Chapter 7

• Chapter Seven
• The sweet anime loving man glances at the shelf behind me and pauses for only a beat before reaching for a comic book. As he leans in to retrieve it, I catch the faint musk scent of his skin.
• “This … this was one of my favorites,” he says, thumping his hand on the cover ofa wuxical, which features a man with long, dark hair whose blousy white shirt is open to his waist, exposing his tan chest andit of harems around him.
• “Really? What’s it about?” I asked wanted to talk more!
• The attractive stranger rubs his chin and looks back and forth between me and the book comic .
• “Well, you see, this man … he was on a lifelong quest to find his mate in the land, because obviously look at him..,.” I didn’t get the rest of the story , my gaze fixed on his lips.
• I clap my hand over my mouth to muffle the giggles that I can’t contain.
• “And this lady ” he says, pointing to the red-haired woman whose bosom is about to burst out of her green gown, “it turns out that even though she has no formal training, she is the one who is most skilled at cutting and styling his long locks, so his quest is fulfilled when he meets her.”
• “Spoiler alert!” I cry, still laughing and I don’t even know why!.
• “Oh, and they live happily ever after,I have the game adaptation installed on my console ” he says.
• “That sounds dreamy.” I take the comic book from him and add it to my stack, guess I got me a new genre.
• The man frowns. “You’re not actually going to buy that, are you?”
• “Why not?”
• “I mean … I could just lend you my copy andyou can play the game too,” he says with a shrug.
• “You’d do that? You don’t even know me, and you’d trust me with your favorite book?” I asked my eyes twinkling.
• His eyes slide down my body, taking in my yellow sundress and white sandals before returning to my face.
• “You look trustworthy enough.” He’d been keeping a straight face so far, but now he finally grins and holds out his hand. “I’m Ian, by the way.”
• “Ian, the game player . Nice to meet you. I’m Jasmine.”
• His rough, warm hand envelops mine as we shake. He holds on longer than is customary, his smiling eyes on mine the entire time and for so
• Odd reason ,he looks really farmiliar.
• “Since you’ve read all of these comic books already, what are you shopping for today?” I ask him with a puppy face.
• “I’m looking for the science fiction section, I can have it mailed to my house but nothing beasts the comic book hunting experience . Do you happen to know where the system section is?”
• I nod. “I think I do. Follow me.” I don’t know the place but it feels good to walk around with him
• “Are you done here? I don’t want to interrupt you,” he says.
• Silly Ian . Much as I love to look at covers and hot non existent characters , I’ll take a man in the flesh over a book any day.
• Now that’s the beauty of one-night stands, no strings attached with Damon and I can scoop this one. Uhmmm
• “I have a friend who writes science fiction stories but not system books yet ,” I tell Ian as we walk the short distance to the section he’s looking for.
• “Really? Are any of her books here?”
• “Not yet, but I’m sure they will be someday.” Lisa is an English major and she is i just getting started with her writing, but I have no doubt she’ll be a success if only she fucks less and write more.
• “That’s great,” Ian says, sounding encouraging.
• “Are you looking for something in particular, or just browsing through the genre ?” I ask. I sound like a store employee, but I’m not eager to say goodbye to this man I’ve just met and the coffe shop has thought me customer skills.
• “Why can’t I be a comic and just follow you home” I whispered beneath my breath but
• Ian’s head falls back as a laugh erupts out of him. His sense of humor has been distracting me, but I’m once again noticing his good looks. The man obviously works out.
• His muscle tone and definition are apparent through his shirt, and my hands itch to squeeze his shoulders to see if they’re as rock hard as they look. Also, I wonder how far the artwork on his forearms extends.
• He catches me checking him out. “Would you like to get a coffee,Jasmine ?” He gestures towars the cafe I work with a tilt of his head and I smiled brightly.
• I bite my lip, hesitating for a moment before deciding to go for it. “Do you maybe happen to have coffee at … your place?”
• His eyes darken as they search my face. “I do. Do you want to go now?”
• “Don’t forget the boo you came for ” I say.
• “I can pick that up another time.” He says this in a funny way, like he’s only joking about how quickly he wants to leave, but I think he would run out of the door with me right now if he could. Instead, he finds his new release, and we wait in the checkout line together.
• “Do you live far from here?” I ask.
• “Only about five minutes drive .”
• “That’s better”
• “Sounds good.” Ian’s demeanor has changed.
• ,his eyes looking smoldering hot with promises unspoken.