August brought muggy weather and a flood of young people in the bookstore, preparing for their literature courses that required reading the old classics. Therefore, Rapunzel was constantly running, helping customers and keeping the displays stocked and neat. Eugene was always going with Levi in Levi's battered pickup truck to fill the tailgate with boxes of books. And of course, they hardly had any time to sit down and talk, and Eugene was often still stocking or picking up books when Rapunzel went home from work. The overtime was great, but Eugene started to grow concerned. He almost yearned for some time with the young lady, and hoped that she didn't think he'd completely forgotten about her.
One Friday afternoon presented the perfect opportunity. He and Levi had gone earlier than usual to pick up a load of books about two hours away, and came back and had everything stocked before the store closed up at five.
"When are you going to ask that girl out, dude?" Levi, who was a year younger than Rapunzel, asked Eugene. Casually, of course.
"Who-what?" he asked, turning to look at the kid in surprise.
"You know," he grinned. "Rapunzel. Your eyes practically turn into those big cartoon hearts every time you look at her."
"They do not," Eugene shook his head, shifting a heavy carton on the metal shelf. "But I was going to talk to her this evening - or hoping to, at least. See if she wants to grab a bite at the diner."
"A date, you mean," Levi smirked.
"Not necessarily..." he cleared his throat.
"C'mon, man. Everyone knows you're all for her. We just don't know if it's unrequited or not, since she's such a hard nut to crack. You two are the talk of the boss' office. Will they, won't they, don't'cha know," Levi joked.
"Alright," he chuckled, teasingly shoving Levi like an older brother would do to a younger. "I don't love her in a romantic sort of way, so don't get excited. Plus, we've only known each other for, what, three or four months. You just have girls on the brain."
"No, pretty sure you do, though. And haven't you heard of love at first-" he heard the door open, and they both ducked down and peered between boxes to see who it was. Rapunzel. Levi turned to look at Eugene and winked. "Gotta dash. Good luck, bro."
Eugene shook his head, but collected his thoughts. Rapunzel bustled over to a shelving unit and started gathering an armful of books. He strode quietly over, and placed a hand on her shoulder so she knew he was there.
"Hey you," he grinned when she jumped in surprise. Her face split into a huge smile.
"Hey! You're back already?"
"Yeah," he nodded. "Need help?"
She shook her head, barely suppressing her happiness. She had barely even seen him all week. "I just need to restock one display, and then I'm done for the day, I think. What about you?"
"Same," he nodded, distracted by how her eyes were dancing. "Um-uh, rather, I'm done for the day."
She laughed softly, ducking her head to hide the pink flush creeping up on her cheeks. "That's good."
"Look," he licked his lips and swallowed. "Are you doing anything after work?"
Rapunzel snorted with laughter before she could push it aside. "Nope." Her? Having plans after work? Unless you counted painting and cooking supper, she never had plans after work.
"Would you like to go to the diner to grab supper? And talk, of course. I've missed you this month - it's been so busy."
She nodded her head, gesturing for him to follow her out of the supply room. Her heart was jumping with surprise and excitement. "I'd love to! This month has been super busy, I agree. Last minute classics shoppers...yikes. I almost wish some of them would order their books on some online shop, but I suppose this is what helps keep the bookstore open."
"Yeah," he nodded, offering to hold the stack of books while she rearranged and shelved them carefully, watching her slim fingers work quickly. She took such care with books, almost as if they were the crown jewels or something - maybe they were, really.
They both went to Mr. Barnes' office to clock out, and Rapunzel waved to Mr. Barnes. "See you Monday morning!"
He nodded. "See you then, dear. Have a good weekend." Turning towards Eugene, he raised a single eyebrow. "Behave yourself."
"Never," Eugene threw back jokingly.
The walk to the diner was short and filled with discussion about work and their coworkers. At the diner, they ordered a simple, identical meals: cheeseburgers, way too many fries, sweet tea that would give Rapunzel a sugar rush for the next two hours, and a small gooey chocolate cake that they split between one another. Perfect.
Eugene pulled her chair out and then scooted it into the table for her, and she laughed quietly. "Always so formal!"
He froze for a moment, thinking. "I've done that before, right?"
"Yes," she grinned. "Dinnertime at my house. You're such a gentleman sometimes, is all."
"Oh," he sat down across from her and glanced around the little diner.
A counter separated cashier from customer, but a line of barstools stood on the customer side. A small, glass-door refrigerator displayed pop, water, milk, and tea. Lemonade and sweet tea were made in the big containers barely visible through the window on a red swinging door, which blocked off the kitchen area. Several waitresses - some older women who teased the men, some young girls not yet out of high school - congregated around the counter, talking. The white and red walls enclosed them on three sides, but the final side of the diner was entire glass-pane and showed a not-so-stunning view of the road going past. Small, circular tables were scattered amongst the larger, rectangular tables, and black metal chairs cushioned with shiny red or white vinyl surrounded all of them. He drew his attention back to Rapunzel and realized she'd been watching him. She hid a smile in her napkin, but her curious eyes still peeked out through thick black lashes. When his heart seemed to swoop upward and swell at the sight of her, he knew he was in deep, and Levi was probably exactly right.
"So, how're the poems coming along?" Rapunzel asked. "And what are you going to call the finished project?"
He collected his thoughts, smudging ketchup around in a container with a fry. "They're coming along quickly, and I like them, I think. I'm not sure what to title the book of poetry, though. If I publish it."
"You should," she smiled encouragingly. "What are the poems about?"
He bought time by taking a long sip of his sweet tea. "More or less, the speaker meets this girl that's so complex and perfect, but doesn't know how to tell her, so he writes poems about her."
She nodded, her grin turning teasing. "About any specific girl?" When he faltered and his face grew red, she giggled. "I'm teasing. I think it sounds nice."
"Thanks," he grinned. "And, ah..I'm sorry I haven't been able to, you know, hardly even talk to you-"
She shook her head, her eyebrows rising in surprise. "Eugene, you and I both know we've been incredibly busy at work. All of us have! It's fine."
"Okay," he nodded. "I'm glad we get to do this today - you know, relax, eat, catch up. I've been wanting to, but..."
She smiled sweetly, brushing a lock of hair away from her face and meeting his eyes. "Me too." She realized that his eyes were roughly the same color as the cake, and were so very kind and held a strange expression in them that she couldn't quite place. A gentle but strange warmth spread through her, and she ducked her head to sip her tea, wondering at the sensation.
They lost track of time. Eventually, the diner - which closes at nine o'clock - kicked them out, but it didn't embarrass or dampen their spirit. They chatted and teased one another as they walked to Rapunzel's house. She climbed the steps to her house and smiled kindly at Eugene when he followed, standing on the other side of the tiny cement slab before her door. She reached to hug him, and he enveloped her in a warm hug in return. "Thank you for this evening. It was so much fun!" she kissed his cheek.
He grinned. "Thank you."
"Good night. I'll see ya," she gave a little wave, and he waited until she'd unlocked her door and slipped inside safely before he started back to his own apartment.
If he hadn't been walking with his head in the clouds, he would've noticed The Stabbington Brothers - Craig and Daniel - lurking in the shadows near Rapunzel's sweet little Victorian house.
