hot like fire ⇝ parmiga

one

> t a i s s a <

"Are you alright with closing tonight?" he asked.

"That's fine." she responded, staring at the carpeted ground, picking at her fingernails.

Grabbing his coat off of the rack, he carefully placed it on. He repeatedly smoothed over his torso, searching for any creases or wrinkles. He wrapped his cashmere scarf around his neck, grabbed his backpack off of the floor and slung it over his shoulder. The curly haired boy made his way to the door.

"Hey—wait," she muttered, rushing up to him. Grabbing his wrist before he could leave, she gave him a tight smile. "Be careful getting home. The snow is really coming down out there." 

He flashed her a toothy grin and ran a hand through his brown locks, which made her heart flutter.

"Thanks Taissa. Goodnight," he said, before rushing out into the frigid winter night.

"Bye, Isaac."

❅❅❅

Approximately one hour later, Taissa was putting on her own jacket, fastening its buttons mindlessly as she stared out the window. The snowflakes gracefully danced down from the black sky, lightly coating the pavement outside. The snow had eased up, nowhere as near as heavy as it was just an hour before.

Taissa didn't get why everyone complained about snow; she loved it. She loved the way it chilled her skin and nipped at the tip of her nose, turning it red. Draping her leather purse across her chest and clutching her most recent read, she flipped the lights of the bookstore off, concealing the rows of bookshelves with darkness.

As soon as she stepped outside, she collided with another person, sending her flying to the ground with a squeal. The individual who had knocked her over quickly grabbed her shoulders before she could hit the hard pavement. Not much could be said for her book though, as it tumbled out of her grasp and into a mound of snow. Taissa leaned over and grabbed it, brushing the snow off with her long fingers.

Once she regained her posture, she found herself staring into a set of warm brown eyes. With a slightly upturned nose and wispy cinnamon hair, she felt entranced with the boys looks. He had darker features, while Isaac had somewhat lighter ones.

"Sorry," he apologized, before peering into the dark room behind Taissa. "Are you closed? Ah, damn. I knew I should have came earlier."

"I...we..." Taissa felt herself stumbling over her words, still reeling from the fact that his voice was so smooth and mellifluous. "We're, um, closed. Yeah. But I could let you in and look around for a few minutes, if you need to."

"Really? Could you do that?"

"Um, yeah. Totally."

Taissa found herself turning back around, and flicking the lights back on. The dark haired boy made his way in, before disappearing in the shelves. Taissa stood by the door awkwardly for what felt like forever before the man reemerged, gripping a book with a familiar cover.

Taissa made her way behind the cash register, and rung the boy up.

"Percy Jackson, huh?" she noted, scanning the book, "Weird choice for a man your age, but the series is fantastic."

"First of all," he chuckled, "That's not for me. And second, how old do you think I am?" 

"That'll be fifteen dollars, please." she requested, trying to hide the smirk on her face.

The man reached into his jean pocket and pulled out a crinkled twenty dollar bill. He slid it across the counter. Taissa, in return, passed him the book. He took it out of her hand, their fingers lightly brushing up against each other. Goosebumps erupted over her entire body, caused by the skin contact. His fingers weren't cold, though. They were something else entirely: unbearable heat.

Taissa met his eyes again, and she could tell, through the gleam in his eyes, that he felt it too.

"Well, goodbye. Thank you again,"

"Hey—wait," she muttered, rushing out from the counter to grab his hand. The burning feeling returned. "I'm Taissa. And, you forgot this."

"Evan." he smiled, "And, keep the change."

And with that, he was gone.