THE BOOKSTORE

This came to me OUT OF NOWHERE. I literally went to Barnes and Noble with my fiancee' and said OMG … and came up with this craziness. I swear are there any other fan fic writers that go around and say "Oh I should write Robin and Regina here or there or . . ." I feel like a loon. This story will probably have a lot of fluff and romance. Nothing new for me; I'm not a fan of angst so if you're looking for it here sorry. There probably won't be much. As usual I thank you for your enthusiasm and I have no idea how long this is going to be. And if you know me AT ALL … this is rated M for obvious reasons. #OutlawQueen P.S I miss ROBIN SO MUCH! I have no idea how I'm going to watch season 6 but I feel as an #EvilRegal I have too! WAHHHHH! UPDATE: Since I wrote this intro Robin is coming back … YAY!

CHAPTER ONE

Regina Mills wasn't sure what it was about this particular Barnes and Noble but she loved coming here to grade papers. It wasn't the only bookstore in the area but this one was fairly new and that's why she assumed it was so popular. The people were nice, the coffee was good and one of her best friends - Belle was the store manager who didn't care that she hung out here for hours at a time to grade essays and homework assignments. She came every Saturday and sometimes twice at night during the week as long as her schedule permitted. Regina taught high school English and it wasn't surprising to run into a student now and again. She was used to it. Especially, on a rainy Saturday afternoon in early September like today – she'd already seen two of her students. They'd said hello and goodbye and that was it. Then, she just went back to grading her papers and sipping on her coffee. A few minutes later; she was distracted by another voice who said "Hi Miss. Mills." It was Roland Hood; one of her freshman students.

She smiled as he sauntered up to her table "Hello Roland. How are you today?"

"I'm fine. I'm here with my pop. He's looking around so I thought I'd grab a drink," he said.

"That's nice," she replied.

"Hey! Are those our essay's your grading? Did you do mine yet," he asked anxiously.

"Yes, and I will talk to you about it on Monday," she said.

"Oh' alright," he said. They chatted for a few more minutes and then were interrupted by the sound of someone saying Roland's name. They both looked up and Regina almost forgot to take a breath. She assumed the man approaching her table was her student's father. She'd never met him before and he was . . . quite handsome. When he smiled at them she realized exactly where Roland got his dimples, from "This is my English teacher Miss. Mills," Roland said as he introduced his father to her.

"Oh' it's nice to meet you. Roland talks about you all the time. He says you're his favorite teacher."

"What the heck," Roland said somewhat embarrassed as he glared at his father.

Regina laughed "It's alright. That's nice to hear. It's nice to meet you," she said.

"I'm Robin," he said as he stuck out his hand.

She shook it and said "Are you coming to parent-teacher conferences this Friday?"

"Yes, actually I'm looking forward to meeting Roland's teacher's this year."

"Miss. Mills comes here all the time to grade papers," Roland explained.

"It's a nice place," he said. "They make the best coffee here," Robin added.

"I'm going to get something do you want a drink pop?"

"Yeah' son, coffee please," Robin said. They watched as Roland got on the huge line to wait.

Regina smiled "He's a great kid," she said.

"Oh' thank you; may I," he asked as he nodded toward the chair across from her.

"Of course," she said. He sat and she finally put down her pen "Roland really looks up to you. He's proud of you. We've talked a bit," she explained.

"Oh' . . . well I'm glad he feels he can talk to you," Robin said.

"He tells me you're a police officer?" She sipped her coffee and placed a strand of her hair behind her ear. Robin was momentarily distracted by the action and couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to run his fingers through her gorgeous locks.

He cleared his throat and smiled "Yes, ten years next month," he said proudly.

"That's wonderful. Come to think of it; you must know my best friend Emma," she said.

"Swan; yes we work together actually," he said. "We're basically partners. She's mentioned you a few times."

"Wow, it's a small world. It's funny how we've never met," she said.

"That is strange," he replied. They both chuckled and then Regina couldn't help the blush that was creeping up and over her cheeks. Her face felt hot and she cleared her throat and took a sip of her coffee. She couldn't help but notice Robin was staring at her. Roland was making his way back over "We should let you get back to work."

"It was nice to meet you," she said.

"The pleasure was mine and I'll see you next week at parent-teacher conferences," he said.

"Of course and Roland I will see you Monday. Don't forget about the reading assignment," she said smiling.

"Yes, Miss. Mills; Pop, c'mon let's get going," he said practically dragging his father away. Robin waved one last time and she smiled and picked up her pen. She watched as they headed out of the bookstore and Regina couldn't help but feel somewhat excited when Robin glanced back again. She quickly looked down at the essay sitting in front of her and let out a breath. This was the first time in a long while that she'd had such a reaction to a man. It's not that she didn't look or go on dates but her heart just hadn't been ready for such things. She shook her head but this was inappropriate. Robin was Roland's father and her priority must be her student. But, Regina couldn't help the butterflies in her belly. She placed her hands on her face and she was sweating. There was something about him that she found pleasing and she couldn't help it. Regina was done grading. She couldn't concentrate anymore and decided to head home. She would have to try really hard not to think about Robin but part of her was already excited about the prospect of seeing him on Friday. For now; she'd have to try and put him out of her mind . . .

Sure enough; Regina didn't think about Robin again until Friday morning when she realized she was going to be seeing him at some point for the parent-teacher conference. She'd changed her outfit three times and decided to just dress conservatively in a black skirt, white blouse, blazer and pumps. Students were not reporting to school today but all staff attendance was mandatory. It was a long day. She saw parent after parent; some of them had meltdowns, others were overbearing, somewhat protective and concerned. Others; didn't even show. By the time four o'clock came she was exhausted. Her blazer was on the back of her chair and she went to reach for it because she decided to gather her stuff and head out. Regina was startled by a knock on her door. She glanced up and Robin was standing in the doorway of her classroom; dressed in uniform with a smile on his face. Their eyes met and she could feel her face instantly begin to flush. She couldn't help that her tongue darted out of her mouth and swiped against her bottom lip. He cleared his throat and took a step toward her "I'm sorry I was on a call. Is it too late to talk about Roland for a bit," he asked.

She shook her head "No, please come in. Have a seat over here," she said as she motioned toward one of the desks. She walked back behind her desk and started looking for Roland's file "Let me just find his folder," she said.

"I'm sorry. It looks like you were getting ready to leave," he said.

"It's fine. No worries," she said smiling. She came back around the desk and sat on the edge "I really have no complaints about Roland to be honest. I mean; he's polite, he volunteers in class, he seems to be doing all his reading and homework. His essays are well written. The only thing that I've spoken to him about is his drawings. My class is English but sometimes his mind wanders and he doodles. Granted, he is an excellent artist. I've seen what he can do but not in my class. Maybe, you can talk to him about that," she said.

Robin let out a breath "Yes, Roland loves to draw. It's his favorite thing in the world to be honest and I will speak to him about it."

"Thank you. I know it's early in the year but now they have the parents come and meet the teachers so they know the expectations that we have. But, like I said; Roland seems to be doing fine so far. Now, do you have any questions for me," she asked.

"Well, this a personal question regarding my son but I would love your input. See, Roland has asked if he can work at the local YMCA on the weekends and since you seem to talk to him often – do you think he can handle it?"

Regina sat next to Robin at one of the smaller desks "I think as long as he keeps up with his homework and puts time aside for studying – he'll be fine. But, you're his father Robin. What do you think?"

"I want to let him try," he said proudly.

She smiled "Then, I think it's a great idea."

He nodded "I'm so unsure sometimes. It's been just he and I since his mum died several years ago. He's growing up so fast . . ."

She couldn't help it; she put her hand over his "I'm sure you're doing a great job. He's a wonderful kid. Try not to worry," she said. "I'm sorry about your wife."

"Thank you. Car accident; it was a long time ago but Roland has always been my priority," he said.

"I can understand that Robin but you need to take care of yourself also," she replied.

He smiled at her "Yes, Miss. Mills," he said teasingly.

"Alright," she said standing up and then clearing her throat "Do you have any other concerns?"

"No, thank you for staying late to talk to me; unfortunately, I didn't get to meet with any of his other teachers," he said. "It seems they're all gone."

"You can always make appointments with them. I'm sure they'd be happy to meet with you after school one day," she said.

"Alright; I'll do that," he said. He stood and watched as she gathered her stuff "May I walk you to your car," he asked.

She put her blazer on and grabbed her briefcase "Yes that would be nice. Thank you," she said. They walked out of the school and continued chatting until she stopped in front of her Benz "This is me." She could tell he was nervous; he ran his hands through his hair and shuffled back and forth on his feet. She felt the same way but she wasn't quite sure what to say to him.

He smiled "I have one more question."

"Of course; what is it," she asked.

"Is there a school policy . . . what I mean to say is," he cursed under his breath and took a step back. He glanced into her face and said "Will you have dinner with me?" At first she was shocked and didn't know what to say.

She smiled and bit her lip "Oh' . . ."

"Oh' okay yeah that's crazy of me. I'm so sorry. This was a bad idea."

"No, Robin I would love to," she said softly.

He looked at her dumbfounded "You would?"

She cleared her throat "Yes, but Roland is my student and he's my number one priority. I'm not sure how to handle this," she said.

"Of course; I know and I understand. But, do you feel something between us," he said softly as he stared into her face.

"I do," she admitted.

He leaned against her car and she did the same "It's just . . . you're gorgeous and I'm not going to lie my son must have thought I was a loon because all the sudden I was asking him questions about you. I wondered if maybe you felt the same way," he said softly. "I know we only met one time. You won't hurt my feelings . . ."

She turned toward him and cut him off "Tomorrow . . . two o'clock," she said.

"I'm off tomorrow," he said. "That works for me."

"Good. Where do I go every Saturday Robin," she said.

He smiled "The Bookstore?"

"Yes, I'm not sure about dinner yet but what's the harm in having a cup of coffee," she said.

"I'll be there." He took her hand and kissed the top of her knuckles and then slowly released her fingers "Have a good night," he said.

"You also," she replied. He opened the car door for her and she got in. He took a step back and watched as she drove away. Now, he'd have to go home and have a conversation with his son but he wondered what the hell he was going to say to him. They would need Chinese food for this talk . . .

They were cleaning up the cartons of Chinese food when Roland finally asked about the parent-teacher conferences "So, how did it go? Did you talk to my teacher's," he asked.

"Actually, I was stuck on a call so I only got to speak with Miss. Mills and she says you need to stop drawing in her class," Robin said seriously.

"Yes, Pop. I'll try. What else did she say?"

"Nothing really," he said. "You're doing a good job. Keep up the good work." Robin couldn't help that his face was flushing and he hoped his son didn't notice.

"Oh' alright then. Why's your face all red," he asked.

"It's a little hot in here," Robin said as he stood.

"Not really," Roland replied. Robin cleared his throat and Roland smiled "So, Miss. Mills she's pretty huh? She's probably the best looking teacher at our school."

"Roland Hood . . ."

"What? I'm just speaking the truth."

"Don't talk like that," Robin said.

Roland smiled and then laughed "Pop you've got a crush on my teacher."

Robin shook his head and laughed "You're mad. Besides; that's unprofessional. You're her student," he said.

"What does that matter?"

"There's a code or something; I mean it's a school and she's your teacher," Robin said as he sat on the sofa. "It's inappropriate."

Roland joined him "You have not been on a date since mum died. You have not looked at another lady since . . . well I don't know when. If you like Miss. Mills maybe you should ask her out?"

Robin cleared his throat "Funny you should mention that . . . I asked her to dinner but she says she's not sure if she can. So, she kind of told me that she'd be at the bookstore tomorrow at two."

"Oh' sneaky. I like it," Roland said smiling and wiggling his eyebrows.

"Now listen; this might not go anywhere. It's just a cup of coffee and I don't think you should tell anyone."

Roland held up his hand "On my honor," he said smiling.

"Good and stop being so cheeky about this; it's just coffee."

Roland laughed "Speaking of Miss. Mills . . . I'm going up to read. I have a feeling she's going to throw a pop quiz at us on Monday. I'll see you in the morning."

"Good night Son."

"Night Pop. Love you," he replied.

"Love you too." Robin ran his hand through his hair and then stood to finish cleaning up the kitchen. Once everything was washed and put away; he sat on the couch to watch television for a bit but he couldn't concentrate. Was Roland right? What was the big deal if he ended up going out with Regina? The problem was; if kids at school found out they would probably tease his son and that would not be a good thing. Maybe, Regina was right. They should be careful. After a few minutes of pondering this Robin finally went up to bed but ended up tossing and turning for what seemed like an eternity until finally he drifted off . . .