Subway Girl Ch. 07

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The subway was full and we had to stand. I couldn't tell if Alicia was rubbing her butt into me on purpose or by accident, but either way I liked it. It seemed odd that our relationship had so much to do with the subway station, but this was the first time we actually rode the subway together. On weekdays the cars were loaded with professionals, but today the crowd included three guys who had already started partying and were being loud and obnoxious. I started feeling really protective of Alicia, thinking about how much time she spends on the subway alone and walking around by herself. I was wishing I could be there to protect her all the time, although logically I knew she got along just fine before she met me.

When we got to the library, I didn't see William. It would make sense that he wouldn't work on Saturdays, so I returned my book and asked where I could find The Buffalo Hunter, the book Flower Girl was reading. I did not notice who the author was or I could have found it myself. The girl acted put out at my question and said I could use one of the help computers to find it. She'd never be as popular as William, even though she was pretty.

Alicia was sitting at a table and I sat across from her as I started reading. I usually know on the first page if I am going to like a book and this one grabbed me right from the start. I'd be content reading for hours, but Alicia's homework must not have been as interesting as my book because after a few minutes she slipped a piece of paper across the table at me and it said, "Stop it! You're distracting me."

I tried shrugging my shoulders and raising my hands in the air as if to say, "What?" But she wasn't looking at me, so I picked up her pen and wrote back, "I'm not doing anything."

Alicia smiled and didn't look up, but wrote back, "You are too. You must be releasing pheromones. I can't even think straight. I want to crawl on your lap and kiss you."

Damn, she was hot. A little ball of hot passion packaged in a girl-next-door look, talking about seducing me in the library. I couldn't stand up now even if I wanted to, not after that reminder of her sitting on my lap. I did some long division in my head before writing her back.

"I am going to go sit in a chair by the window for one hour. I want you to do as much homework as you can during that time. Then I am going to pull you into the book stacks and kiss you. But not before then, so quit distracting me." I pushed the note to her and went and sat down by the window. That girl had better not get a "B" and blame it on me.

I was really into The Buffalo Hunter and didn't notice when William came and sat across from me. "Hello, Raymond, what a splendid evening for reading, much like all others. May I?" He held out his hand to have a look at my book.

I handed it to him and he said, "Hmmm, this author tends to favor the horror genre."

"This one isn't horror, although the guy is a bit creepy. And it takes place in Manhattan."

Both eyebrows arched up as William studied the book cover. He was wearing a nice dark suit and light shirt, but no tie.

"Do you have to dress up for work on Saturdays?"

"Oh, I'm not working today. I am meeting a date before whisking her off to the theater."

"Oh yeah, I almost forgot it's a Saturday night. I'm here with my girlfriend. She has to study."

I nodded towards Alicia, who was already looking at us, and I waved.

"Ah, and a vision of loveliness she is. Please make the introductions." We walked over to Alicia and I whispered in a library voice, "This is my friend William I told you about. William, this is Alicia."

He shook her hand but did not let go. Instead he sat down across from her still holding her hand in both of his and never stopped looking her in the eyes. Damn, this guy was intense. He asked her what she was studying and Alicia told him she was working on getting her CPA. They spoke in hushed tones about school stuff that wasn't really that interesting to me, but it was their body language that was starting to irritate the hell out of me. William had his face too close to her and Alicia was smiling and looking shy like she looked at me, then she did that thing where she puts her hand over her mouth to hide her smile and I felt like my blood was about to boil! At that point William released her hand, and looking at me whispered loudly enough for her to hear, "What a treasure you have here, Raymond. I thought you were being effusive, but she is every bit as lovely as you described."

Then he said goodbye and Alicia was smiling and I don't know what kind of voodoo shit he pulled with his words because I was sure I had never mentioned Alicia to him, and I definitely hadn't described her. I gave my head a fast vigorous shake, as if to clear my thoughts and Alicia whispered, "Wow. You were right about him. He is intense and interesting."

"Yeah, women love him," I concurred dryly.

"Well, I prefer my bookworms to be a little more masculine. You know, guys that maybe play soccer, work construction, and have voracious appetites."

"Oh, you do, do you?" My mood rollercoaster was already back on the upswing. "That type of bookworm is very rare, you know."

"I do know that. I got pretty lucky. Has it been an hour yet?"

"Close enough," I answered, then led her into the book stacks for a sneaky make-out session before the next study hour.

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When we left the library, Alicia was hungry and asked if I liked Pho. I admitted I didn't know what that was and she said she was about to share one of her favorite things with me. We went to this tiny place near the library. Who knew a girl could get so excited about a bowl of broth with some noodles? It was pretty good, but I would have left hungry if she hadn't suggested I get something called "shabu" as well. Shabu is meat cut really thin, but tasty. The food was cheap and spicy and we both enjoyed it.

We got off the subway at the station where we met and I walked Alicia home. I really didn't have any expectation about what would happen next. It was a busy day and a beautiful night, the stars were out and I was happy to be walking hand in hand with my girlfriend.

She didn't invite me in. Instead we kissed on the stoop and then she told me she had to study all day on Sunday for a big test she had on Monday morning, but after that she could relax. She asked if I could come over again on Monday night.

"Are you going to try to seduce me with your home cooking again?" I teased her.

"I might," she teased back. "Maybe you should bring condoms instead of flowers this time," and she winked at me as she said goodnight. I stood there stunned staring at the door for a few seconds. Did I just imagine it or did Alicia really say to bring condoms instead of flowers? Was she joking? Either way, I knew I would bring them. Hell, I might bring flowers too.