I had gotten a phone call from Tara asking me to come on by on Friday evening, when I got finished with work. I had planned on swinging by the coffee shop as well, so I guessed I might as well go see my friend.
The bell chimed as I entered the bookstore and Tara smiled as she spotted me.
"Hey, Sook," she said, hugging me.
"Taraaa," I said and returned the hug.
"How have you been, sweety?"
"Oh, same old, same old," I told her. I wasn't going to tell how I might have fallen in love with this guy I only met once, now was I? That sounded weird even to my own ears.
"Mhmm," she hummed as if she could smell bullshit. "Then why did this gorgeous six foot something blond God ask me about you?"
I didn't think I heard her right.
"Say that again."
"I said that last week a blond guy came around with a copy of that Fowles book you bought and asked me about a certain blonde he met that had gotten the same title. He seemed like he really wanted to get in touch with you, but I wasn't going to give him your number or anything before I talked to you."
So I took a deep breath and told her about the day I met him and everything that I've tried to hide until now.
"You sound like you're totally head over heels for this guy," she said.
"I don't know if I'd go that far, Tara, but it's definitely something new."
"Do you want me to give him your number when I see him again?" Tara asked.
"How do you know he'd going to come back?"
"I told him to," came her reply and I rolled my eyes. Of course she did.
"Sure, you might as well. Maybe we can finally figure out if this is supposed to go anywhere."
I said my goodbyes and walked out of the shop and headed over to Serendipity. I'd have a drink before heading on home.
It was raining once more, so I quickened my step.
EPOVIt had been another long week and I realized that I really needed to take some days off. It was exhausting and although I loved my job, I would still love to get some free time to do my own stuff.
I quickly got in my car, hurriedly avoiding everything and everyone, praying that no one would stop me and ruin my plans. I had to go to the bookstore and see if Tara was willing to give me more details.
I assumed that she'd talked to Sookie and I was anxious to see if she'd been receptive to the idea of me tracking her down or if she thought I was too forward.
I drove to the store and I ran inside, trying to stay as dry as possible since the skies had opened up.
The second I walked in, Tara shooed me out.
"Go! You just missed her!" she yelled and I was confused for a full second.
I took off running towards the coffee shop and I saw a slim figure jogging slightly in front of me.
I recognized her at once.
"Sookie!" I yelled out. "Sookie, wait!"
She slowed down and looked behind her. Our eyes locked and she stopped in her tracks and turned around, letting the rain pour down over her.
I ran towards her and stopped a foot away from her.
"Hi!" I told her as I caught my breath.
"Hey," she whispered, a smile spreading on her lips.
"I'm Eric." I had wanted to give her my name ever since that night.
"I'm Sookie," she replied.
I stepped closer to her and she didn't shy away from me. My hand reached to her cheek tentatively and she leaned into my touch. I cupped her cheek and slowly lowered my face to hers, giving her the time to take a step back or slap me.
"I've been looking for you for so long," I told her.
"Me, too," she replied as she closed the distance between us.
Our bodies molded together as I kissed her. Her lips felt even better than I had imagined. Sookie's hands found their way around my neck and she pressed against my lips even more.
I angled her head and licked her bottom lip, asking for permission for more. She eagerly returned the favor and our kiss deepened even further.
We were both soaked, but neither of us cared. We stayed there and kissed for several minutes until we were both out of breath.
When we finally pulled apart, big smiles graced our features. I took her hand and pulled under the coffee shop roof. We had so many things to talk about.