With finals approaching, Diana found herself buried in her university library's stacks almost daily. Diana had never interacted with the librarians as much as she had for her Roman History term paper, pulling out books every couple hours. One librarian in particular, though, had caught her eye from the first time she saw her at the start of the term.
Diana couldn't help but find her eyes drawn to the front desk to stare at this mystery woman every time she walked in. This librarian had a signature look that only added to her allure: long, dark hair coiffed into a bun with strands elegantly falling away, black cat eye glasses, and red lipstick, red nails, and red heels. Even though Diana would spend basically all day in the library, she would make a special effort to pass by the front desk for any given reason after 6 pm, which was when her library crush started her daily night shift until 2 am. This wasn't wholly a one-sided effort, though, with the librarian equally holding Diana's gaze whenever their paths crossed.
Diana felt her anxious restlessness growing each day, embarrassed that she went through the effort of memorizing her schedule but still lacked the courage to even ask her name. Her obsession spurred her to scour the library website until she found a match: Vivian Marston, Viv to her friends (according to her Instagram). At last, she knew Vivian's lovely name. Apparently Vivian was somewhere in her thirties, making her at least a decade older, but Diana didn't mind; perhaps, this made her even more interested. Emboldened by this discovery, Diana vowed to spark up a conversation the next time she saw her.
-------- Thursday, Dec. 06 --------
Like clockwork, I saw Vivian settling into her desk as she started her shift, watching from my vantage point across the first floor. Putting the paper I desperately needed to work on in the back of my mind, I looked up a tangentially related book that would require special assistance to access. I made my way to the front desk and greeted Vivian, my heart pounding in my ears.
"Hi, I'm looking for a specific book but it appears to be in a librarian-only section of the basement. Would you be able to help me grab it?" I innocently asked.
"Sure! Let me just look up the reference number. I'm Vivian, by the way," she told me.
"So nice to meet you! I'm Diana," I responded, acting as if I hadn't already seen photos of her spanning back to 2014, learned she had been divorced for several years, and found out that her cat died last week (thanks again, Instagram). "I'm just writing my term paper right now and need that specific book, sorry if it's a trek." She kindly responded, "No worries, I'm happy to do anything that gets me out of this chair."
Vivian silently pulled up the reference number then stood up, adjusting the glasses sliding down her aquiline nose. "Alright, just follow me down the stairs. It's a couple flights down so let me know if you want to take the elevator."
"That's fine, I'd like to walk," I told her. She led the way, and I felt my heart flutter as I watched her walk in long, feminine strides to the stairwell, the click of her heels echoing with each step. We made small talk on the way down, and she commented on how pretty my green eyes are, which made me woozy to be acknowledged by her in this way. Once on the storage level of the basement, Vivian guided us out and I stood jaw dropped at the sheer extent of books stuck in library limbo.
Vivian must have noticed, mentioning, "I know, it's overwhelming at first, huh. Not many are lucky enough to ever see this place."
"I could stay here for hours -- wow." Totally forgetting what I came here for, I asked if she could give me a tour around, since it looked nothing like the upper levels. She walked me around the floor, weaving in and out of shelves, describing each category they held. I was in awe of her obvious expertise and knowledge of the library.
"Oh gosh, I'm so sorry, I forgot you needed a book!" she spontaneously exclaimed. "I'm sure you need to get back to writing your paper, I won't keep you any--"
"No, no," I interrupted, "this tour, mainly talking with you, has been a very welcome break from studying. I can't believe it took us until the end of the semester to officially meet; I would have loved to get to know you sooner."
I felt like I shouldn't have gushed like this so quickly, but she seemed delighted to hear that, even though she tried to hide it. "I've seen you in here almost every day of the semester, I was wondering when you'd finally come to my side of the desk to check you out -- pun intended," she laughed. I immediately blushed -- is she flirting right now?
"Well, um," I stuttered like an idiot with a dumb smile on my face, "you too." Oh my God. I did not just say "you too."
"Haha, you're cute when you're flustered," Vivian quipped. "Here, let's go to Row J to get your book." Situated towards the back wall, Row J was the only row with all of its lights out and was far more narrow than any of the others. "Sorry, it's a tight squeeze."
She was definitely right about that, with her hand "accidentally" brushing against me twice, sending shivers through my body. Simultaneously spotting the book on the top shelf, our hands landed on top of each other as we reached for it at the same time. Neither of us pulled away, and when I turned my head, I saw her inquisitive eyes boring into mine. For the first time, she was the one who blushed. She quickly pulled herself together, handing me the book.
"I hope it's an enthralling read. You'll have to let me know what it's about," Vivian sincerely told me.
I could tell from her tone that she meant it, even though this book was by name alone incredibly dull, "Flowers in Pompeian Wall Art: the Power of Poppies." "Oh yeah, just wait for tomorrow; I'll tell you all the lowdown on flower power in Rome," I responded. There was no way I'd actually read this, but I found myself later that night skimming through it just so I'd have a reason to talk to her next time I saw her.
------ Sunday, Dec. 09 - 8:03 PM ------
Three days after we first met, I was back in the library again. I felt bad not showing up Friday after mentioning I would, but I was busy partying during her shifts over the weekend. I scanned my school ID and walked in, immediately making eye contact and smiling at Vivian. She was less eager than I'd hoped, but smiling nonetheless.
"Hey Vivian, how was your weekend?" I asked nonchalantly, hoping she had forgotten about what I'd promised her Thursday.