No Strings Attached | ✓ 18+

thirty-one .ೃ࿐

The shop wasn't very busy today. It was a given, really. Who wants to go book shopping on a Friday afternoon when you could be leaving work early, cashing your cheques and then going bar hopping?

I would still want to go book shopping. But, I don't think that this is a universal thing.

The counters weren't very dirty, however I gave them a good wipe down before I went back to organizing a few books on their shelves once more. I was allowed to close early today, (at three o'clock, thanks to my wonderful manager—it's me, I'm the manager), since it was, in fact, a Friday and we were also supposed to get a ton of snow to add on to the snow that we already have.

I was just finishing up the very last shelf of books when the entrance bell rang, alerting me that someone had come inside. When I turned to see who it was, I couldn't help but grin like it was the first time I'd seen him all over again.

Clay and I had been together for three wonderful months now. I, officially, moved in as his girlfriend, (we share a bed now), which seems rather fast but in reality I was living with him for a long time before our relationship began anyways. I met his parents via a video-call, they were living in some exotic country, continuing to do their off-the-grid thing they'd started so long ago. They were lovely people, his mother was very outspoken and his dad spent the majority of the phone call staring at her instead of paying attention to us. It was rather sweet.

We also made the executive decision to buy two goldfish, (we did our research before this and decided that they would be happier if they lived in a pair), because fish were a bit easier than having a dog or a cat around the house constantly. We took turns cleaning the tank, and sometimes we did it together but that was a very rare occurrence, mostly because we both do it in very separate ways, so the way I do it drives him mad and vice-versa.

This evening, we'd be setting up the Christmas tree, (our first Christmas together!), and potentially going out for a drink. However, I had a strong feeling we wouldn't be leaving the house and that feeling as all the things to do with the sort of texts he'd been sending me all day...which I happily played along with.

The package he brought rested on the counter, (it was a much smaller one today, I'm going to assume it was one or two hardcovers that had been in heavy demand over the past few weeks that I finally gave in and ordered), and beside it was a small bouquet of assorted flowers.

"Hello, love," he grinned at me and I fell into his arms. He gently stroked up and down my back, in the way he knew I loved. He kissed the top of my head, bringing a warm tingling sensation to fill my entire body. "How was your day?"

"It was good," I replied, half of my face buried in his cold jacket. There was a light dusting of snowflakes resting on his shoulders, and the few that had melted into little water droplets slid silently off of his jacket and onto the floor. "How was yours?"

"Better now that I can see you," I could hear the smile in his voice as the blush rushed up to fill my cheeks.

It had been three months but yet it had felt like we'd just met all over again. You'd think that I'd gotten over these feelings by now, but yet I had not. I couldn't picture myself getting over these feelings for quite awhile, especially when he looked at me the way he was looking at me now.

As I slipped out of his partly cold embrace, he stole a quick kiss from my lips. It took all the power that I had to not melt into him again.

"All the ornaments came in?" I asked him as I situated myself behind the counter again, opening the package filled with the hardcovers that I suspected to be there. When he nodded, I continued. "Excellent. I also got us a little treat for this evening."