REVERIE (f/f / love triangle / romance/erotica)

Chapter 1:

I watched her from behind the book in my hands, doing my best to be inconspicuous and not look like a complete creep- that was far from my intent. But I couldn't help but look. She'd come into my little book shop four times in a row this week, and she was a spectacle of intrigue and attraction. Every day she had come in, she picked up the same book every time, skimming through it, but always putting it back. It was an older novel, understandable in the used bookstore, but it lacked any identifiers. It was perplexing in the least but something stilled me from picking it up.

She ran a finger leisurely across the bindings before selecting another book. This one she held close to her. Even her hands were sexy, I thought. They were slim and smooth but her grasp was tight.

As she walked by, I could have sworn she looked directly at me, as though she saw right through my cover. I felt my face flush, my reverie nearly broken, then roped myself back in. Her eyes were fleeting, flitting about, sometimes my way.

I had curled my dark hair that day into loose waves and applied mascara to exemplify my green eyes. There was a particular look to myself that people were drawn to, I couldn't deny that, but what I couldn't see is if this woman was allured in the slightest. Showing up multiple times that week was not a full signature to her liking me, in fact it was likely wishful thinking. Yet I couldn't help it, couldn't help but want to talk beyond the general checkout experience.

On cue, she waltzed her fine, lithe body up to me, long blonde hair in a high ponytail. It had me mesmerized, my eyes like a pendulum. When she looked up beyond her rimmed glasses, beneath those stark, dark and long eyelashes, her blue oceans awaited me.

"Could you check me out?" She asked.

A cheesy pick up line filled my head, but I ignored it.

"Of course," I said, an inch from stumbling over my words. She didn't seem to notice as my ears reddened enough they could have caught fire. In fact, she looked as though she was somewhere else, serene, her eyes not completely focused on me.

Definitely wishful thinking.

I took the book from her hands, our fingers brushing, and I saw stars, my heart pounding like rain on a drum. In the same moment, the scent of jasmine and vanilla wafted from her and I wondered if those were aphrodisiacs as I was beyond enamored. What was my deal? I'd felt attraction before, but nothing like this. Nothing like the way my head spun without conversation and depth.

Her eyes trailed around, peering at the books on the shelves as I rang her up, and when she looked back to pay, she caught me staring like an owl. At least I didn't hoot. But I did nearly drop her book. She smiled, her eyes closing in little crescents.

"Thank you so much, I love this little shop. It's so different from the others I've been to in town. It smells musty in a good way." She breathed in, chest rising in answer, and I could have lost myself in her at that moment, excitement bubbling into my core. Anyone who complimented my shop was automatically deemed great in my book, but she had earned more approval. Not that she needed it I concluded.

"Thanks, it's my baby," I replied, hoping I didn't sound too proud claiming it as my own. It wasn't a cocky thing to say as the truth, but my nerves were talking. "The scent is just an added charm."

"This place is yours?" Her eyes widened slightly and her hand touched her cheek. "That must be a big responsibility," she said innocently, as though it were a difficult feat. "I've always wanted to run a bookstore, but never thought I'd make it lucrative enough. I'm not the best organizer." Again, that radiant smile filled her face.

"It is," I replied to her original question, then, "and it isn't as difficult as you'd think, I just got a lucky spot in the city."

"It is in such a good spot but I'm sure that's not the only reason for your success, I don't live far from here, and when I found it the other day, I had to come take a look." Her eyes swept around the shop again.