"Oh, what a cool little bookstore," Hannah said, "I didn't even know this place was here."
The way she looked at the titles on the sci-fi/fantasy shelf told me everything I needed to know about her: Kid in a candy store. And a geek, too. She just had that look, like the thing right in front of her eyes was so exciting she wanted to take a bite out of it.
"Yeah, we've been here for a while," I said, "but it's kinda hidden back here."
It was just a short-term job between semesters, working for somebody my girlfriend knew, and I had no plans to stick around. If you love books, trust me, you do not want to work in a bookstore. You spend all your money on the good ones and all your time on the bad ones, and the biggest lesson you take home is that people read garbage.
But here's the other lesson: the most gorgeous women you will ever see hang out in bookstores. Maybe they're everywhere, and a good bookstore just puts them in the right mood. This is going to sound bad, but I really did care about my girlfriend, Kelly, and I had never snuck around behind her back. But I was allowed to look. And I couldn't stop looking at Hannah.
She had this messy blonde hair, about down to her shoulders, and round, kinda rosy cheeks. Nice lashes. (For some reason, I noticed her eyelashes.) She was a little thick, very hourglass, wearing a kind of flowy top and jeans. And she had this killer, killer smile. Pretty, and sexy, with just weird hint that there was a secret there—like she was getting away with something. Flirting with women like her was the one real perk of this job.
Her boyfriend came out of the bathroom a minute later, though, and just hovered over her shoulder. So, we cut it short.
"I'm David," I said, "let me know if I can help you look for anything."
She gave me this really sweet look and said "I'm Hannah. I will." Boyfriend didn't seem to like that. I walked back to the one cash register to help some little old ladies ring up their mysteries. I also had a ton of inventory to add to the system that day anyway, so I wouldn't have had much time to flirt with her even if she'd been there by herself, but every time I looked her direction, she was looking back.
I like a woman who knows how to flirt with just a look. And I really liked the looks I was getting from her. I caught myself thinking it was a drag that her boyfriend was there, then I got that guilty feeling that I wasn't even thinking about Kelly. But there was nothing wrong with making eyes at each other, right?
A little later, they came to the counter. "Find something?" She had two new paperbacks and a used hardcover in her hands. Her boyfriend was standing right behind her, looking thrilled to be getting out of there.
"I was looking for the new book in that Ann Leckie trilogy, too," she said, "I didn't see it, but any chance you have a copy in the back, or something?"
"Oh, there's no 'back'," I said, "Let me check, though." I pulled it up in our inventory, and it said we should have a copy.
"Huh. There should be one. Maybe it got onto the wrong shelf."
"Well," Hannah said, holding up her other books, "these will keep me busy for a while." There was that smile again. I can't lie: I was seriously fantasizing about her. Then she said "Can you call me if it turns up?"
"I—sure," I stammered, "absolutely."
She wrote her name and number on a sticky note, and handed it to me like it was a present. Boyfriend was doing something on his phone, but I did catch him giving me a look. Like, "don't get any ideas." Sorry, bro, but I was getting ideas.
"I'll call you," I said, "if I find it."
I felt guilty just having the number. There was a binder where I was supposed to write down customers who needed calls, but I didn't put her in it. I just folded the slip up and hid it in my wallet. (Right next to a condom, actually.)
I didn't find the book, though. So, on my lunch break, I drove to the Barnes & Noble in the next town over and just bought a copy of the damned thing. It was what the customer wanted, okay?
"Oh, that's great," she said on the phone, "how late are you open?"
"Til seven," I said.
She said, "oh, bummer. I have something going right up until seven. Is there, maybe, any chance you could stay open just a little late? For me?" That "for me" part made me look over my shoulder. If my girlfriend had been there and heard it, I know it would have been trouble. I should mention Hannah had a pretty voice, too. I don't know how you'd describe it, but it was pretty. Like you could hear her smiling.
"Definitely."
"Yeah?"
"It'll take me a while to close up anyway," I said, "I'll be here until seven thirty, at least."
"Oh, thanks a lot," she said.
I told the owner (actually my girlfriend's aunt) that I could close, that night, and she was happy to let me. She gave me the key and checked out about half an hour before closing.
Hannah showed up a quarter after seven, right after I'd kicked out the last customer. Most of the lights were out already. I could see she was nervous, and seeing her, all alone like that, made me nervous, too. Whatever she'd been up to, she'd had a chance to touch up her lipstick. Added a spritz of her perfume, too. And done whatever magic it is that girls with that kind of tits do to get their best cleavage up. I noticed, and she knew it. I turned off the "open" sign when I let her in.
"So, you found it?" she asked with her eyes locked on mine. I could feel how close I was to crossing the line with her. One kiss, and there would be no turning back. I guess in our defense, cheating didn't come easily to either one of us. We just stood there looking at each other for what felt like a long time. Just the things I was thinking made me feel like a cheater, and it had my heard beating. But the charge between us was undeniable. She stood with her face just inches from mine. I think she caught me staring at her lips, too.
"What about your boyfriend?" I asked her.
I could tell Hannah was nervous, but she gave me a funny smile anyway. "Well, he'll just have to wait until I'm done reading it, won't he?"
The only spot in the store where we couldn't be seen from the big front window was behind the sci-fi and fantasy shelf, and she knew it. We led each other back there, even though I didn't want to admit the reason to myself. Two seconds later, though, I felt her lips on mine. A nice, big bite of the forbidden fruit. I pressed her against the bookshelf and she put a hand under the back of my shirt. Her lips were like a whole dessert, thick and soft and warm. The way they crushed against my mouth and my tongue made me stagger. Never mind the things going through my head about what Kelly would do if she found out. When Hannah tilted her head to another angle and started slipping her tongue into my mouth, I had to hold onto the bookshelf to stay on my feet. Her hair got tangled in my fingers, and I could feel the rise and fall of her chest against mine.
"Is this going to be okay?" she asked me. I'd been thinking the same question, so I didn't know what to tell her. There were two buttons on her blouse, and she popped them both undone. I undid a button, too.
"I can keep a secret if you can," I said. She started to make a nervous laugh, but it turned into a slow, surprised inhale when my mouth locked onto her neck. I knew exactly what I was doing, but something just wouldn't let me stop. I kissed far enough down her neck that she was lifting her tits to my face, breathing even heavier. I slid a hand under them and squeezed. Something told me those tits were going to feel just as good in my mouth as her lips did, and I couldn't wait to find out. Maybe Kelly would never find out about this, I thought. What would be the harm? I pulled my arm loose and found the clasp of her bra. It took a second to undo all of the hooks with one hand, but I got them.
"Are you sure nobody can see us?" she whispered and pulled the straps off under her blouse. She tucked her bra into her book bag, and guided my head down her chest. She was watching the door, but wasn't really waiting for an answer. The open front of the blouse gave me plenty of room to lift her tits out. Her nipples were wide and soft, but they perked up fast when I wetted them with my tongue and blew cool air over them. I hadn't got to suck on big, warm ones like hers in months, and it was an insane turn-on. The fact that we were both cheating cranked it up, too, and I was a little embarrassed to realize how much it excited me. She scratched under my hair with her nails and said, "that feels good," in a quiet breath.
