Blue Eyed Dreamboat | R. Grayson

[20]

By then Richard coming to the Cooper family's bookstore almost daily was not an unusual thing. But instead of coming there strictly for books, he now spent time with Irene and Ashton, helping them out with their tasks as well.

Sometimes he would help in packing the cartons of books with Irene, other times he would go to sorting with Ashton. It was almost like a second home to him and as Norah and her children were quite fond of him, he enjoyed spending time there too.

It also kept him distracted from the flashbacks that irritated him when he was alone. So coming to the bookstore for him was almost the same as going to the therapist Bruce had recommended to him.

Sometimes Jason would join as well and then he and Ashton were always up to some havoc. Ashton was a much more cheerful and mischievous version of himself around Jason, probably due to the fact that they were of the same age and got along well with each other. So Jay would often involve him in his theatrics or pranks, making him have fun as well.

That day Jay and Ashton were busy as the exam season was upon them and though they now studied in different schools, their exam dates were drawing close so both of them had decided to prepare for it together.

Norah wasn't feeling well so only Irene was at the shop however, Richard showed up to keep her company shortly after.

As there were no customers in the bookstore at the moment, Irene had come to the bookshelf aisles to arrange the books with Richard following close behind.

Ever since their date at the museum, they had gotten closer to each other and felt more comfortable. He had carried the piles of books there and helped her arrange them as he checked the serials number and handed her each one to place. 

With the two of them working together, the task was sure to get completed sooner.

And when they were done, Richard stretched slightly on his toes, a smile playing upon his lips as he remarked, "finally, all done."

She looked up to see him as she was sitting on the floor sorting the books in the lowest section while Richard had set up the rest on the topmost sections of the shelf. He seemed happy that he had helped her with the sorting and got the work done quicker than usual.

And seeing him like that, Irene wondered if he was always that happy and carefree.

"You know perhaps I should get hired here, that way I can help both of you out and Miss Norah won't have to look after all these meticulous sortings on her own," he remarked, his hand dusting off the dust from his jeans.

Her gaze trailed to his lips to read what he was saying and she paused as his blue eyes met hers, feeling her breath get stuck in her throat.

"Irene," he spoke up and she tried to read his lips again, "is everything okay?"

She nodded, feeling her cheeks tingle as his blue eyes were focused on her in concern.

He said something after but she didn't quite catch it though when he offered her his hand, she took it and let him pull her up to her feet.

"Maybe... You should learn how to... Sign," she mumbled in a barely audible whisper.

"Oh. Is it hard for you to lip-read all the time?"

She nodded, "sometimes, I don't understand... When you talk fast or... When I get distracted."

Her cheeks shaded ever so slightly at the prospect of what distracted her whenever she was trying to understand him. She hoped he wouldn't notice that.

"Right..." He spoke slowly that once so she could catch his words, "I asked Alfred to teach me sign language but he knows BSL. I know you use ASL instead."