A/N – As ever, Harold's perspective wanted in on this story!

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He's Houdini, he's Scheherazade, he's all the escape artists of history and fiction rolled into one. He's lucky beyond all imagining. But here's the thing about luck: it runs out.
~Frank Bruni, New York Times

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You're not at all ashamed to admit you want Marian Paroo, but you didn't expect to like her. You didn't expect to like her so much that you not only meant your apology, you told her why you apologized in the first place.

That's a little too dangerous, even for you. So you return to the kind of danger you're much more comfortable contemplating when wooing a gorgeous woman: the delectably formidable way she looked in her crisp navy-blue dress with matching angular hat as she bargained for her brother's happiness, and the deliciously delicate way she looks now in her charcoal gray skirt and embroidered ivory blouse.

Her chignon is also much less pulled back today, and you appreciate the loose curls that frame her beautiful face just as much as you liked the way the pointed tilt of her hat beckoned you to flirt with her. You'd really like to wrap your fingers in those curls as you unpin the rest of her golden hair. Whether the librarian is soft or severe in appearance, she makes your breath hitch in your throat and your cock hard, and someday soon, you're going to let her discover those things about you.

Because you've won, of course, just like you always do. Marian Paroo may have banned you from the library last week, but here you sit on a bench right by her desk. Not only does she not object to your presence, she seems to welcome it, if the small smile that perks up her kissable crimson lips is any indication.

The library is largely empty today, but as you gaze fondly at the librarian while she peruses her pile of papers, the corner of your eye catches Tommy Djilas ensconced in an out-of-the-way corner with Zaneeta Shinn, tucked cozily behind the oversize copy of Romeo and Juliet. They're grinning at you with smiles that are both knowing and sympathetic – they feel all too well the sting of an infatuation denied when they see it. In return, you give them a friendly wink and turn your attention firmly back to the librarian. You are confident that your infatuation won't be denied much longer.

While you haven't quite made good on your promise to teach Winthrop the cornet, the boy was so elated when you handed him the shiny horn that the librarian forgave you completely. Although she allowed you to walk her to the library that afternoon, you didn't press your luck by trying to enter the building, even though you probably could have. Instead, you waited a whole day before you dared to set foot on the premises, and you were ridiculously delighted when Marian Paroo greeted you with a warm smile. And your delight only increased when her smile didn't fade, not even when she finally looked back to her work.

It's the most pleasant and companionable silence you've ever shared with a woman, and for once, you don't feel the need to fill the room. Instead, you reach for the nearest book on the table – Great Expectations, as it turns out – and begin to read.

While the book isn't half-bad, your mind wanders far too easily in the lovely librarian's presence. Soon, you find yourself merely pretending to read while thinking feverishly about the tryst to come. You consider the well-hidden alcove you've scouted out in Madison Picnic Park and just how perfect it is for concealing such a romp, as if it was tailor-made for outdoor mischief. You wonder what gorgeous gown she'll be wearing when you finally take her there, and how much fun it will be to remove it from her. You think about all the scandalously indecent ways you'll make love to her with your hands, mouth, and cock, and all the exquisitely wicked ways she'll pleasure you in return.

But before any of that, you plan to take the librarian to the footbridge first, to give her a little old-fashioned romance before the final seduction. For some reason, this part of the scheme makes your heart palpitate in the oddest rhythm and you feel the strangest sense of wistful apprehension. You know full well this most innocent of gestures is the most dangerous thing you're going to do with her – because you'd be selling past the close at that point, something no salesman worth his salt should ever do – but you're going to do it anyway because you truly do like her.

You do not dare to think what it would mean for your venture in River City if Marian Paroo has actually fallen in love with you.