"Eve, I'm just popping downstairs for a bit to take a look at some of the first editions that our client brought in yesterday. Are you alright to hold the fort?" Sean says, resting a hand on my shoulder. I push down the slight shudder at the touch, nodding with a tight lipped smile.
"Yep, no problem. Are we expecting them today?" I reply, turning to face him so his hand falls off of my shoulder, instantly relaxing a bit more.
Paying no attention, Sean nods at me with slightly widened eyes, glancing at the clock.
"Yes. They're due in a couple of hours, so just stay here and do whatever you think needs to be done. You've been here long enough to know that I trust you won't burn the place down" he smiles, turning around to head down into the basement.
I immediately get to work, reorganising the several shelves of books located around the shop. Do people seriously not understand alphabetical order? I get this is part of my job, but seriously.
I work my way around the shop, and between that and serving customers, the whole process takes me just over an hour. I mean it would've been a lot quicker if I wasn't stuck with the most indecisive person on the planet choosing a book for their 3 year old child. I get it, it's good to get your child into reading, but from experience with my cousin, they care more about pictures than the actual story. In the end he chose The Great Gatsby - classic bedtime story.
I work my way back to the front desk, scanning some books to put them into the system ready to stock. Smiling at people coming in to have a look around, and that is when I saw you.
Memories of yesterdays events flood through my mind as you walk through the door, looking around at the surrounding literature with a small smile to your face. You have a curious gaze about you, with those beautiful green ey- wait. Who the fuck is that?
A blonde stands next to him, her arm hooked around his, laughing quietly. I push down any ounce of jealousy that I feel. Why would I feel jealous? I don't know you.
"Evelyn!" He smiles, immediately making his way over to me with the leach on his arm.
I immediately smile, a slight redness to my face as I remember his touch on my back yesterday. Hi Harry.
"I didn't know you worked here?" He says, his perfectly straight teeth gleaming at me. Teeth are one of the first things you notice about a person, and you have perfect teeth. You clearly take pride in your appearance, but not too much to the point where you come across as arrogant. Just enough to come across as confident, but humble.
"I do! I pretty much live here." I smile widely, chuckling slightly. I notice the blonde next to him look at me intensely at the corner of my eye. I turn to look at her. Of course you're beautiful.
"And what's your name?" I ask, grazing my gaze slightly over her face.
"Rebecca." She replies bluntly. Shit name.
All that comes to mind is Klaus from the Originals screaming "Rebekah!". I can't unhear it now.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Evelyn." I smile, looking back at Harry.
"I heard." She says again, and I immediately look at her once more, the smile dropping from my face. Well my bitch radar has just gone off.
"I met Evelyn yesterday at the coffee shop. What a coincidence that we meet again today?" Harry smiles, looking between Rebecca and myself.
Are you purposefully ignoring the old western standoff with the bitch, or are you trying to defend our friendship?
"At least the likely hood of me spilling coffee is extremely low this time." I chuckle, and Harry follow suits. I love your laugh.
"Can we hurry up and get the books, H?" Rebecca says, cutting my interaction with Harry short. H?
"I want to go home so we can watch the Originals" she adds. Of course.
"That's fine" he replies, turning to me with a smile.
"I'm here to grab some of my books that needed a little repair. I think the guys name was Shaun? I saw him yesterday after the coffee incident" He says, a small smirk forming on his lips at the end. I think I just died inside. What is it about a smirk that's so attractive? Is it the long hair that's paired with it? Or is it just because it's you.
"Evelyn?" His voice cuts me off from my thoughts.
"Yeah?" I question, frowning a little.
"The books?" He questions, trying not to smile.
"Oh! Yes." I check the clock, grimacing a little.
"You are just under an hour early, but I can buzz Sean anyway to see if they're ready?" I offer, noting Rebecca rolling her eyes in my peripheral vision. What is your fucking problem?
"Fucking hell." She mutters under her breath, unhooking her claws from Harry's arm to cross her own across her chest.
"If that's alright? I would really appreciate that." Harry replies, his soothing voice immediately simmering my growing anger.
"Not a problem at all." I smile, pressing the buzzer on the underside of the desk to buzz downstairs. Soon after, Sean comes out from the back.
"Ah! Mr Styles. I see you've had the pleasure of meeting Miss Evelyn Brown." He beams, shaking Harry's hand, before resting it on my shoulder. I freeze up a little, holding my breath for a few seconds before breathing out again slowly through my nose. It's only now that I clock what Sean said - Styles? Harry Styles.
Harry's eyes dart to Sean's hand on my shoulder briefly before looking at me. He narrows his eyes ever so slightly, before a switch flips and he looks back at Sean with a smile.
"Evelyn and I are already acquainted, aren't we?" He looks at me, smiling. You see it too, don't you? The chemistry.
"We met yesterday at the coffee shop. Harry kindly helped me clean up some coffee I spilled." I explain, turning my body to face Sean, his hand falling off my shoulder once more.
Sean frowns, "that doesn't sound like you Eve? You're never that clumsy." I sense judgement.
My face flushing a little, I shake my head. "I know, I'm never that clumsy. I was just going to grab my camera and misplaced the mug."
"Camera?" Harry questions, his eyes perking up a little.
"Eve here tries to do photography. I'm more into nature myself, but Eve takes photos of people. She's amazing at what she does." Sean boasts. Kill me now. Please can we shift the topic?
"That sounds amazing. How long have you been doing that for Evelyn?" Harry smiles, moving his eyes to me once more.
"Just a few years. It's more of a hobby really. I'd like to make a career out of it one day, but for now it's just when the opportunity arises." I explain briefly. Jesus I'm sweating.
"Opportunity?" He questions, frowning slightly in confusion.
"When I see someone worth taking pictures of, I'll grab my camera." I shrug, scratching my arm slightly. A nervous habit.
"Did you find someone in the coffee shop?" He questions innocently.
You.
"There was an elderly lady in the corner, reading her book by the window. The moment just felt right, but then the coffee happened and the moment passed." I say quickly, grimacing a little.
"So, the books, Sean?" I change the subject.
"Ah, yes! I'll grab them now." He claps his hands together once, leaving to go out the back down to the basement.
"If I see you again, you must show me some of these pictures. It sounds really interesting." Harry grabs my attention, Rebecca next to him frowning.
I ignore the blatant stare, looking directly at Harry with a small nod. You want to get to know me. You want to see me again.
"Uh, yeah sure. Sounds good!" I reply casually, trying to ignore the flutter inside my chest at the thought of seeing you again.
"Here we are!" Sean's voice cuts us off, moving to the register to put in the price for the repairs.
"Right Eve, if you could finish off, I'll be downstairs to sort out the basement again." He explains, rubbing my arm slightly. Stop.
I nod, "yep. Fine. No worries." I say curtly, moving away from him to the till.
Harry's eyes narrow again once more, a small frown etched onto his perfect face.
"Cash or card?" I say quickly, sensing his obvious discomfort for some reason. What did I do?
"Card, please." He says, giving me a small smile. I know you, that's not genuine. Fuck, what did I do?
He hands me his bank card, and I push it into the card machine. You want me to know you. You handed me your card, reminding me of your full name incase I forgot it. I will never forget.
I hand the card machine back to him, looking away slightly as he puts his pin in, handing the machine back to me soon after. Our fingers graze slightly. Did you feel it to? The connection? The electricity.
"There we go, all gone through. Thank you." I smile at him.
"No worries, thank you Evelyn." He replies, smiling genuinely again.
"Can you hurry up?" Rebecca cuts Harry off once more, clearly bored. Can you fuck off?
"Yeah sure, give me a second. If you wait in the car, I'll be out." He brushes her off slightly. I fight to hide the smile at her expression.
"Seriously?"
"It's up to you, I won't be long. You can wait in the car or continue to wait here for a bit longer? Choice is yours." He says to her bluntly, seeming a bit over her behaviour. Makes two of us.
She immediately huffs, grabbing Harry's car keys out of his pocket. Mercedes. She leaves soon after. Harry turns to face me once again, an apologetic look on his face.
"I'm sorry about her. She doesn't really like books, or just places like this." He explains.
Oh really? I hadn't noticed.
"Really? Why?" I question, feigning confusion.
"She's more of a... loud place sort of person? We've been friends for 5 years, but she's never really been one to enjoy places like this." He laughs slightly, shaking his head. Friends? You're telling me she was just a friend? Does she know that?
"I can tell." I laugh, immediately widening my eyes and shutting my mouth.
"I'm sorry. That was rude." I apologise, "I don't know why I said that." Because I'm protective of you.
"Honestly don't apologise, it's fine. It's the truth." He laughs, but I shake my head.
"No, it was still rude. I shouldn't insult your friend." I apologise again.
"Evelyn, honestly it's okay." He smiles.
"So is there anything else I can help you with?" I change the subject, trying to calm my breathing a little.
"Yes actually. I've been getting into theology a bit. I was wondering if you had a book by.. is it Richard Dawkins?" He questions, picking at his lip as he tries to remember the name.
"Yes! Are you on about the God Delusion?" I say, immediately walking over to the book shelf that I've already ordered alphabetically earlier.
"Yeah, that's the one! Even though I hate the title." He chuckles, scratching the back of his neck slightly before running a hand through his hair. Beautiful.
"Are you a believer in God?" I question, pointing to the upper shelf.
"I'm more of an agnostic - open minded really. I don't necessarily believe in god, but I don't disregard the possibility of there being one." He explains.
You. Just everything about you, is perfection. You talk so intelligently, no bullshit. When you understand a topic, you feel no pressure in talking about it to great detail. I can already tell.
"How can you believe in a god but not at the same time?" I frown, chuckling slightly.
"Well there's no definitive proof that there is a god. But at the same time there isn't definitive proof that there isn't one." He shrugs. "I respect the notion of religion. I understand why someone would choose to believe in a god, I'm just on the fence about it all."
I could listen to you talk all day.
"But god doesn't exist." I reply simply.
"How do you know for sure?" He questions, smirking.
"The big bang created the universe." I state.
"And what happened before that?" His smirk widens.
"Nothing. There was nothing."
"So, if matter cannot be created nor destroyed, as science states. Then how can the Big Bang happen from nothing? Matter needs to be created first." He replies, talking a lot more enthusiastically. I'm lost. I have literally no idea what the fuck you are talking about but I'm loving every second of this encounter with you.
"I... don't know." I shrug, frowning a little.
Harry smiles widely, putting his finger to the tip of his nose and pointing to me with the other hand with a "ding ding ding" noise.
He reaches up, his pink and white polka dot shirt rising up. Great heavens.
"Exactly! That's why people like to believe in god! Sometimes it's better to rely on a belief..."
I find it so hard to focus on this conversation as I see two of your fern tattoos sticking out from your jeans. The trimmed hair riding down... what's that in your pocket? A gym card? Eden Fitness? Hmm. That's only a few streets from here. I wonder what you do... you are a slender but muscular build.. maybe more.. cardio? A bit of weight lifting? I wonder if you could do pull ups? I don't know fuck all about the gym but I can learn.. for you- no. No. We are not doing this Evelyn... but a little trip down to the gym wouldn't hurt would it?
"So hopefully this book will allow me to see more of a perspective into the mind of an atheist." Harry's voice cuts my thoughts dead in its tracks.
"Yeah definitely! It's an interesting but intense read. Richard is known for being a bit... set in his beliefs." I smile.
"Lovely, I'll take it. How much do I owe you?" He smiles, holding the book up slightly.
"It's on the house, don't worry." Why the fuck did I just say that?
Harry frowns deeply, "are you sure...? I've just talked your ear off, the least I can do is pay for the book." He laughs a little.
"Don't be silly, it's fine." Sean will kill me. "As long as you come back once you've read it and let me know your thoughts." Too far Evelyn. Too fast. You've fucked i-
"Definitely! I'd love that." Okay then. Not too fast.
I smile. "Sounds good. I'll see you soon" I scratch my arm, shifting a little on my feet.
"I'll catch you soon Evelyn, have a good day." He waves, walking out the shop.
I'll see you soon, Harry.