After showering again and wasting an additional 20 minutes on figuring out what to wear to this "meetup", Sarah finally gives up and decides to dress comfortably with a light pair of off-white drawstring linen pants and a light cotton teal short sleeve blouse. She grabs a pair of tan Bianca Wedge sandals and her handwoven summer shoulder purse.
Sarah checks her outfit in the bedroom door mirror, she makes sure that her braids are pinned up off her neck securely then turns from one shoulder to the next.
"Girl, it is not that serious. That white boy is not checking for you like that," she giggles out loud.
As hot as it is this morning, Bucky arrives at 9816 Petit Lake Drive address wearing a blue linen-cotton henley, a pair of dark blue denim jeans, and black jump boots.
He realized that he looks somewhat bizarre wearing black leather gloves during a tropical heatwave but he wasn't ready for the looks he would receive from people when seeing his vibranium hand.
Bucky sees Sarah checking her phone while walking down the block to the address. He nervously rubs his hands together as she gets closer. He searches for any threats in the back of or on the street as she gets closer.
He even checks behind his own back for anything he perceives as a problem.
He raises his hand and waves her over, "Hey, Sarah!"
Sarah looks up and smiles curiously as she approaches Bucky standing in front of the town Barnes and Nobles.
The jitters hit her stomach with full force as she comes face to face with him, "Hi."
There's an awkwardness between the pair due to not being sure as to how they should be greeting each other just yet.
"Wow," he smiles, "Just one more color that looks great on you."
She graciously accepts his compliment, "Thank you. But you're no slouch yourself looking like you just walked out of an Esquire photoshoot magazine."
Bucky holds up his gloved left hand, in a hollow laugh he says, "Not quite."
Sarah captures his left hand placing it in both of hers, "Hey now…."
A flushing sensation radiates from his chest to his head when she says, "...you're not allowed to talk about yourself that way when hanging with me. Ok," she cheerfully smiles.
Bucky falls deep inside her earthy brown eyes trying to recall if he's ever seen eyes that beautifully brown before.
He snaps out of his gaze, 'Sure, anything for you Sarah," he beams.
"So is the bookstore your idea of a refuge for beating the heat today," she asks.
"Well yeah, actually." He has Sarah walk through the automatic doors and inside the bookstore first.
The blast of cool air feels like a long-awaited respite from the New Orleans summer heatwave.
"Yeess, oh my God this feels so good."
A mischievous grin spreads across Bucky's face as he contemplates the many ways and reasons he would love to hear make that particular statement again.
Sarah fans herself using her blouse as Buck walks up behind and in a leeringly low voice tells her, "That's what a vacation feels like when you're with me."
The butterflies in her stomach manage to take over her body hearing Bucky's voice so close to her ears.
He takes a step to the side of her, "You have a comfortable room temperature, a cute Starbucks bistro over there in the far corner, and anything you can think of to read," He turns to face Sarah, "What do ya think?"
Bucky tries deciphering the look on Sarah's face, "You don't like it, do you? I mean if you want we can go hang out at the movies all day they keep it pretty cold in there or a museu…"
She cuts him off and gradually says, "No...actually this is a cool way to spend a vacation day. I mean I can't remember the last time I came to the bookstore on my own without any kids. If I ever did," she amends.
Sarah takes a deep breath. "Yeah, I think this is the vacation I didn't know I needed."
Bucky claps his hand together feeling victorious at his win, "Ok, so here's what I am thinking we'll separate, take a walk through the aisles looking for books and then we'll meet at the bistro in let's say…45 minutes?
He reaches over to the shopping basket return and passes a basket to her, "And the skies the limit milady on your vacation day courtesy of yours truly so pick any and however many books you want," he says in his noblest English accent.
The two share a chuckle at Bucky's charm.
She accepts the basket from his hand and shakes her head, "You are quite the…" she pauses before finishing with, "I envy the woman…"
He eagerly waits for her to finish her sentence.
"You're quite the individual, Bucky."
He grins, "Well, thank you."
"So…I will see you in 45 minutes, deal?" he asks.
"Deal," she confirms.
45 minutes later
Bucky and Sarah sit at a corner booth in the Starbucks Bistro. The two decide to wait for the line to go down before placing an order at the counter.
"So you've seen Game of Thrones and didn't like it," Sarah asks.
"I watched the first couple of seasons but…I don't know. I suppose I am still used to reading on my own. You know, using my own imagination or vision instead of someone else's."
Sarah can hear the nostalgia in his voice so she picks up the book in his basket, "Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire), to inspect the jacket.
"I know exactly what you mean. Most often what's on the screen is almost never as good as the book. Something definitely gets lost in the translation," she concedes placing it back in his basket.
"What about you?" he asks, "What books do you like? What books did you pick?"
She holds up "Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind", Bucky lifts the book from her hand to inspect the jacket.
"So whenever I do get a chance to read for pleasure it's usually either something about the nature of human beings, a romance novel or something about the mind, body, and spirit."
"Those mind, body, and spirit books really got me through some dark times in my life…so far anyway."
She leans against the table folding her hands on top as she reminisces, "You know I just kept getting hit with loss after loss after loss. First, my husband suddenly died, a year and a half later our mother, 8 months after that our father. Then the blip happened.
It was like the longest decade of my entire life. I mean Sam tried to be there but he ended up going on the run with Cap then he got blipped.
I didn't have time to mourn, I never got the chance to adjust, I would just wake up and have to deal with life being 'this way' all of the sudden. I had to raise two toddlers on my own and keep the family business afloat. I remember how I wanted to go crazy so badly just so I could be done with all these responsibilities but…"
Sarah instantly leans back in the booth seat looking horrified at the fact she said that she wanted to go crazy.
"Oh my God," she gasps, "I am so sorry. I didn't mean to say…"
Bucky places her book back in the basket then quickly captures her hand at the moment,
"Sarah? No one in this universe could convince me that you have one mean spirited bone in your body. Not even your brother."
Again, Sarah's captivated by Bucky's soft blue eyes. She shyly looks away as he cheerfully smiles, planting one absolution kiss on her hands.
He winks at Sarah patting her hand before releasing it. "Hey," he looks over at the Starbucks counter, "Looks like the line is thinning out a bit, you wanna drink?"
"Peachtree iced tea?" she asks.
Bucky steps away from the table, "You gotta it."