“What?!” I exclaimed, “Is this a joke?!”
“No,” he said smiling up at me, “I seriously want pancakes right now.” I looked at him trying to decide if I would take him or not. All I wanted to do was crawl in bed and get out of the cold.
“Fine, just let me grab a jacket,” I said, finally caving as he made a pouty face at me. He brightened and smiled, following me into the building.
“Do you want me to wait here?” he asked.
“You can come up if you want. I have to get different shoes too so it might take a little longer,” I replied heading up the stairs.
“Why do you take the stairs and not the elevator?”
“Elevators scare me. I’m really claustrophobic and can’t stand them,” I replied finally making it to the top of the stairs. We made our way down the hall and I quickly unlocked my door stepping inside, Ryan following behind me.
“I’ll be right back. You sit or something...” I trailed off awkwardly. Ryan looked amused and gave me a smile before walking into the living room area. I made my way to my room swinging open the closet once more. I grabbed my black North Face jacket and slipped on some socks and tennis shoes. I swapped the blue beanie I had on before, for a gray one. Walking back out into the kitchen and living room area, I couldn’t find Ryan.
“Ryan? Where’d you go?”
“Up here,” he said from the balcony. I walked up the stairs and found Ryan taking in all my books.
“This is amazing!” he nearly yelled, looking like a kid in a candy shop, “How did you afford all these? I mean, you’re in college and most college students are living off ramen noodles. But this, this is amazing. Your place is amazing.”
“I have some money in my savings and work at a small coffee shop every now and then. It just kind of works out,” I lied. Ryan walked around the balcony running his hand along the spine of the books, just like me. He came to a stop and picked one off a shelf. I recognized it immediately. It was The Yellow World, one of my favourites. He looked up at me and then back at the book, again reminding me of a small, shy child. I knew what he wanted.
“You can take it,” I said, smiling and walking over to him, “Now let’s go get us some pancakes.”
~~~~
After a half hour of walking we finally arrived at Moe’s Diner. Moe’s was one of my favourite spots to eat. Unlike most diners it was open 24/7, which was good in this case. As soon as we walked in my nose was flooded with the smell of burgers and fries.
“This is so awesome!” Ryan said, practically jumping up and down, “Let’s sit at a booth!”
Even though I wasn’t particularly fond of booths, I didn’t disagree. My feet hurt and I was tired. I had no idea how Ryan wasn’t tired either.
“Hi! I’m Becky and I’ll be your waitress tonight,” I peppy blonde said, never taking her eyes off Ryan.
“Hello Becky. I’ll have number six, unlimited pancakes, and so will my best friend. Also, two coffees,” Ryan said, sounding nice but I could see the annoyance in his eyes.
“Actually I don-”
“And make sure they are caffeinated, please,” he added before I could protest. As Becky walked away I shot Ryan an annoyed look.
“What?”
“You know I don’t drink coffee,” I responded, recalling when we first met. He asked me for coffee and I said ‘I only drink tea’.
YOU ARE READING
The Bookstore Boy
RomanceOne boy. One girl. One bookstore. And one big mistake. Cassie Montailing had a normal life. Until she was 13. Her parents had been in a fatal car accident and she went to live with her neglectant aunt. She was alone. So, right when she turned 18...
