This story is entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Chapter 1
"Damn rain!" Jane Bennington grumbled as she slogged through the puddles and mud coagulating on the sidewalk. It had been raining for three days straight and while Jane typically loved the rain, she was over it. Over it! Jane continued to grumble as she reached the bus stop that was thankfully covered. She squeezed in among the group of people packed into the enclosure and looked at her watch. She was going to be late.
The bus finally arrived ten minutes later and she gratefully took a seat and started digging through her backpack for her cell phone. She pulled it out and flipped it open only to find that it was dead. She had just charged it the night before, but the battery wasn't holding a charge. She let her head fall back on the headrest and rolled her head towards the window. She absolutely despised being late.
Twenty minutes later, and half an hour after she was scheduled to arrive, she finally reached the North Carolina State Library where she worked as a librarian. She wiped her feet off as best she could on the mat outside and cringed at her reflection in the automatic doors. Her Doc Martens were covered in mud and she looked like a bedraggled street person. She was assaulted by the air conditioning as she walked inside and shivered at the temperature difference.
"Jane! There you are. I was beginning to think that you weren't coming!" Jane's boss, Larry exclaimed as she made her way to the employee break room. Larry was in his fifties, wore his pants three inches too short and had gray hair that always looked like he had just rolled out of bed. He was the epitome of high energy and was always flitting from one place to another.
"I'm so sorry, Larry. It's been a hell of a morning."
"Hmm, yes, I can see that," he replied as he raked his gaze over her dripping hair and now-orange shoes. "Well, my dear, go get dried off and de-mudded and then head over to the research desk."
Thank God for Larry. He may be frenetic and occasionally, downright strange, but he was a good boss.
Jane dried her hair as best she could under the hand-dryer in the bathroom and rinsed her shoes in the sink. She grimaced as she looked in the mirror. Well, she no longer looked like a bedraggled street person, but she didn't look much better. She cleaned her glasses with toilet paper, took a deep breath and went to attack her day.
*****
Jacob Myers pulled his 20-year old VW Jetta into a parking space at the State Library and sent up a mental thanks that his car got him to another destination. It was still early, so he was able to get a space fairly close to the door. He got out and made a mad dash for the entrance, but still ended up soaked.
He had chosen to visit this library for the first time, as opposed to one of the libraries on the NC State campus, in hopes that he could find more books on South Carolina's history. Though he was attending school on a wrestling scholarship, he was a history major and planned to be a history professor after he got his Master's Degree. He was finishing up his Bachelor's Degree now and was looking forward to taking a TA position next semester.
He followed the signs to the Research Desk and got in line behind a man who was gesturing wildly, his high-pitched voice going on about books not being returned to the correct shelves and common courtesy. Jacob pulled out his cell phone and made sure that it was on vibrate. He didn't want to do anything piss this guy off and be forced to listen to another tantrum.
"Larry," the voice behind the desk said. Larry either ignored the female voice or didn't hear her.
"LARRY!" the voice said more sharply. Jacob could've sworn he heard Larry's teeth snap together. "There is a patron standing behind you, who I'm sure always puts books back where they belong," the voice said dryly.
Jacob covered his laugh with a cough. "Um, yes sir." Jacob had to cough again once he got a look at Larry's Mozart-like hair and thick round glasses.
Larry blushed and huffed, finally walking away. Jacob put his hands in his pockets and finally got a glimpse of the face that went along with the voice. The woman had her glasses in one hand and the other pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rough morning?" he asked in an amused voice.
The woman put her glasses back on and looked up. "You have no fucking idea."
He had to laugh at her candor. His laugh must have been contagious because now she was grinning as well. His laugh trailed off as he looked at her face. This woman was stunning. Or maybe adorable was a more apt description. Fair skin with chocolate brown eyes behind funky, purple glasses. Inky black hair with blue streaks (that was currently sticking up in some places), a pixie-like nose and the most luscious pink mouth with a line down the center of the bottom lip. It didn't look like she had any make-up on.
"You know, it's really rude to stare. I had to walk to the bus stop in the shit outside and I know I look drowning peacock."
"N...no! You look..."
She interrupted him, "Don't bother. I don't need a fake pick-me up from a jock." He could see her letting the professional librarian facade slide over her face. "What can I help you with, sir?" she asked with a wide smile that didn't reach her eyes.
Jacob shook his head to clear his mind. "Um, American History."
"Down the hall, to the right on the last cluster of shelves on the left. Have a nice day!"
Wow, she was certainly a feisty one. "I didn't catch your name."
"I didn't tell you my name," she replied cheekily.
He held out his hand to shake. "I'm Jacob Myers."
She reluctantly reached out and shook his hand. "Jane Bennington."
He caressed his thumb over her wrist, noticing that her nails were free of any polish. She jerked her hand away, giving him a contemptuous look.
"It was nice to meet you, Jane Bennington," he said, making eye contact, then turning and walking away.
Chapter 2
Jane stared at the counter in front of her, wondering what just happened. She was normally immune to the advances of either sex, few and far between as they were. She had no interest in dating and no interest in sex. She was perfectly happy with her books and writing her own erotic stories.
"Right Jane," she thought, "you just keep telling yourself that."
So, what was it that was different about Jacob? He was a jock for sure, so he probably fucked his way through half of the city and had an attitude more arrogant than an ass.
"Wait a second, don't you hate it when people assume that you're goth because of your fair skin and black hair? You're stereotyping him, just like people stereotype you."
"Oh, shut up Jane!" she grumbled to herself. But she couldn't keep herself from keeping an eye out for him. He was at least 6'4 -- more than a foot taller than herself -- and had the most piercing gray eyes that she had ever seen. He had a boyish face and chestnut brown hair. And those muscles...wow. She had literally felt goosebumps when he touched her wrist.
She found that she was staring into space and ripped herself back to the work in front of her. She couldn't afford to day-dream about something that she could never allow herself to have. Not after...no. She wasn't even going to think about that time in her life.
*****
It was several hours later when she saw Jacob come back around the corner. She took a deep breath and tried to force the professional facade back around her.
"Did you find what you were looking for?"
"I think so. You definitely have a bigger selection here than the library on campus." "Where are you in school?" she asked, cursing herself for prolonging the conversation.
"NC State," he replied. "I'm a history major."
