Episode 28: Bookstore

A/N: Get comfortable, loves. She's a long one :) x

Episode 28: Bookstore

"It's here?" Christopher looked at the entrance of the bookstore with an unreadable expression.

Leslie nodded. "Yes, why? Have you been here before?"

He didn't answer, only trailed after her as she excitedly entered the one-story building.

The bookstore was a soft mixture of a vast coffee shop, a library and what it was supposed to be. The ambience was friendly and better than a simple store where one could spend all day here and feel good even if you didn't buy anything at all. There was no judgement. That was why Leslie cherished this place since she discovered it over a year ago. It was a warm, welcoming space for everyone rather than for "customers." This wasn't a cash-nexus business but a relationship-nexus one. That made it a real gem in this selfish city.

"You seem to really know your way around this place," he noted as she headed towards the shelves of fiction books.

She opened her mouth to answer him but then her eyes spotted a full head of pretty twists.

"Jenny!"

Her feet immediately took her to the counter where she greeted the only staff here who was around her age.

Upon noticing Leslie, Jenny set down the pile of books she was sorting and dashed across the room to give her a big hug. "Leslie! I haven't seen you in months! How have you been, girl?"

She grinned happily. "I've been good. Just got caught up with work. I changed jobs recently."

"Is it because of the situation with your mom?"

Leslie stiffened at the reminder of her mother. "No...I—"

"Who might this handsome fella be?" The sales clerk's eyes widened in unconcealed appreciation.

Leslie looked beside her to see that Christopher had materialized there. He stood uncomfortably in the space and she wondered how someone could look like this in such an inviting environment. Almost every person here was busy snickering and enjoying the atmosphere the good books and music provided.

"He's..." her brain halted in its introduction, wondering what to call him. Her boss? Her boyfriend? Her friend? Technically, he was all of those and more.

"I'm Christopher Wells," he saved her by self-identifying.

Jenny took his polite hand that was held out to her. "Christopher Wells? That name sounds kind of familiar..."

She could see the moment when Jenny came to put two and two together.

Her body stilled as her hand slowly withdrew itself like it had touched something it wasn't supposed to. "Um...you don't happen to mean author Christopher Wells, king of adult romance, do you? You know, by any slim chance?" She chuckled nervously at the end, gaze extremely anticipating.

"I didn't know there was a title that comes with my name." He mused thoughtfully.

That was enough of an answer for Jenny's knees to give way. She dramatically held on to Leslie's shoulders for support.

The woman couldn't hide her shock for the life of her.

"Is he being for real?" She whispered poorly to her friend.

Leslie tried not to get embarrassed by the theatrics of her. That was one of the many aftermaths of her spending so much time in the company of books and forgetting what it was like to interact with actual people.

"Don't mind her. She's a fan."

"I'm a fan?" Jenny sputtered in disbelief. "If I'm a fan, you're a freaking air conditioner! How dare you pretend not to be the biggest fan girl to ever exist when it comes to this man's works?"

She groaned, pressing the palms of her hands to her forehead.

It was no secret that she'd hinted at being an advocate for Christopher's works in the past and even complimented them. He knew that much about her appreciation for them.

Even so, were the theatrics really necessary, Jenny?

The culprit ignored the stink eye being sent to her.

At that comment, Christopher happened to perk up from his gloomy mood. "I didn't know you liked my writing enough to be considered such a well known devotee."

"I am no such thing." She snapped.

It was obvious he was trying to suppress his arrogance on the matter.

The act was a big fail.

Having him try not to show what he was feeling on the inside was as effective as trying to convince someone that the sky had no color (which scientifically was a fact but nobody wants to hear that).

She knew what that shimmer in his blue eyes meant at the moment.

And the woman was incredibly mortified by it.

"Oh, you don't need to lie, Leslie. Who was the one you begged to save you a copy of his book last fall in fear of it selling out? Me. You know those things go against my work ethic, but because you were basically begging me to, I really had no choice."

"Jenny..."

"I know, you're shy to express yourself to your role model. But come on, you're bold enough to be here with him. It's not much to let him know your appreciation for what he does."

"Yes," Christopher smoothly agreed. "You can tell me what you like. It's not like I'm going to hold it against you."

That's the exact opposite of what your eyes are telling me right now, bastard! She wanted to yell at him, but traded those words for another.

"He doesn't like to be complimented so I try to refrain from doing so. After all, he is my superior at work."

"You two work together?" Jenny sputtered.

Her eyes went back and forth between them before landing on her friend with a longing sigh. "Are you living my dream or what?"

"Or what."

She glared at her for the lack of enthusiasm.

"I guess the new job is going well for you to be working with someone so successful. I take it you are here for some drafts or maybe references? Let me know if I can help you guys. I'll try my best to find whatever it is. You know I know this place like the back of my hands."

"I actually know where to find them, but thanks. We'll get going then. It was nice talking to you."

"It was great to see you again! I hope this is the start of you visiting me more often. God knows I get sick of the same scenery here sometimes. The owner got a new wife the other day and she's deluded herself into thinking she owns the place. Throwing orders left and right. I can't stand her."

"In all fairness, if she's the wife, she has the authority to do so. Not that I'm taking away from your suffering. You poor baby."

Jenny took a deep breath as the cooing noises came from her.

"Leslie, I swear to God."

Pretending to flinch as she air-choked her, Leslie hopped away with a giggle. "I'll see you in a few minutes. I'll be in the back."

"Let me know if you need anything!"

They didn't even take two steps away from Jenny before Christopher spoke.

"Why didn't you tell her we are dating?"

Her neck snapped in his direction as she flushed.

She looked at him. His hands were stuffed into his beige trench coat pockets as he looked down at her imploringly.

Was that what he'd been thinking about the entire time?

"I didn't...I didn't know if you wanted me to be sharing that information with just anyone."

"She's not just 'anyone', is she? You two seemed pretty close. Or was that just my misconception?"

"No—we are. We are close."

He simply stared at her.

"I just didn't wish to make you uncomfortable. I know how much you value your privacy."

"When it comes to you, there is no such thing. I've been stripped of all my 'privacy' since the day I met you."

Her hands squeezed themselves as she twisted her body like a pretzel because of how shy she became at hearing that. "Really?"

Christopher sighed at her excessiveness. "Let's just find those books."

"Aye, aye, captain." She saluted him.

***

It was about three hours before the two of them decided to take a lunch break.

It was insanely hard to disconnect from their craft when they became invested in it.

A war could have broken out beyond those transparent store windows and neither of them would have noticed.

Leslie's lips tugged up at the corners.

It reminded her of the days she'd been working in the comfort of his home.

It was funny how nostalgic that had gotten when it wasn't that long ago.

Her sign of amusement caught his attention. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing." She cleared her throat, reaching for her jacket. "Let's go get something to eat. I'm starving."

On cue, she heard a growl come from someone's stomach.

She was shocked to see Christopher cover his tummy.

He gave a sheepish smile.

"I guess so are you."

He didn't respond as she linked her arms around his and led him out the store.

Jenny caught sight of them on the way out, her brows raising in question at their interaction.

She cuddled up closer to him, making the clerk's jaw drop.

Christopher didn't say anything about her public display of affection. He was looking more focused on something else.

That was when she noticed that Noah Taylor was standing before them.

Though it wasn't his best friend that the man had his acerbic eyes set onto.

It was one of the women he was with.

A tall red-head had her arms inches away from touching the poet, and Leslie remembered why she looked familiar. She was that ill mannered girl from his book release party. The one who came up to her staking her claim on a man that was going through a time of heartbreak and healing. One she'd assumed Leslie was taking away from her even though they broke up and she was 'unworthy' of.

It appeared her recognition was only a millisecond behind Leslie's as her mouth twisted down unpleasantly.

"What is she doing here?" She asked no one in particular.

"I didn't know you owned this bookstore. If so, I applaud you. It's great to see that you're still maintaining that envious 'lifestyle' of yours."

She stepped up from behind and towards Leslie with a scowl. "If you have something to say, you can just say it directly to my face. No need to be a bitch about it."

Leslie blinked.

"Chantel—" Noah started, his face red with what was assumingly a mixture of embarrassment and anger.

"Okay, I guess that was low of me to bring up past grievances. We don't even know each other like that...but what does it say about you when you're so defensive when they were your words to begin with? Why? You don't like being in the wrong? Who was the one that categorized someone she hardly knew and belittled her with a high school mean girl approach? Who was the bitch then?"

She growled and went for Leslie with a raised hand, but didn't get too far as an intimidating body blocked her.

The woman stared up at Christopher in shock as he held her wrist in a tight hold.

She flinched.

"What are you doing?!"

"I want to ask you the same thing," he said lowly. His eyes held darkness on the edges as he glanced at her offensive hand for a split second before looking back at her. "Just exactly what are you doing?"

Her eyes bore into his own. "Did you not hear what she said? She was picking a fight the moment she saw me!"

Leslie hated the fact that she spoke like she was close with him.

It rubbed her the wrong way to know she was even slightly familiar with his company.

As much as she hated that being the case, that was the only explanation as to why she was acting like she had the right for him to take her side.

"I heard what she said. I also saw what you were about to do. I'm sure you know better than that taking into consideration your distinguished upbringing. Don't you, Chantel?"

Her face paled into a sickening color as her lips parted. She looked mortified by the switch in the topic of discussion.

Whatever it was about her childhood, Christopher knew everything about it.

It was clear with the way she snatched her hand back and she ran a nervous hand through her curls. "I wasn't about to do anything. I just wanted to scare her for a second."

"Listen and listen carefully," he said, eerily calm.

Chantel basically forced herself to look him into the eyes. When she did, she averted her gaze to the unknown woman beside her. Almost as if she was pleading with her for help.

Her eyes were too busy on Christopher.

"The next time you think about trying to scare her, maybe you should think about the possibility of me scaring you."

She gasped. "Are you threatening me, Christopher?"

"Did it sound like a threat?" He asked guilelessly. "It sounded more like a promise in my mind."

The number of times her eyelashes batted in that second must have been a world record.

"Who is she for you to be this defensive about a little cat fight between us? I thought you didn't care about other people's business. Or was that all a part of your unapproachable, troubled bad boy image?"

Christopher? A bad boy? Don't make me laugh!

Leslie pretended to wipe at her mouth to hide the chuckle.

She coughed to suppress the sound that came along with it.

The woman whose name she was yet to learn turned her attention from Christopher right then.

Her eyes were dark. Like the midnight sky. They were an abyss of chaotic energy which was confusing for the round, cute face she had.

What puzzled Leslie the most though was the hidden contempt she held as she gazed at her.

What is up with these strangers and having it out for me? They must have unspeakable anger issues!

"I don't know what you mean by that, but I've said all that needs to be said."

At his stern dismissal, one would think Chantel would give up but no, she took a step of inspection as she shook her head from left to right. "Oh, don't tell me..."

Her hands covered her mouth in shock.

"Are the two of you a thing?" She screeched, pointing between the two of them.

Her focus shifted to the other woman. Her tone was audacious. "Marley—"

Noah dragged her to the side. "Okay. That's enough."

She was letting out exaggerated sounds of shock when Christopher took the initiative and slipped his hand into Leslie's.

"Not that it's any of your business, but we are."

His words hung in the air as everyone realized it was meant to answer Chantel and not Noah.

"We're together." He cemented further to avoid any sort of confusion.

As if there was a chance of that when he was holding onto her hand like it was his saving grace.

Leslie gave him an amazed look at his willingness to divulge what he did.

The ever so uncultured Chantel's jaw dropped.

Then, her attention shifted back to the other woman and this time she seemed concerned.

"Marley..."

But she wasn't looking at her.

Her eyes were drilling holes through the side of Christopher's head.

If he felt the weight of them, he didn't show any sign of that.

It was impossible not to—they were that intense.

At the way this woman continued to regard him, looking like she had been struck by lightning, Leslie finally understood what was going on here.

This woman, in some way, had been romantically involved with Christopher.

***

A/N:

I smell drama 🤭

Knowing me, it's bound to be the chaotic kind.

What do you think about the reappearance of formerly introduced characters and new ones such as this ✨mysterious✨ Marley???

Is Leslie spot on about her assumption about her romantic ties with Christopher? Or is there more to it?

Don't forget to vote and comment. Guys, make sure to follow me on Instagram too! You can ask me anything there if you can't reach me on Wattpad. :)

[connect with the author:

insta: @writtenbyzan_]