“Me neither.” Behind him was a tall wooden door arched into a half circle at the top. It looked misplaced, as if it didn’t belong. Everything else was like me, cold and without personality. But the door was warm and filled with history and character. “What’s this?”
Ollie took a side step and pointed to the sign reading LIBRARY room 23. “Come on, we’re just eating here, but this place is really cool. I think you’ll like it.”
The door creaked open as I stepped inside, and it wasn’t anything like I had expected. A small unattended desk stood in the middle of the floor, holding up a computer monitor belonging in the early ‘90s. Papers and books scattered across the old wooden desk, and I turned to Ollie behind me.
“No one is here on Saturday mornings. We have the whole place to ourselves.” He walked past me and behind the desk, where the room split into several options to walk through, and said, “Come on, follow me.”
Ollie led me down an aisle not nearly wide enough for two people to stand side by side. Each row was narrow and stacked from floor to ceiling with books. The library had a sweet but musky smell like chocolate mixed with paper.
Ollie made a sharp left, which opened up another ten different possibilities to turn. Each row was narrower than the last, but Ollie swiftly moved as if he knew where to go. Unable to tell my left from my right, or up from down, corridors and passageways split in all directions, interwoven to create a dream world surrounded by literature. Books stacked every inch, and my eyes darted around as Ollie led me through the web until we finally reached our destination.
A hidden small round nook spiraled in color-coordinated books to the ceiling. Spotlights bounced off the circular walls and onto the floor, and I looked up to see a skylight. Ollie took a seat on the floor and patted the space beside him for me to sit before he opened the bag.
“Where did you get all this?” I asked when he handed me a croissant.
He took a sip of his drink and closed his eyes as if he’d been waiting to get to his spot to enjoy something as simple as the first sip. His eyes didn’t open again until he swallowed it down, but when they did, he caught me in awe of him. “It’s the little things, Mia.” We shared a smile before he finally answered my original question. “I can’t tell you all my secrets. Plus, if I told you, you wouldn’t need me anymore.”
My teeth sunk into the croissant, and it was the perfect amount of crispy flakiness on the outside and buttery fluff on the inside. “You bring me croissants every Saturday, and I’ll gladly bear your children.”
Ollie turned his head to face me and the lump in his throat moved. “I’m holding you to that.” He grinned to lighten the seriousness in his tone, and I quickly averted my eyes from his to our surroundings.
“It’s like a maze in here, though. How do you not get lost?”
He swallowed the food in his mouth before saying, “Oh, I do. One time it took me an hour to find the entrance, but no matter how long or far I stray, I always find my way back. I’m usually here every Saturday morning. Eating in the mess hall every day with the same people can get old after a while. You have to break it up to keep your sanity.” He pulled his knees up and rested his arms over them. “Again … the little things.”
After popping the rest of the croissant into my mouth, I took a sip of my coffee and stood to my feet. Ollie looked up at me with an open mouth and curious eyes. “And where do you think you’re running off to?”
“We’re going to play a game,” I said, and a smile crept along his lips. “You find me first, and I’ll give you an answer—
“An answer to what?”
“Whatever one question you want to ask me, but”—I held up a finger—”if I can get to you first, you have to tell me why you’re here.”
He dropped the last piece of his donut in his mouth, and with a mouthful, he said, “Alright, let’s do this.” He dusted off his hands and stood.
Slowly, I backed away from him. “You stay here, count to sixty while I try to get lost.”
Ollie took a step forward and I took another step back.
An assertive smirk played on his lips. “Don’t leave this library, Mia. If I spend hours searching for you like a fool to find out you left …”
I rested my hands on my hips and returned the same smile. “What are you going to do?”
Ollie’s gaze dropped to the floor as he shook his head lightly, hiding his smile. He ran his hand through his hair as he turned his back to me. “I’m not counting out loud, love. You better get going.” He placed his palms against the circular book case and leaned over.
I watched him, admiring the way his shoulder blades moved beneath his shirt; then my eyes skimmed down his torso and landed on his cute butt.
“I know you’re checking me out.” He laughed.
My cheeks warmed and I took off in the opposite direction, trying to lose myself in the maze. After about a minute passed, my voice danced across the bindings of numerous books as I slowed to a walk through a passageway and down another aisle, “Come find me, Ollie.”
I continued in front of me, hoping I’d reach a dead end, but I didn’t. Every angle, every aisle had me more turned around than before, and after ten minutes passed, I found myself in the Romance section, plucking books off the shelf and analyzing their covers.
Each cover looked similar in a lot of ways. Either a man and woman holding hands, or hugging, or kissing, all showing affection toward one another, but it was all a lie. I didn’t see it in their eyes or smiles because none of it was real. False advertisement, if you ask me. Book covers should only reveal the title, author, and short description. They say you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, but everyone always did.
A pair of hands brushed the surface of my arms, and the warmth of Ollie’s body behind me made me smile. “Looks like I get to ask you a question.” His breath heated my neck.
Fingertips traveled down the lengths of my arms until they found mine. The only sound was the beating in my ears, and I fought to keep my body from sinking into him.
Ollie had to have felt the same force because it was him who surrendered the distance between us, pressing his body against mine from behind. He moved my hair off my shoulder to the other side.
“One question.” I managed to gather the two words as his struggling breath entangled in my hair.
“This isn’t fair. There is so much I want to know.” He laced his fingers into mine as he dipped his head down to my ear. “I want to know how you like your coffee, and what your favorite song is. I want to know what annoys you, and the worst thing you’ve ever done. I want to know your greatest fear, and whether or not you talk in your sleep. If you prefer chocolate over vanilla, and if you cried watching The Notebook … if you’ve ever seen The Notebook, or like movies at all. What gives you the greatest high, and what can take all the pain away …” Ollie drew in a deep breath, and at the same time, my heart skipped in my chest. “But what I need to know is … are you willing to open yourself up to me so I can find out?”