Unpredictable

Chapter 1

"...Some infinities are bigger than other infinities..." I smiled, turning the page of my favourite, and very battered, John Green novel. I was behind the desk of the small, second-hand bookshop I worked at on weekends, and technically I should have been working, but my boss had gone out, leaving me in charge. It had been quiet all day anyway, only a few cyclists coming in to purchase sporting books and a couple of middle-aged ladies in the romance section, looking around furtively as if reading 50 Shades of Grey was a crime.

"Um, hi?"

I jumped, my book falling to the floor. Standing the other side of the desk was a boy, and not just any boy. The most beautiful boy I had ever seen, tall and lanky, with a sharp jawline and a smattering of tattoos over his upper arms. He had rumpled chestnut hair in a vaugley quiff-like style, but mostly just falling over his eyes, which were green, as green as the sea on a stormy evening.

"Shit, sorry. Did I scare you?" He leant over the counter, peering down.

"Uh, no, no, it's fine, I just dropped my book, don't worry." I blushed and stood up. "Can I help you?"

He grinned. "Yeah, I'm looking for a book."

"Can you be more... Specific?"

"Specific?" He frowned.

"Yeah. Horror, mystery, romance, non-fiction..."

"Oh. Right. Um. What do you recommend?" He grinned, crossing his arms over his chest, muscles flexing through his sky-grey t-shirt.

I handed him my John Green novel, The Fault in Our Stars. "Um, this is good. Sad, but good."

He took it gently, his long, tanned fingers brushing against my pale ones, making me shiver. "Thanks- Sorry, I just realised, I don't know your name."

"Oh. Ella."

He held out his hand, and I shook it, laughing slightly. "I'm Harry. Hi."

"Hi." I blushed.

"Hi." He bit his lip and laughed.

"What?!"

"Nothing. You're just very cute." He passed over the book and £5, winking at me as he did so.

I let my hair swing over my eyes, a curtain of brown, and rang up the book on the till. I slid it into a bag and passed it over.

"Can I have your number?" He asked suddenly, as he was just about to leave.

"What? Why?" I frowned, confused. Why would someone as charming and good-looking as Harry want my number?

He smiled softly. "Life is short, and you are really, really beautiful. Plus, if you say no, I can always just avoid you by never coming back in here."

I laughed. "I don't live here, you know. I would probably see you again sometime; it's a small town."

He tutted. "Damn. Now it'll be even more embarrassing when you say no."

I shook my head. "What makes you think I'd say no?" I grabbed a biro and scrawl my name and number on a scrap of paper.

He slipped it into his pocket. "I'll call you then." His deep, English accent made it sound more like a question: mysterious and hopeful.

I nodded. "Sure."

Little did I know how much that one word would change my little, ordered life.