Chapter One
A small bell chimed in the back of my mind, doing nothing to break my focus on one of my favorite books. I leaned forward in my chair as it got more interesting, chewing my nails even though I knew what would happen next.
"Excuse me, miss." came a voice from the other side of the check-out counter. I sighed in exasperation and rose from my seat, placing the paperback face-down on the counter.
"How may I help you?" I asked with as much professional civility as I could manage when all I wanted to do was race to my favorite part of the book.
"I'm looking for a book." she said, looking around and sounding overwhelmed by the crowded bookstore. I didn't really look at her, but I kept glancing back to the book, anxious to return to my quiet reading.
"Well this is a bookstore. Did you have a particular one in mind?" I said.
"I think it's called... umm... Independence Day." My heart jumped into my throat as the girl named the exact book I had been reading. I looked up into her face for the first time and almost gasped in surprise. This woman was gorgeous. She had piercing tawny eyes and short brown hair that swept sideways across her smooth, flawless forehead. My eyes traced down to her slender neck where I noticed a beaded rainbow necklace resting there. I couldn't stop myself from shifting my gaze slightly southward...
"Umm... do you know if you stock a book by that name? I think It's by Richard Ford." asked the girl again, awaking me from my embarrassing slack-jawed stupor. The cocky grin on her face told me she had definitely noticed me checking her out.
"Yeah... I have a copy right here." I said, my cheeks radiating warmth.
"Thank god. I've been looking around every bookstore in town for this!" she said with a sigh of relief.
"Old favorite?" I asked, smiling hopefully.
"Not exactly. I just need it for... oh never mind. It's a long story."
"I've got time to kill." I said, looking around the deserted store and forgetting that this beautiful stranger was planning on ripping my only copy of Independence Day from my soft, pliable hands.
"Ok. Well... my ex used my library card to check out this book, and when we broke up, she took it with her and never returned it. So a few months later, the library calls me up and wants to know where their book is! They're still charging me a fortune in fines, so I'm glad I finally found this goddamn thing."
"Wow" I said laughing with her. "That's some story." I cringed at how lame my reply sounded. My mind was still processing what she had said.
"Yeah... so how much is the book?"
"Ten dollars." I handed her the book in exchange for her legal tender.
"I'm Tegan by the way." she said.
"I'm Sara." I replied
"I'll see you around sometime, Sara. And thanks for helping me out."
"No problem ... yeah... umm... bye" I stuttered as I watched her leave the store.
And then I put it all together in my mind;
the rainbow necklace,
the female ex
I found myself groaning in frustration as I realized that Tegan, this beautiful girl, was gay and had practically fallen into my lap. But, as usual, my oblivious self failed to even notice. Now, here I was, still single, and missing the only copy of my favorite book. I collapsed into my chair, grabbing another book, and resigning to my fate of spinsterhood. but somehow I couldn't keep the smile from my face as I turned her name over and over in my mind.
Tegan
What an unusual name...