When they finally got off of the armchair, Clara and Alex lay down on the floor and pulled random books off the shelves. They read them out loud in horribly butchered accents. Clara was attempting British while Alex concocted an accent that was a weird mixture of Swedish, German, and Russian. They lied next to each other hours reading and sneaking small kisses. When they got tired, they both tried to wait for the other to fall asleep before they did, which resulted in listening to each other's breathing for an hour or so.

Clara woke up with her head on Alex's chest. The sunrise was streaming through the windows and it revealed the dust particles swirling in the air. Alex stirred and stroked her hair.

"Good morning," he said in the gruff, raspy voice that boys have in the morning.

"Hey, Sleeping Beauty." She got off of the floor and realized she wasn't wearing any clothes. She blushed as Alex studied her.

"Well, this is a good morning." He smirked at her and all of Clara's insecurities melted away.

"Stop, oh my gosh." She kicked him gently and started to put her clothes on. She had neglected to bring a change of clothes, so she had to wear the same outfit she had arrived in. "I should probably get home. Pickles needs feeding."

"Pickles?" He looked very confused.

Clara laughed. "My cat!"

"Oh! Sure, I'll walk you there." Alex got up and put his clothes on. They walked down the street with hands clasped together as if, if they would lose each other. They got to Clara's stoop and turned to face each other.

"Last night was absolutely wonderful. Thank you for showing me that shop of yours." She elbowed him in the ribs. "I recently got fired from a job, do you have any openings?"

She laughed at her own joke. Alex was looking at Clara in a sort of strange way. He was just gazing at her in a way that she had never experienced. Then, he lifted her up and kissed her so deeply that Clara saw stars. He spun her around before placing her gently on the ground, their lips never breaking their bond until Clara was on the ground again. She slowly opened her eyes to look upon the face of a man she was quickly falling in love with.

"M-mm-my cat! Right!" She unlocked the door and Alex followed her to her apartment door before saying his goodbyes.

"When can I see you again?" He asked eagerly.

"Whoa, calm down, big boy," she chortled. "I actually have plans tomorrow, so maybe Friday?"

She really did have plans; she wasn't lying. And she would have normally cancelled her other plans but she was having lunch with her best friend, Amy.

"Okay, sounds great! See you at 7:00!" He kissed the top of her head and disappeared down the stairs. Clara walked into her apartment and Pickles greeted her at the door by rubbing his head on her leg.

"Hey, buddy!" She scratched his head for a bit before moving to her bedroom. She shed her clothes and hopped into the shower, scrubbing her hair and body of all the grime from being in the city and a dusty bookshop. She got out, put on her comfiest pajamas, slung her hair up in a towel, and settled down to good afternoon and evening of Netflix. Pickles nestled up to her and Clara absentmindedly stroked his head while watching a random documentary.

"What do you think, Pickles? I really, really like him. It's weird because we've only just met but I don't know. I feel like he's just so right for me and I hardly know him." Pickles just purred in response, but Clara took this as a sign she was on the right track. After a few more documentaries, Clara got tired and went to bed. She woke up to something a little less magical than the morning previous. Her room was messy with clothes, books, and pens. She carefully stepped around the clutter to choose the day's outfit, a floral print dress with a golden zipper running all the way up the front. She paired this with a blue cardigan and black flats.

Her phone buzzed; a text from Alex: 36 hours

She smiled and slapped on some tinted moisturizer and a swipe of mascara. She grabbed her purse and was put the door. Clara was meeting Amy at a little café that was about two miles from her apartment. She arrived at the café ten minutes early, but expected to be waiting for Amy for about twenty, for Amy was always late. To Clara's surprise, Amy strutted up to the café about five minutes later.

"HEY!" Amy shouted when she saw Clara.

"Hey, yourself!" The two women hugged and sat down at the table. With long ginger hair, and even longer legs, Amy couldn't have looked more different from Clara.

"How's your life been, I feel like we never see each other!" Amy said lightly.

"Oh you know, the usual. I got fired from my job." Clara said this with a small shrug.

"WHAT? But your boss loved you! Why on earth would he fire his favorite employee?" She said 'favorite employee' with air quotes because Amy knew all about Mr. Blake's creepy advances.

"Well, he said my work was substandard." She skirted around the real reason she had been fired.

"Substandard? You? You're one of the hardest working people I know! I'll talk to him!" Her voice slipped into a bit of a Scottish accent, as it did when she was angry. Clara realized she would have to tell her the truth about her firing.

"It was actually because, um, I've started seeing someone," Amy gasped at that. "And Mr. Blake claimed it was affecting my work."

"Oh my gosh, started seeing someone? That's great! Who is it?" Amy leaned forward.

"Actually, he was a customer that accidentally came into my store and we accidentally went on a date and I think I accidentally fell in love with him." Clara was blushing.

"Clara! That's amazing. Oh, I'm so happy for you! Maybe you could double date with Rory and I!" Amy had been dating Rory for the better part of three years.

Clara laughed. "Sure, I mean, if he wants to. The dates we've been on have been pretty amazing." She smiled thinking back on the swingset.

"That's so great! Tell me more about him."

"Well, his name is Alex Donahue and he's a psychologist. He owns a bookshop on the side and he's the most amazing man I've ever met." Clara didn't usually gush like this, but talking about Alex just made a waterfall flow from her mouth.

"Wait, Alex Donahue? His father was my psychologist when I was younger! I even had a little crush on Alex when I was about 12. Small world right?" Amy laughed, but Clara was surprised; she didn't know that Alex's father has been a psychologist too, let alone the random connection.

"Yeah, totally. I'm actually seeing him again tomorrow. He always keeps out dates a secret until we get to the date location. It's really fun actually… not know where your evening is going to be spent."

"I bet! Rory never surprises me, but that's the way I like it." Just then, Amy's phone beeped. "Speak of the devil! Rory's having some type of problem at the house. Is it okay if I run, love?"

"Of course! Tell Rory I said hi." Amy was gathering her things and dashing.

"I will!" She said and she speed-walked away.

Clara sat there for another twenty minutes, thinking about how much she didn't know about Alex. Her stomach churned as she thought of a thousand questions to which she didn't know the answers. Who was he? Really? She knew he liked coffee, stars, books, and psychology, but that was about it. She wondered if he was having the same thoughts about her.