked more than she thought it would and closing time actually surprised her. A quiet tap at the front door drew her attention. Andrew waved from the other side. "Sorry am I early?" he asked as he stepped inside.

"No, I just lost track of time. Gimme just a minute to grab my things and close up." He looked even better in the fading afternoon light. Andrew seemed to exude a light all his own and the persistent smell that made Cori so senseless was stronger.

She tried not to think about it as she went to the back of the shop. As she gathered her things, a noise at the office door drew her attention. Andrew smiled. "Should I not come back here?"

"No, it's fine." The room was small and his scent almost overpowering.

"Cori, I don't want to take things too fast for you, but I haven't stopped thinking about you all day. I dropped a hammer on Carter's head because I was too busy imagining my lips on your skin. Can I kiss you?"

She didn't answer. Instead she leaned in slightly and Andrew took control. His hands went to her hips as they kissed. It was light and sweet for a moment and then they both sensed the other's primal need. Cori's hands went to his back, running over the hard muscle as Andrew's dropped to her hips. Their kisses became passionate and frantic. He pulled away long enough to look around for a clear space. Not wanting to be parted from him a moment longer, Cori swept everything from her desk and pulled him towards it. His hot lips pressed against hers once again, but she needed more.

He lifted her up with ease. Andrew's strength frightened her slightly as he dropped her on top of the desk. With such ease, he could toss her aside, but then a gentle touch returned as his hands slid underneath her shirt and his rough fingers moved across her stomach. Her fingers went to the hem of his shirt and pulled it away. She barely suppressed a gasp as her eyes saw his muscled, tan chest. Placing her hand on his heart, she could feel the throb of his quickened blood. She knew he was being patient. She could sense a mad desire to tear away her clothes and take his fill of her. Andrew growled, a deep rumbling noise in his chest. She did not intend to keep him waiting long.

She took off her own shirt and bra. Her small breasts came into view. Tentatively, his hands moved up from her hips. He lavished kisses upon her face and neck as his hands started to grope her body. The feeling of his hands cupping her breasts drove her wild. She wrapped her legs around his hips, pulling him closer to her. As he nuzzled into her neck, she whispered into his ear, "I want you inside me."

Andrew responded with a grunt. His hands moved down to her jeans and deftly unbuttoned them. In a swift motion, he had them off her and tossed to the floor. His body grew hotter and hotter. He paused before undressing himself to take her face in his hands. She loved the feeling of his strength so carefully moving down her chin and neck. To be so strong, yet touch with such delicacy was a marvel to her. She had given herself to him completely and yet he waited. He held back whatever mad desire possessed him long enough to make her feel how much he wanted her. She reached out and unfastened his pants. Cori pulled them down over his firm butt, leaving him standing in her office in his knit boxer briefs. Once again, he stopped her to plant a long passionate kiss on her lips.

His fingers hooked into the band of her thong. She raised her legs up as he pulled the thin garment away. Andrew knelt down between her legs, inhaling the scent of her sex. His lips left burning kisses on the inside of her thighs as he positioned himself. He pushed her legs onto his shoulders and wrapped his arm around her ass, pulling her closer to him. Cori shuddered and leaned back, squirming with anticipation for his touch. When it finally came, her body trembled in excitement. She felt his tongue press against her folds, delving into her womanhood with consistent long strokes. With his free hand, he slid a finger along her opening in rhythm with his tongue until he pushed two fingers inside of her. She moaned and pressed her legs against the side of his head as her back arched. A deep tension started to build at her core and her drove her closer and closer to the edge with each lick. "Oh, Andrew!" she cried out. Her thighs squeezed harder and her hand went to his hair. The silky locks intertwined in her fingers as she pushed his face hard into her pussy. The wave of pleasure subsided, but more awaited.