N.B.: Originally published 28 Aug 2015 on archiveofourown.
As far as summer jobs went, Lydia had to admit that there were a lot worse jobs than helping her aunt out at the bookstore, especially since as a result of her messy breakup with Jackson, her plans for the summer had fallen through as well. However, this was not something that she cared to share with her mother since Natalie Martin had been trying to get her daughter to work in the family business for as long as Lydia could remember and was positively gloating this summer – "I'm not gloating, Lydia, I'm just happy!" – to see her dream come true. Lydia knew things could have been much worse – she could have been spending the summer with her dad, horror of horrors! or coming home exhausted after long days being a camp counselor. "I'm having fun!" Kira insisted, but she continued to come home looking ragged so Lydia continued to look at her skeptically.
The Mayfair bookstore was just one of several in the city of Beacon Hills, California so Lydia didn't much have to worry about being swamped with customers. None of the customers were of much interest to her anyway and most were middle-aged or older. There was one girl, who looked to be about Lydia's age, who had come in a few times. She looked like she spent time playing sports and she dressed rather like it too, in athletic shorts and plain colored tanktops. Lydia would have scoffed except that this girl seemed to be able to pull it off. Lydia would have been annoyed if she hadn't been attracted to the brunette. Each time she bought, without fail, a soccer autobiography. She came in just about every week and a half or so, according to Lydia's cousin Heather. Lydia didn't appreciate how Heather seemed to decide that she was interested in this information. She also didn't have to worry about working too late or too much, since her cousins Paige, Heather, and Carrie were also helping their mother out this summer. Of course, this wasn't too much comfort to Lydia since she had been going to spend her summer interning at the Whittemores' law firm. Her plans would have to be put on hold until next summer at a better, more prestigious law firm, or at least so her father had placating promised.
"You're only a sophomore in college," Paige had told her, trying to be kind. "No need worrying about getting into law school until after you graduate, you know?"
Lydia had not, however, found this particularly comforting, particularly coming from her oldest cousin, who had just graduated from Yale Law School that summer. "It's just so patronizing." Lydia had complained, first to Heather, who was around her age, and then, failing to get the response she wanted, to Kira at the Moorechester mall food court.
"Paige's not condescending," flighty Heather had said with a startled laugh. But then Heather, even at a year older than Lydia, was boy-obsessed and had absolutely no clue what she wanted to do with her life, so Lydia was not surprised to find she did not comprehend.
"She's got her whole life together," Lydia vented to a compassionate Kira. "She's engaged to Violet, who's going to be a doctor and the love of her life, she's about to join a good law firm, hell, she's even friends with her ex-boyfriend even though they were together for years because he's not an obnoxious imbecile like Jackson! And she has the nerve to tell me that I'm being too ambitious about this when thousands of people apply to Harvard Law each year!"
Kira murmured sympathetically and took a bite of her brownie sundae. "I'm sure it's very frustrating! But she can't happen be at the bookstore too often, can she?"
"Not much," Lydia admitted, "but there's always some boy calling for Heather, don't they know it's a business and not some sort of girl hotline?, and Carrie is always going on and on about Harry Potter as if any of us care the slightest that Snape was Harry's great-aunt's sister's nephew's son!"
"Okay, well," Kira attempted to move the conversation on to a less contentious topic, "how about the customers? Any of them fun? Or caught your eye?" Kira made an attempt to wink as she said this last bit, but it must be said she was rather unsuccessful. Lydia hesitated just the slightest but she was going to say no. Kira knew her well enough to understand the implications of this, though. "Oh my gosh! Someone has! Tell me about them!"
Lydia gave her a stern look but relented a little. "I mean, there's nothing happening there but there is this girl who's come in about three times and every time she's gotten a book on a woman soccer player. I don't know if that means she's gay or something or really into soccer or both or whatever. We talk a bit but I don't even know her name or have her phone number or whether I'd…" want to after Jackson. Lydia didn't finish but both of them knew how that sentence finished.
"It couldn't hurt to get coffee with her." Kira said gently. "It's just one date and who knows, maybe she's straight and you're all worked up for nothing."
Lydia sniffed. I'm never worked up over nothing, she was going to insist, but just then she spotted Malia coming out of the Chipotle. "Look, there's Malia."
Kira turned then, naturally, and her attention was taken up by the presence of Malia. The girlfriends greeted each other in a very nauseatingly couple-ish way and Lydia couldn't quite decide whether they were more adorable or disgusting for being like this on the verge of three years together.
Two days later, as Lydia languished away in the bookstore (okay not languished, she was in the middle of an air conditioned store in the middle of a hot California summer reading over Song of the Sparrow for the second time), the bell dinged. In walked the brunette who'd been on Lydia's mind a little too much. Ever since she'd mentioned (she might as well call it what it was) her crush to Kira, her mind had been a bit too preoccupied with imagining kissing the taller girl, wondering what her name was, if she knew Lydia was interested in her, if she was interested in Lydia. This was particularly useful, however, in keeping away unwanted thoughts about Jackson.
She nodded at Lydia. "Hey." She said shortly then vanished into the biography section.
"Wait!" Lydia blurted out. She set her book down hurriedly on the counter and rushed out from behind it. "Do you need help?" She followed the brunette into the biography section. The other girl looked surprised to find Lydia suddenly standing beside her next to K-N.
"You were reading." She pointed out. "I didn't want to disturb you."
That was nice enough but Lydia's heart sank as that explanation didn't seem to bode very well as interest in her. "Oh, that," Lydia waved it away as if it were nothing, "this is a job, you know. I am quite capable of doing it."
The other girl smiled and Lydia wondered if perhaps she had guessed at Lydia's motivations. "I've had to work retail and service before, so I would never be one of those obnoxious people expecting to be waited on hand and foot."
Lydia laughed. "The people sure do want their money's worth." She agreed. "What are you looking for today? More soccer biographies?"
The girl raised an eyebrow. "You've noticed. No, not today, I'm here on errands for my pregnant, hormonally unbalanced sister. She wants a lot of weird food and she can't find her own copy of The God of Small Things so she sent me to buy her another copy. Not a book I'd want to read if I were pregnant," she offered, shrugging, "but then it's not my baby."
"Very odd choice." Lydia agreed. "However, if that story's to be believed," she teased, "what are you doing in the biography section?"
The other girl looked pleased as if Lydia had passed some sort of test in her head. "Force of habit, I suppose. Do you have the new Carli Lloyd autobiography?"
Lydia grinned. "Ulterior motive, I see. We might in the backroom. I'll go check after I've found you The God of Small Things." Lydia led the way to the fiction section but embarrassingly enough, the girl managed to find it before her.
"Ah, ah, ah!" She teased, holding the book above Lydia's head. "Do they have to revoke your literary license now?"
Lydia flushed. "I'm only working here for the summer. I'm doing my aunt a favor. I'm going to be a lawyer."
"Look, I didn't mean to make you angry. I guess I'm used to banter like that with a big family. I'm Cora, by the way." The brunette called Cora said.
Lydia softened a little. "I'm Lydia."
"I knew that," Cora confessed. "I heard your aunt calling you last time I was here."
"So not a stalker then, obviously! Let me just pop in the back and see whether we've got the Lloyd book." Lydia said. She rather felt like Cora was affecting her more than she could recall anyone else she'd liked doing.
"'Course." Cora agreed, sounding quite as though Lydia were not affecting her at all. Lydia did not like this at all. "I'll wait up front." She brandished the book and headed out of the aisles.
Lydia dove straight for the bathroom at the back of the store before she even unlocked the storeroom. She looked in the mirror. No, she still looked fairly flawless. Her makeup was holding up splendidly; she bet Cora didn't wear any at all and looked that way all the time; though her hair could be better. Lydia redid her bun twice, looking critically at herself and then pulled the storeroom key out of her skirt pocket.
Nestled with the new arrivals was indeed the new Carli Lloyd autobiography Cora had been asking after. Lydia grabbed it and was about to lock up the backroom when she had a sudden inspiration. Calmly but quickly, she unbuttoned two more buttons at the top of her shirt, pulling her shirt opening dangerously close to the top of her bra and making her décolletage very appealing. Lydia had tested this technique before. She was well aware of how effective it could be. On people who were attracted to her, anyway.
Lydia marched her way up to the front, slid behind the counter, and feeling the slightest bit desperate, which frankly Lydia Martin never ever felt, leaned forward on her elbows as she reached forward to ring up Cora's books. Cora definitely noticed, Lydia could feel her noticing, but it wasn't enough that Lydia could tell that she was interested. "So you play soccer?" She asked.
"Yup, we're division one. I'll be captain in the fall. What about you? Play any sport?" Cora didn't seem overly keen to talk about herself but she did seem to want to keep the conversation going, which Lydia saw as a good sign.
"Me? Oh no, no, no." Lydia laughed. "Debate, mock trial, Model UN, anything that involves winning but nothing involving sweating and kicking."
The conversation seemed to trail off here, and as Lydia handed Cora the bag with her books, she worried both that she had offended Cora with this comment and more importantly that she might not have a chance to see Cora again.
Just then Cora noticed the castoff book at Lydia's elbow. "Song of the Sparrow, huh? My cousin bought me that. I liked it until the end but I thought the romance was forced. I kind of thought Elaine had more chemistry with Gwynivere than Tristan."
Lydia's widened. Was this – was Cora meaning something by this?
Cora went on. "And a redhead and a brunette would look really good together."
"But Gwynivere was blon–" Lydia stopped, understanding what Cora was doing. "I think you like me." She accused.
Cora laughed. "I do like you! I think you like me too. It was so difficult to tell though until today when you practically ran to help me."
Lydia rolled her eyes. "Who can blame me?" She teased. "I mean, look at you."
Cora nodded. "I am pretty hot." She agreed.
"Are you going to ask me out or not?" Lydia demanded, throwing her hands onto her hips.
"Hmm." Cora pretended to think. "Well…"
Lydia pushed aside the counter top and came right up beside Cora. "Very well, if I must. Cora, would you do me the honor of going on a date with me?"
"Certainly." Cora smiled, and then kissed her.