I threw my rucksack onto my back, walking out the door along the German streets to the bookstore just a couple of houses down the road. Today was Saturday, or as I knew it, bookstore day.
I pushed the door open hearing the little bell signal to the worker I had entered, walking over straight to the languages section, to pick up the next book in my collection that had been realised.
I turned round the corridor to see a tall man dressed in grey shorts and a black jacket browsing along the shelf. He didn't have any hair, but did have a small bit of stubble under his chin. I saw him looking in the German section of the books, chuckling to myself at the confused expression on his face, only for his blue eyes to rotate and look right at me. "Can I help you?" I gulped, his much larger and taller figure intimidating me slightly.
"Sorry, you just look like maybe you could do with a bit of help." He sighed, dropping his shoulders, making me feel a little bit more relaxed.
"Is it that obvious?" He asked. I nodded with a small smile on my face.
"What is it you're looking for?" I asked him, looking at the numerous books he had in his hand.
"I've got a friend who is bilingual, and his birthday is in a couple of days. He knows so many languages, but I know he's been trying to brush up on his German, so whilst we're here I thought I'd get him something, I just don't know what." His friend sounded incredible really, I knew how difficult it was to learn one language, never mind multiple.
"How advanced is his German?" I asked, hoping to get a better understanding. He looked back at me clueless, never a good sign.
"I struggle to understand him at the best of times, never mind when he is speaking in another language." I giggled, struggling to see what he meant. "He's Swiss, so his accent can be a bit dodgy here and there, you know?"
"I see, so do you speak any German?" He shook his head, but then stopped himself, putting his finger up quickly. I could see how hard he was thinking by his furrowed brows.
"Hallo." I sniggered, despite his very proud look.
"That's easy, what about good day?" He shook his head straight away, not having any idea. "Are you sure you're buying this book for the right person?" He bit his lip trying to hold back the annoyance by my comment. "Alright, well I'd say if you definitely narrow it down to these two." I picked up to of the intermediate books, they weren't challenging, but they weren't easy.
"How do you know which book is what?" He asked, looking at the ones I slotted back into their rightful places on the shelf.
"I spend an awful lot of time in this place, after a while you feel as though you might as well just work here." He smiled back over at me once again, altering my opinion of him slightly. He may be a giant character, but he seemed like a great guy behind all them muscles.
I took both the books from him, turning them around and scanning through the blurbs, a good indication of how good quality they were. "Alright, I'm going to go for this one." I shoved the book I had picked into his chest, feeling his hand come upwards and land on top of mine, bringing it to his chest.
"If that's what you think, I'm sure he'll love it." I slid my hand out from underneath his, trying to hide my grin. He reached into the pocket of his jacket, pulling out his wallet. "So, what sort of things do you read?"
"I read anything and everything, fiction, biography, whatever is in stock." He looked at me in awe like I was some kind of wonder, but all I did was read books. He went to walk away, but then stopped himself, turning back around to look at me.
"I'm really sorry, but I never caught your name." I hadn't even noticed, I'd become to embroiled in discussions of German books to realise.
"I'm Charlotte, and you are?" I reached my hand forwards for him to shake.
"I'm Randy." He went to reach for my hand, but then slid past it, leaning in and hugging me. I nervously hugged him back quickly, but pulled away not so long after he went for the hug. "Thank you so much for your help, you really are an awesome girl." I smiled trying to hide my blush, not many people had called me 'awesome' before.
"You're more than welcome, I enjoy helping others, it is what makes the world go by." I scanned the rest of the shelf, noticing the next book to continue my series, quickly pulling it out, running my thumb across the front cover.
"Here, allow me, it's the least I can do for you Charlotte." He reached forwards and took the book right out of my hand, walking over to the till and paying for them both.
"You're too kind." I whispered to him, taking my book back once he paid. We walked back over to the door, me in front of him, listening to the little jingle of the bell again as we stepped back outside into the brisk air.
"Hey Charlotte," I heard him say, as he shut the door behind us. I turned around, bringing my coat around so it met, trying to keep myself warm. "How do you fancy maybe heading out sometime? Like on a date?" I couldn't hold back my smile, nodding over to him.
"That sounds lovely Randy." I watched him pull out his phone, deciding I should probably do the same, opening up my contacts list. We quickly exchanged phones, and numbers then put them away.
"I'll text you when I know I'm free and we can arrange something." I nodded watching him step forwards and peck my cheek. "I'll see you around." I put my book into my bag, throwing it back onto my back. "Oh, and enjoy your book."
I giggled, completely infatuated by him. "I'll see you soon." I quickly waved, then spun around on my heels, walking back down towards my house, but not before I glanced back round, watching him walk, with a small spring in his step, in the opposite direction.