romance at the bookstore

Chapter 12

Alex's POV

After our shift, Leila came to my room to study. We both sat on my bed with my random notes sprawled everywhere and her perfect notes organized by unit.

I couldn't get over how exquisite she looked. The way the sun was hitting her face, the way her hair flawlessly fell onto her face and even when she was writing her notes she looked beautiful. Every time she wrote, she made it somehow look like a font.

"Alex. Hey Alex!" she snapped then put her hand on my face and turned my head to face her. She held her nose close to mine and I gave her a quick kiss on the lips.

"Sorry, I keep getting distracted," I explain, brushing my hand through my hair, a little embarrassed.

"With what? There's nothing in your room," she laughs, her face lighting up.

"With you," I smile. I lean in for another kiss and we fall next to each other. She continues to kiss me and I can feel her smile through her lips.

"Okay, okay, okay. I told you I'd help you study and this isn't very great studying," she grinned, resting her hand on my chest.

"Sorry, I'm not a nerd like you!" I joked and she just rolled her eyes.

"You're calling me a nerd? I just found out you were head of the robotics club! NERD!" she yelled while laughing.

I pretended to be really offended then grabbed a pillow. I was ready to fight. She grabbed one too and we both went for it. Standing on my bed and running around the room, we had a pillow fight, spraying out study papers everywhere. I chased her around as she screamed and laughed and she would hit me into a corner. Finally, she had me pinned on the bed, at her mercy.

"Okay, okay, you win." I accepted defeat.

"Mhm," she said, satisfied then got off from on top of me.

"Hey, hey, hey! Where do you think you're going?"

"We're supposed to be studying... remember?"

I begrudgingly get up from the bed and we begin picking up all of our notes from the floor, still out of breath from the excitement.

After a couple of hours of very productive studying, we decided it was time for a break. We weren't sure what we were going to do or where we were going to go but we wanted some fresh air. As I was putting on my coat, I realized Leila didn't even have a jacket and it was dark now.

"I'm just going to go grab a coat from next door," she said and pointed to the wall.

"No, it's fine. Take this," I passed her my grey champion hoodie and she slipped it on. I laughed when I saw that it almost went down to her knees. She rolled her eyes and pulled her hair out from the sweater and into a bun.

We walked outside, enjoying the streets and the people until we passed the bookstore. We thought it'd be fun to go in and pretend to be regular customers just to see what it's like. We walked around looking at the shelves we had so nicely organized and didn't have to awkwardly smile at every person that entered the store.

"Hey I have an idea," I tell her, "We're going to play this game where you pick a book from the romance novel section and flip to a random page. You have to skim the page and read the dirtiest part out loud. Whoever had the nastiest scene gets a point."

She laughed, "Oh you're on!"

We both headed over to the romance section and started our search for the perfect book.

"Okay I have one," I laughed with a bit of guilt on my face. I cleared my throat, "As soon as her lips were on mine, a fire raged inside me, potent and resilient enough to exist despite the pouring rain. I grabbed Mia's ass with both of my hands and pulled her closer to me, deepening the kiss." (Talking bodies @tympanic)

"That's nothing," she said, "I felt him in my mouth. I felt his hands all over my body. His bare chest was right on me. This was so hot. My hands travelled to his neck, to his back and lower back. He shivered at the touch and let out a small groan." (barely @aflyingwhale)

"Damn girl! You win that round!" we both laughed, almost falling on the floor. An older lady walked past us with absolute disgust on her face which made it even funnier.

All of the sudden, someone is standing right above us, fuming with anger. It's Luis.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys! I have parents over there complaining that you're yelling inappropriate things! I'm happy that you're all lovey-dovey now but please choose somewhere else to express your love for each other"

We both looked at each other and tried our best not to laugh, knowing that it's our boss yelling at us. We decided that that was enough of disturbing the bookstore for now and we both headed back home. We were kind of exhausted from all the studying so we said goodbye and went to our rooms.

That night, I had plans to hang out with some friends. I head out of my apartment when I see Leila with some guy, standing outside her door.

I slow myself down and stand in my doorway, the door only open enough to let me see what's going on. She has her arms tightly wrapped around his stomach, her head rested on his chest. He is returning the hug, just as lovingly, giving her small kisses on her head. They seem really close.

"I missed you so much Logan," she told him, looking up at his face.

They both stepped out of possibly the longest hug I have ever seen in my life and headed into her room. I'm a little confused and shocked at what I just saw. I know Leila and I aren't official or anything yet but I can't believe she's seeing someone else.

Does he know about me?

But what if he's the main guy. She said she missed him which means they've definitely been together longer than we have. What if I'm just some week-long fling.

Upset and perplexed, I head out and text my friends:

Screw the restaurant, let's go to a bar

---------

Authors Note:

Who do you think Logan is and what is he doing?

Make sure to comment, vote and share Romance at the Bookstore!!

XO,

Ella and Shae