Baby Blue Eyes

Chapter Ten

So I do. He gets the hang of it pretty fast, but I suppose he had had the training ten months ago, so this was just like refreshing his memory. Soon, he’s telling me the book, I go to get it while he neatly packages up the previous one. It gets the job done extremely fast, and we even manage to sell two books whilst this is going on, Levi handling a tricky customer with the utmost charm, bestowing upon her a gorgeous smile which ends up with her leaving the shop looking rather dazzled, clutching her book to her with a slightly stunned expression.

Mm yes, he truly would have been in the spot the hot guy game. Enough of that! This isn’t helping lessen the awkwardness at all.

Then I realise something. It’s not actually that awkward. Working together, me teaching him where the books go as he listens carefully actually has led to it being far less awkward than it could have been. We’ve got a job to do, and we’re both determined not to let it get the better of us. So it’s fine. Absolutely fine.

In fact, it’s almost fun. In the romance section, us both staggering up with two large piles of chick-lit books, I direct Levi where to put each one, seeing as he can reach the top shelves without a stool, unlike me. It’s making me feel very short as he reaches them with ease, slotting the books in, while I focus on the lower shelves. Who knew so many chick-lit author’s surnames began with W?

‘Well, it certainly is handy having you being so tall, you giant,’ I tell him, as he fits the last one into place.

He chuckles. ‘I’m not a giant,’ he protests. ‘You’re just a little hobbit.’

‘Excuse me!’ I say, bristling with indignation. Hobbit?! I’m 5-’

‘I know,’ he says. ‘You’re 5ft5, and very proud of that.’

Well, it’s not that weird that he remembers my height. I used to inform him of that whenever he berated me about my shortness, which was often enough, so it‘s no wonder that it appears to have been drummed into him.

We make our way downstairs, all the books now put carefully onto the shelves, all orders packaged up.

‘What next?’ Levi asks, looking at me expectantly. I glance at my watch. It’s 10:15; meaning we’ve done all of the jobs in about an hour’s less time than I would have. I usually head up to spot hot guys at about 11:15, after working hard all morning. I suppose it’s to be expected seeing as there are two of us doing all of the jobs at the moment.

‘Well, one of us needs to sit at the desk,’ I say. ‘Most people come in over the next two hours.’

‘Okay,’ Levi replies. ‘What does the other one do?’

‘Odd jobs, really,’ I answer. ‘Dusting the book shelves, using the hoover to clean up a bit, that sort of thing.’

‘Which one are you going to do?’ he asks.

‘Uh…’ I pause, not sure which one to give him. He’s clearly better at the whole smiling at customers and practically dazzling them into buying books, but the cleaning thing really doesn’t appeal to me. ‘Which one do you want to do?’ I decide on, not wanting to choose.

He shrugs. ‘Judging by how terrible you are at cleaning, I guess I should do the dusting and hoovering,’ he tells me, with a cheeky grin.

‘I am not terrible!’ I protest, only slightly offended.

He raises an eyebrow. ‘Remember that time I came into your room unannounced?’ he asks me.

‘That was different!’

‘How, exactly?!’

‘I’d been searching for something!’

‘Had there also been a tornado?’