hate & other words || h.s au

eight

"H-Hi."

His eyes return to me and I wave at him, that little action prompting him to move closer to me.

"Hi. Do you work here?" He asks. His accent has a posh tinge to it and I instantly know that he's not from this town -- not that I wasn't aware of this before, but it confirms my suspicion.

"Yeah," I reply as I step forward and hold out a hand. "I'm Cleo Ward."

"I'm Dev." He takes my hand and shakes it. "Cleo Ward -- are you the owner of this bookstore?"

"I-Uh, no, no. It's not. It's not exactly mine. Well, it's my parents' but I guess it'll be mine in the future so yeah." If someone wants to slap a hand over my mouth, I promise I won't be angry -- anything to make me shut up and not further embarrass myself in front of this very attractive man. Clearing my throat, I continue, "Anyway, can I help you with anything?"

"Yes. Yes, please." He nods. He must be one of those people who would always use 'please' when they want to ask for someone else's help. Compliments to his parents for raising him right. "I need some books for my niece and I'd appreciate it if you could recommend me some. I've only ever read medical books so I don't know what's good."

"Sure. I can help you with that." I say as I begin leading him to the Kids section, which is almost at the back of the store.

"It's my niece's birthday tomorrow, by the way," he tells me. I wouldn't say that I'm not used to customers striking a conversation with me but with the way I reacted when he spoke to me earlier, I think it's best if I keep my mouth shut. But then again, I'd be rude if I don't say anything to him. I'm conflicted -- either I choose to be polite or embarrass myself. "And my sister warned me that if I get her anything other than books I'll never get to see her again."

"Oof," the sound leaves my throat unintentionally and that makes him laugh. "We don't want that, do we?"

"No, we don't," he answers with a shake of his head and a chuckle.

Just before we reach the Kids' shelf, we pass by Adam who's rearranging some books on the Classical & Medieval shelf. He looks up and offers us a smile, and I take that as opportunity for me to introduce Adam to Dev. The two of them get to talking and when Dev mentions that he's looking for some books for his niece, Adam says,

"Ah you came to the right person, then. No one knows kids' books better than Cleo does. She's a child herself." The corners of his mouth twitch and I can tell that he's stifling his laugh. I scowl at him, to which he shrugs as if to say that I can't blame him for cracking a joke and then excuses himself to go to the counter.

Once we're standing in front of the Kids' shelf, I turn to Dev and ask, "So how old is your niece?"

"She's turning five."

"Aw. She must be really cute." I say before I return my gaze to the bookshelf and pick out a few books that I think (and I really hope) Dev's niece would like and enjoy reading. Kids can be brutally honest and whilst I won't be around when he gives her the books, I don't want her to end up not liking them.

"She is and she's also a smart girl, that one." He mentions with a wistful smile on his lips and I find myself smiling as well. He must really love his niece. "Think she's the smartest out of all of us and she's only five. She'll outsmart me soon I'm sure."

"She's probably already smarter than me right now." As I hand some books to Dev, I remember something he told me earlier so I ask, "So you mentioned you've only ever read medical books, are you a medic student?"

He nods. "First year resident now."

"Wow, that's so cool." I say and he shoots me a sheepish smile, shrugging as though to say that being a medical resident is no big deal. It is, to me. I've always admired people who wanted to pursue a career in the medical field. "Intelligence must run in your family then."