Librarian Blues❖Troy Barnes

don't stand so close to me - chapter 7

                                                                                               do you own like a dress shirt or anything

Troy Barnes: I think so, if not then I can have Jeff bring me one.

See you soon!

I put my phone down and hopped in the shower, trying to rush through it so I would have more time to get dressed. Picking up Troy meant leaving an extra 30 minutes early. Plus, it meant that I had to actually look cute. Not just nice. But cute.

After I dried off and finished getting ready, I grabbed the cookies and rushed down to my car. I drove to Troy's house as quickly as I could. I wanted to avoid being late to set stuff up. I shot him a text and waited for him to come down. After a few minutes passed, I felt my stomach fill with butterflies as he walked out.

He looked amazing. He was in a gray suit that looked brand new, much better than the old dress I was wearing. A moment later, my butterflies faded a bit as Abed popped out behind him in a similar suit. Don't get me wrong, he looked amazing too, but I didn't think he'd be joining us.

"Hey, I hope this is okay. He really wanted to come along. Jeff is gonna come get him for some project they're doing later after a bit, so he won't be there for long," Troy explained as they slid into my car.

"Yeah, it's fine. How are you guys?" I asked, pulling out of their parking lot.

"I'm alright. How are you?" Abed asked, digging around through the containers of cookies in the backseat. "Can I have one of these?"

I looked up to see him holding the smallest container. I laughed, "I'm good, and yeah. Just one, though. Those are for the party."

"Did you buy all of those?" Troy gasped, looking at me with a smile of pure joy.

"No, but I made them all," I shrugged.

"Cool, can you make us cookies sometime?" Abed asked.

"I guess," I faked a sigh, smiling at him through the rearview mirror.

We continued small talk until we got to the house. I made them help me carry all of the cookies, sneaking in through their side door. We set the cookies on their kitchen table, and I had the boys wait while I called Jess.

"Hey, I'm here. I brought Troy and his friend Abed, so don't get fre-" Garon's high-pitched scream cut me off. It took him a moment to realize I was in the room as well.

"Jesus Christ, Maisy! You gotta text me when you come over," Garon clutched his chest, trying to catch his breath.

"In my defense, I'm on the phone with Jess," I laughed, "This is Troy and Abed."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Garon. This is my kitchen. Are they going to help set up?" he asked.

"Yeah, I was gonna' have them help me with the cookies and everything," I explained.

Garon left to finish getting ready while I stayed with the boys to set up. It only took a few minutes for the cookies, so we moved onto the rest of the food. Well, I did. Troy and Abed were busy looking at the fish tank. I don't blame them, but it also would've been nice to get some help.

"Alrighty," Jess said as she walked into the kitchen, "What's left to do?"

"The party," I scoffed.

"Oh shit, you set everything up for food? That was the last thing on my list. Oh, hi," she eyed Troy and Abed.

"This is Troy," I went and put an arm around him, "and this is Abed." I didn't know where his boundaries were yet, so I just pointed at him.

"That's Troy?" Jess looked him up and down before giving a nod of approval.

"Yep. That's me," Troy chuckled, giving two thumbs up. I shook my head at him, and he slowly put his hands down.

"Well, uh, welcome to my house," Jess laughed.

After a while, more people started showing up. Abed left before that, so Troy just stuck by my side for the night. I didn't really know many of the people there, so I just talked with Troy. We were both looking at the fish tank when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around and my stomach dropped.

"Funny meeting you here! How do you know the happy couple?" Connor asked.

"Jess is my best friend. How do you know them?" I asked. Troy turned around, wrapping an arm around my waist as soon as he realized who was talking to us.

"Oh, Garon and I grew up together," Connor glanced at Troy, "Do you know them too?"

"Nope, just came Maisy to help set up the party and they were nice enough to let me stay."

"Nice," he nodded. He stayed there for a moment, letting an awkward silence grow before looking back to me and saying, "You wanna go dance or anything? I haven't seen either of you having any fun. You look too good to sit in the dark all night."

"She's good. We're good. We actually were getting ready to leave," Troy interjected before I could say anything.

"I think I'd rather hear that from Maisy," Connor stated, stepping closer to me. He leaned his arm against the wall. I tried to stop him, as he slipped forward and ended up hitting the fish tank.

"Please don't stand so close. You're scaring the fish," I shooed him away with a flick of my hand.

He dusted himself off and walked away, rubbing his elbow. Troy and I exchanged glances before bursting into laughter. After we calmed down, we both agreed it was time to leave. I told Jess and Garon goodbye and we went out to my car.

"Thanks for inviting me. I had fun, even there at the end," Troy said as he plopped into the passenger seat of my car.

"Of course! Thanks for coming. I don't know if I would have survived if you hadn't. Also, thanks for one-upping me with your suit," I teased.

"I one-upped you? Don't lie to yourself. You look stunning," he shook his head, reaching over and setting his hand on my leg. I felt the blood rush to my cheeks as it sat there, a smile tugging at my lips.

"You came in a full suit! I'm wearing a dress I got three years ago at a thrift store," I tried to mask my goofy smile with a laugh.

"Even if you got it three years ago, it doesn't take away from the fact that you look amazing. Not only were you the most beautiful woman there tonight, but you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen."

"Thanks, Troy. You were definitely the most handsome man there tonight," I looked over at him for a moment, smiling at him.

"The road," he quickly got my attention, and I snapped my head forward and swerved back into my lane in time to miss hitting a car.

I apologized and we sat in silence for the rest of the car ride back to his apartment. He moved his hand from my thigh to my back, rubbing it to try and calm me down. When I pulled in and parked, we sat for a minute before saying anything.

"I want you to text me as soon as you get home, okay?" he demanded.

"Yeah, of course," I nodded, clutching the steering wheel.

"Hey," he tilted my head towards him, "you're okay. Can I give you something for good luck?"

"Yeah, s-sure," I stuttered out. He leaned over my center console, closing the gap between us as he placed a gentle kiss on my lips. His hand moved to the back of my neck, pulling me closer as he deepened the kiss.

I wrapped my hand around his arm, causing him to smile into the kiss for a moment before pulling away.

"Alright, you need to get home," he sighed.

"Can I stay for another minute?" I pleaded.

"You need to get home. It's getting late. If I could have you stay over, I would. But I don't want to throw Abed off of his sleep schedule," he winked. I laughed and told him I understood. He got out of my car, and I waited to leave until I saw him go into the building.

Me: biiiiiitch guess what

Jesssss: What?

Me: ya girl got kissed

Jesssss: Oh HELL yes she did. Call me with details when you can.