Love in the Library (DareToDream & Rubyliday)

Cody Lambert pushed his chair back and stood, stretching his slender body. He’d been sitting in that chair for hours or at least that’s what it felt like. As he arched his back, cracking his spine a little, he chuckled. Here he was, a twenty year old college Junior and he was acting like an old man. He shook his head at that thought. He was used to activity, having grown up on a farm, and these endless hours studying in the library were slowly killing him. They were necessary though, he knew that, even if he didn’t want to accept it. He wasn’t the brightest bulb in the box when it came to book smarts and if he wanted to graduate with a degree, he had to work hard for it. If that meant spending his lifetime in the library and giving up any hope of a personal life, it was a sacrifice he was willing to make. Most days at least. He eyed the chair wearily, imagining that his butt had already made a worn indentation in the plastic, and decided he needed to stretch his legs a bit.

Leaving his books on the table, he set out on a stroll of the library, weaving in and out of book stacks and around tables to stretch his legs. He’d moved from one end of the building to another and up and down each floor at least twice before he was finally ready to head back to his table. As he moved through the stacks again, he heard a voice and slowed, a smile spreading across his face. She was here. He’d wondered if he’d see her that night. She didn’t seem to be on at the normal hour so he figured it was her day off or something. He was glad she was here now. Like him, she was a constant in the library, at least when he was around, and he’d grown used to seeing her.

He rounded a stack and came into a seating area, seeing her across the room. He stopped then to watch her, enjoying her voice as she talked to a customer. She was of medium height – around 5’ 4” inches if he’d had to guess – with long brown hair and expressive eyes hidden behind attractive glasses. Her build was nice, at least to him. Just curvy enough in all the right places to catch his eye whenever he saw her. He had no idea what her name was, or even how old she was; all he knew was that she seemed around his age, that she was a librarian here, and that she had a friendly personality. Over the months that he’d been coming here, he’d seen her more and more and he found that he rather liked her. Even if he’d never actually talked to her. He shook his head at that thought, wondering why he never had, and decided right then and there that tonight he would say hello to her. Sliding across the floor quietly, he approached her and waited for the customer to leave. When he did, Cody flowed into the void. “Hi” he said, stopping in front of the young woman. “I’ve seen you around here a lot and decided to finally get off my butt and introduce myself. I’m Cody. Think of me as your resident hermit, stuck back in the stacks studying all the time.” He flashed her a grin then. “Stop by and say hi the next time you’re back there.” He nodded to her and then kept going, hurrying back to his table and the books that were calling him.

Cody was halfway back to his table when it suddenly dawned on him that he’d introduced himself but still didn’t know her name. He shook his head, chuckling. Sometimes he was such an idiot. He hadn’t wanted to bother her, since she was clearly working, so he’d just moved in, said hello, introduced himself, and then moved out. It had all happened so fast that he wondered if she’d even heard what he’d said. He stopped and pondered that thought for a minute, realizing that what he had wanted to do might have failed miserably because of his haste. He frowned at that idea and glanced back over his shoulder, wondering if he should go back and try again. A sigh left his body though and he turned back in the direction of his table, walking towards it. No sense going back, he figured. He’d already made himself look a little silly with his drive by greeting so why make it worse. Chances were good that she’d already forgotten about him anyway.

Reaching his area, he dropped into the seat with a thud and stared down at the books scattered across the table. He was working on a report about global warming and its effects on the environment, everything from the melting of the polar ice caps which would eventually make polar bears extinct to the catastrophic natural disasters that had been plaguing the planet the last few years. It was interesting reading and Cody had devoured it with a passion over the weeks. He had a soft spot in his heart for the environment and animals so he found this subject fascinating. He settled back in and began to pour over his notes, trying to get back into the work and pick up where he’d left off. After a few minutes though, he pushed the papers away and stretched again.

It’s too quiet in here, he thought to himself. He was in the back of the library, in the area where they kept the classics, and he’d chosen it on purpose. In the day of the electronic age, it seemed that more and more people avoided books, which was a crying shame in his mind. He loved to read, pretty much having a book on him at all times, but not everyone felt the same way. And those that did often read more modern stuff, not the old classics. So, when he’d scoped out a permanent place to study whenever he was here, he chose the classics figuring they’d be void of folks. So far, he’d been correct. Right then, though, he was wishing he’d chosen somewhere else. He needed a distraction. Something to get his mind off the cute librarian whose name he still didn’t know. Maybe the books would do it. He stood and approached the nearest stack, studying the titles he saw. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn caught his eye immediately. He’d always loved that book. Oliver Twist, The Scarlett Letter, Moby Dick and Pride and Prejudice caught his attention next. He’d read three of those. Moving along the stacks, he examined other books, seeing Crime and Punishment, Tale of Two Cities, The Odyssey and a host of others. As he put a book back on the shelf, he paused, listening. He thought he’d heard footsteps. A few seconds later, he heard them again and peered through the stacks, trying to see who might be coming. At first he saw nothing and then he caught a glimpse of brown hair and a glint of light reflected off of something. As the footsteps came closer he finally got a good luck at who was approaching and realized it was her, the woman whose name he didn't know. Realizing she was coming towards his area, he quickly moved back to the table, plopping down and picking up his notes. Though it looked like he was studying now, he was really listening, trying to figure out where she was headed. His heart was racing a mile a minute, pounding out a staccato beat in his chest, and his hands felt shaky all of a sudden. He took a calming breath, sucking it in deep and letting it out slowly. He was acting like a school kid about to get a peek at his crush and it cracked him up. That thought finally relaxed him and he set the papers back on the table, stretching for a third time.