Confidence

Chapter 1 "The bookstore"

The golden light of a Saturday evening illuminated the books on the shelf, it casted shades here and there and spread across the cafe tables. The display rack had nothing but croissant crumbs and oil stains on the thin white parchment paper. The sound of the soft jazz music from the speakers on the ceiling came out louder now then it did when it was lunch time, and the bustling voice took over. And then the bell on top of the glass door rang, signaling there was a customer. As the door swung open, Julia Jones stepped into the store. Despite her aching back and her uncomfortably high heels she was ecstatic to be in such a place. A place that was stained with the smell of espresso and croissants. A place that set her mind at ease in sight of all the literature she could indulge in. A place where she could temporarily forget her troubles. A peaceful place. A place she considers herself lucky to have overheard her co-workers talking about.

This place was a lot more than just aesthetically pleasing. On the left were shelves upon shelves of books and on the right there were a few tables with napkins, sugar and creamers. A bookstore cafe. She smiles like a goofy idiot as she glances at the books. Then she snaps her attention to the only other person in the store. A man who looked to be in his mid twenties. His nose was in a book and his attention was only given to her when he closed it. Perhaps he's the book clerk.

"Good evening, Miss," he said, pushing his black glasses further up the bridge of his nose. Julia gives him an awkward glance and mumbles a quiet "hello..." She begged for the encounter to end with that awkward exchange of words but sadly that's not really how society works these days. The book clerk gives her a gentle smile, "I'm sorry but we closed two minutes ago. I was just about to lock the doors." Julia began to fidget her fingers and let out a long sigh. "That's...too bad" she mumbled, a little more painful than she was trying to. To think she couldn't enjoy the one thing that kept her going this week. She reached for the door but not quite opening it before the clerk called out to her, " If you know what you want I'm willing to wait a couple of minutes." She turns around with the biggest smile she'd made in a long time. He began to head over to the cafe counter. "So what do you want to order?" he asked. "Um...I actually came here to buy a book." Julia whispered. The clerk stops in his tracks and turns around to look at her. Her infectious smile spread on his face too. "Not many people come for the books..." He lets out a lighthearted laugh, "feel free to roam." And she did just that.

Julia trails her finger tips against the spines of books. She searches through the maze of literature, furrowing her eyebrows at nearly every title. When she'd find a certain title with a fancy font, she'd pick it up, read the inside cover and put it back with a disappointed pout. She cringed at how many times she picked up a book about some ghost girl haunting this mansion and some dumb teenagers deciding to check it out. Or about some creepy urban legend and unsolved mysteries."Where are they?" she whispered. Her focus is so absorbed by her search she does not notice his watchful gaze. "Is there a book you are looking for in particular?" he whispers near her ear. His chest lightly grazed her back and his body nearly towering over her. She lets out a yelp and flinches which shakes her body and throws her off balance. She tries to catch herself but the throbbing pain of her heels causes her to stumble back, slamming her body into something sturdy. "Miss, are you alright?" The book clerk asked. His hands gripped on her shoulders, holding her stead. He felt her tense up and he takes a step back and apologizes for startling her.

Julia let out a sigh and took a step away from him. "I'm really sorry about that!" her face was flushed red. She thought she was getting used to the pain of her heels against her ankles but it seemed she was mistaken. Her eyes stared away from him. "I was looking for your...romance novels" she blushed. His face spoke for him, 'you didn't seem like the type', is what it said. But he still gave her his kind smile and pushed his glasses up again. "You're in luck, we happen to have quite a few of them. " he said," i happen to be a big romance fan so naturally my store would have many of them." Julia looked surprised, he didn't seem like the type. With a piqued interest she stared at the back of his head as he led her to the shelves. And in her mind she ran his profile

His black glasses, that were obviously far too big for his face, often slipped down and made him look immature. But despite that his structure was strong and sturdy. She took the liberty of accidentally feeling him up when she stumbled back into his broad chest. And it was obvious he had hit the gym a couple of times but that wasn't really drawn out because of his geeky presence. His fluffy black hair hid most of his face like a curtain. Looking at him now he was similar to a fluffy black sheep.

The clerk led Julia two shelfs back ," I will be at the register so you may bring your books up to me when you are done." The clerk said but stopped when Julia tugged on the sleeve of his black button up. "Do you...have any recommendation" Julia's gaze still had not reached his but that was alright. He could still communicate perfectly fine without seeing her face properly. The clerk looked up at the bookshelf and shook his sheepish locks out of his face. With it out of the way Julia could see a bit more of his face. He certainly had the jawline of a model or maybe just some weirdo who chews gum for a living. Pick your poison. He pulled out three books and handed them to her. "These two are a bit steamy but beautifully written and this one is heartfelt in case that's more your style." He informed and led her to the register. As she walked along the book she replayed his words just once. Did she look like the type who would read steamy romance novels? She really hoped it wasn't that obvious.

The clerk handed Julia the plastic bag of books and she grabbed them and strode to the door but before leaving she turned her head, looked the clerk in the eyes and smiled, "Thank you very much for your time." Then the bell on top of the glass door jangled once more and he watched her walk away through the wide cafe window.

MrsCAUSEwhyNOT: Hi hey hello my lovelies! Just wanted to announce my new story! It's a lot different from the other stories I used to have but it's good nonetheless (to me anyways).