The evening sun hung low in the sky, bathing the buildings and trees that slowly passed by Zack as he strolled along the sidewalk in golden light, and causing them to cast long shadows over the ground. The cool air was still and quiet except for the sounds of birds chirping in the branches overhead, and besides the rare passing car, the streets were relatively empty. Zack walked alone, his hands stuffed into the pockets of his windbreaker, glancing up whenever a car passed by, and then looking back down towards the ground. His straight brown hair looked like he had recently had a haircut, and his beard was neatly trimmed, but that aside, it didn’t look like he was looking forward to anything. His brow slightly furrowed, his shoulders hunched, he didn’t even look up when he reached an intersection, but just turned left and kept walking. He knew where he was going.
The small park in front of the library was also deserted. This made sense, it was spring break, and since most of the people in Zack’s university town were students, a sizable chunk of the population had left, going home to their relatives or on vacation. A few weeks ago, Zack had thought that he would be one of those people. He and his girlfriend, Marie, were supposed to go on a trip together, but after awhile it became clear that this was not going to happen. Zack and Marie had started to grow apart lately, and he had noticed that she didn’t seem as interested in their conversations anymore, and that she often ignored his messages when she wasn’t with him. She didn’t do that before. The relationship was falling apart, and Zack didn’t know why, but he was glad when she offered up the idea of going on a trip together to try to remedy things. As the weeks passed by, however, she only grew more distant from him, and even sex became something of the past. Then, a few days ago, Marie had cancelled the trip and left to her parents house without telling him. Zack was a little upset.
He typically went to the library when he needed to think. He loved the library. It’s beautiful old fashioned Gothic architecture masked the sleek modern design of its interior, which had the strange effect of making Zack feel like he entered another dimension when he passed through its large front doors. Past the reception desk was a large space with floor to ceiling windows, filled with long tables ideal for studying or working, complete with lamp fixtures and electrical outlets. And then there were the rows upon rows of books that Zack could get lost in for hours, whether he picked a book and sat in his favorite armchair by the windows, or wandered around the bookshelves, enjoying the faint pleasant smell of the books he was surrounded by. That was only the first floor. The floors above boasted sleek computer rooms, comfortable seating areas with armchairs and tables, and cozy secluded reading areas, hidden out of sight by bookshelves and littered with bean bag chairs.
Zack had predicted that the library would be mostly deserted, and as he walked through the front doors, he saw with relief that his prediction turned out to be true. The long tables were empty except for a couple of people, and he could see no one walking along the balconies from the higher floors that surrounded the entrance area. He walked further into the library, enjoying the complete silence that enveloped him, already starting to feel himself relax.
As he strolled past the long tables towards the bookshelves, he wondered what was going on with Marie. She had almost completely ghosted him, replying to his messages only every once in a while. Zack didn’t think he even messaged her that much. Only once or twice every two days. And then she had left without notice, heading to her parents house to spend spring break with them, bailing on the trip she and Zack had planned together. Zack wondered if their relationship was over.
He turned left and entered the bookshelves on the side of the table area, the sound of his footfalls hushed by the carpet he was walking on. The air in the library was a little chilly. The air conditioners were probably broken again, stuck at max power. This wasn’t enough to make Zack too uncomfortable however, and he just hunched his shoulders up a little more and shivered once before continuing to stroll along the bookshelves. His gaze roved over the backs of the books, flitting from title to title, waiting for one to pop out at him, while his thoughts lingered on Marie, and how in the past couple of weeks she had started to act like Zack was invisible.
Zack reached the end of the bookshelves on the left side of the first floor, and started wandering back towards the space with the long tables. Lost in his thoughts, he walked past the tables, heading for the bookshelves on the other side of the room, wondering if he would be able to relax and read a book with this chilly temperature. He made it halfway through the open area before seeing movement out of the corner of his eye. He stopped and looked over at the library entrance.
A girl had just stepped through the doors. She was a little shorter than Zack, with a light olive complexion. Most of her legs were covered by long dark grey socks that almost reached up to her knees, and a black skirt that stopped just above them. She was also wearing a white top and a light grey cardigan. Strands of her loosely curled brown hair tumbled out of her blue beanie to her shoulders, where she wore a leather satchel. Zack’s gaze moved over the gentle curves of her body, before following the wire of the earbuds she was wearing to her face, framed by strands of her hair. Her cheekbones were just prominent enough, and her perfect full lips looked extremely inviting, but her most striking feature was her eyes, her large brown pretty eyes, which slowly roved over the library as she walked in, before landing on Zack. Her eyes locked onto his, and he blinked, frozen in the middle of the library.
Then a corner of the girls mouth twitched upwards, and Zack immediately looked away, staring at the floor in front of him.
He seemed to remember what he was doing, and started to walk towards the bookshelves again, taking care not to look towards the entrance. He could still see the girl in the corner of his eye, though, as she started to move further into the library. Zack unzipped his windbreaker, still staring straight ahead, as he wasn’t feeling particularly chilly anymore. He watched, from the corner of his eye, her form move over to the escalators, and start heading up towards the second floor.
When he decided it was safe to look, Zack glanced up at the escalators, and he watched the girls blue beanie disappear as she entered the second floor of the library. He stood for a few seconds, gazing up at the second floor, before turning and looking around him. There was a middle aged man sitting at a table, and another woman browsing books, but the library seemed otherwise deserted, and completely silent. No other stunning girls lurking behind the bookshelves. Zack straightened his windbreaker, and continued moving towards the shelves in front of him.
He looked over the spines of the books on display, running a hand over his facial hair. After a few moments, he reached out and pulled a book from the shelf, looking at the cover, and then slid it back in between its companions. He took another few steps, gazing at the following row of books, before glancing up at the ceiling.
Zack gazed at the paneled ceiling of the bookshelf space before turning back towards the escalators in the open area with the long tables. His gaze lingered at the top of the escalators for a few moments, but no blue beanie appeared, and eventually he turned back towards the books, running his fingers over the spines before picking another one from the shelf. He looked over the cover, and then opened it to the first page, staring at it with his eyes unmoving. After a few seconds, he looked back to the escalators again. They were still empty, no blue beanie or leather satchel. Zack glanced around him, taking in the mostly empty library, before placing the book back on its shelf and marching towards the escalators with a determined stride.
His fingers tapped the railing of the escalator as he slowly moved upwards, staring at the ever approaching second floor. He looked around the entire library, trying to seem as casual as possible, his gaze repeatedly flitting back towards the bookshelves on the second floor, trying to find the brunette with the blue beanie. The escalator seemed to move excruciatingly slow, but Zack finally reached the top.
He strode onto the second floor, his head swivelling on his shoulders as he looked around for anything blue. He couldn’t see the girl anywhere; in fact, the floor seemed to be completely empty. There was no one sitting at the computer tables, so Zack started walking towards the bookshelves, which were behind a block of study rooms. He peered into the study rooms as he passed them, but they were also empty, the doors locked and the lights turned off. Zack reached the bookshelves, and walked up to the first row, tapping his chin while making a face as if he was deep in thought, while he looked at the plaque at the top of the bookshelf’s side as if he was searching for a category. Then, he quickly and stealthely shot a glance into the aisle between the bookshelves. It was empty. He moved onto the next row of bookshelves, narrowing his eyes again while looking at the plaque, before shooting another casual glance into the next aisle, which was also empty. Zack slowly made his way to the next row of bookshelves, stroking his facial hair as he looked at the next plaque, and then peered into the third aisle.
She stood with her back to him, in between the two rows of bookshelves. Zack, his fake thinking expression expression replaced with a look of intense curiosity, inched forward. He wondered if she was as attractive as he thought, thinking that he had seen her at quite a distance, and that she might look different up close. Perhaps her mouth wasn’t as perfect as Zack thought it was, or maybe her eyes weren’t as pretty, her skin as smooth. There was no way she was as cute as Zack thought she was.
Then the girl turned, and Zack realized he was wrong.
Her side to him now, the girl bent slightly, sliding the book she had been holding back onto one of the lower shelves. She straightened up, brushing a lock of loosely curled brown hair out of her face, and she started looking at the other books in front of her, her brown eyes flitting from spine to spine as Zack watched, his mouth slightly open. She was cute, he decided, there was no denying it. His eyes moved from her light beanie to her thin grey cardigan, and then to her skirt. It covered most of her legs, ending a little bit above her knees, but the thin skirt did not do much to disguise the shape of the girl’s small but round hindquarters, which Zack could not seem to tear his gaze from.
The girl took a few steps away from Zack, still eyeing the books on her right side, her fingers brushing over them as she passed them. She paused again, her fingers resting on a particular book, and then she pulled it from the shelf, gazing at the cover. After a few moments, she turned the book over to read the back cover. Zack watched her fingers stroke the side of the book absently as she read, taking another step towards her. Then, without warning, before Zack could react, the girl suddenly looked up and turned, her eyes gazing into his again.
Zack gave her a stiff nod and turned away to look at the bookshelf on his right side. He faked a thoughtful expression, tilting his head this way and that as he peered at the books, his brain not registering the titles at all. Zack slowly reached for a book and pulled it out, frowning as if deep in thought, and looked at the cover, before also turning the book over to read the back. Then he nodded slowly, put the book back on the shelf, and stroked his facial hair for a few moments, before stealing another glance at the girl standing a few feet away from him.
She hadn’t moved an inch. She was still standing facing the bookshelf, and she was still staring directly at him, except this time, her mouth was curved into a small smile.
Zack flashed her the most business-like smile he could, and turned back to the shelf, gazing at the books again. His hand hovered over their spines, moving from book to book, until Zack made an “aha” gesture and he picked up another book. He gazed at the cover for a few moments and then opened the book, nodding enthusiastically as he read the inside cover.
Zack heard a soft chuckle.
He closed the book and put it back on the shelf, and continued looking at the other books. After a couple of seconds, however, he found that he couldn’t stand it any longer, he had to look again. He glanced to his left, but the girl had gone.
Zack swiftly turned and looked behind him, but she wasn’t there either. He turned again and looked back down the row of bookshelves, but she was gone. He was standing completely alone. He looked all around him for a few more seconds, and then knelt slightly, peering into the gap between two rows of books into the next aisle. It was also empty. He then turned around and peered into the gap through the bookshelf behind him, and that was where he saw the back of her gray cardigan and her black dress. She was looking through the books in the aisle next to him.
He fiddled with the zipper of his windbreaker, thinking for a moment. Then he peeked through the gap in the bookshelf again, before walking out of the aisle, passing her aisle, and strolling into the aisle ahead of hers. He paused in the middle of the aisle and looked around. He was alone, and the girl still seemed to be in the aisle behind him. Zack remembered reading online somewhere that girls liked forearms. He didn’t think he was the best looking guy on the planet, but Zack knew he wasn’t bad looking, and he was quite proud of his forearms, so, despite the chilly library air, he pushed back the sleeves of his windbreaker, as well as the long sleeved shirt he was wearing underneath it. Then he faced the bookshelf in front of him, and waited.
A few seconds passed by, and Zack began to grow impatient. He leaned back, peering through the gap in the bookshelf behind him, and saw the girls black skirt, unmoving as she stood reading a book. Zack sighed softly and pulled a random book from the shelf in front of him. He opened it to somewhere in the middle, and stared at the page, unable to read any of the words because he couldn’t get the image of her eyes out of his head. After a few more moments, he found himself unable to resist the temptation again, and he looked up from his book. The aisle was still empty. Zack leaned back once more, and this time he saw the bottom of the girls skirt swishing around her legs as she marched towards the end of her aisle. He quickly regained his composure, his gaze snapping back to his book, and he tried to position his arms so that he could show off his forearms as much as possible, while spreading his feet a little further apart to widen his stance, which he thought might exude confidence.
Zack’s eyes were fixed on the open pages of his book, but all of his attention was diverted to the movement he saw on the edges of his vision as the girl walked into his aisle. He felt a tremendous urge to look up at her, but he remained vigilant, his gaze glued to the book. However, he started flexing his arms as much as he could, hoping that the muscles tensing and untensing would catch the girl’s attention. From what he could see in his peripheral vision, the girl had not stopped moving, and was still walking towards him. Finally, he couldn’t wait any longer. He looked up from his book and quickly glanced at the girl.
She was still walking towards him, her eyes fixed on his. Zack watched her approach for a couple of moments, and she still did not look away from him, but kept her brown eyes trained onto his own, her gaze growing more and more intense by the second. The girl started to slow down as she drew in closer, and Zack looked away, glancing at the bookshelf and then the floor, not sure how to react to what was happening. She still didn’t stop, but continued ambling forward at a snail’s pace, the distance between them closing to only a foot. Zack fidgeted slightly, looking back at his book.
The girl finally stopped inches away from him. There was a small pause, and then she reached across Zack, bending slightly as her hand moved towards a book on one of the bottom shelves. Her left foot moved in between his feet, her leg touching his, and as her body rubbed against him, Zack breathed in a faint flowery scent coming from her hair. She grabbed the book, and then slowly straightened up, brushing herself against him again. Zack tried to tuck his arms in, still holding his book, but it was no use; she seemed to press herself backwards into him even more. The girl finally finished straightening up, and then she turned herself so that she was facing him. Her hand touched Zack’s shoulder, and he felt a strange tingle as her fingers brushed down his arm until they reached his elbow, where she then stroked her hand up over his forearm.
“Oh, excuse me,” she muttered, her face inches from his.
Then she walked away, continuing to move down the aisle. Zack looked down at his arm, and then back up to her, blinking in bewilderment. She just strolled away from him, her back to him as she looked over the books on the shelf while she passed them. He glared at her blue beanie for a few moments, before putting his book back on the shelf.
“Okay,” he thought, “two can play this game.”
The girl had stopped moving and was flitting through a book a few paces ahead of Zack. He strolled up towards her as casually as he could, and spotted a book a little ways past her. He imagined himself reaching past her for that book, and thought about what it would feel like to press his chest against her body, and to smell her hair again.
He closed in, feeling a little excited. The girl with the blue beanie didn’t look up, she just kept reading through her book, although Zack could’ve sworn he saw her eyes flit over to him for a split second. She was now only a couple of feet away. Zack reached out his arm, looking at the book he was targeting, then back at the girl, feeling strangely nervous. Now there was only a foot between them, and the girl still hadn’t moved. Zack inhaled as he took another step, closing the distance between them to only a few inches, smelling the wonderful smell of her hair, knowing that in another second he would press himself against her warm body…
Suddenly, the girl took a couple of massive steps sideways, quickly moving away from him. Zack froze. The girl just stood there, looking at her open book, as if nothing had happened. Zack frowned, confused, and awkwardly looked around him, before glancing back at the girl. She didn’t look up at him, but he noticed that she had stopped turning the pages of her book, and that her eyes looked unfocused, staring at the page without moving.
Zack took another step towards her. She didn’t react, but kept staring at her page, her face expressionless. He hesitantly took another step, and then another, and still the girl stood frozen, with her book open. Zack started walking, spotting another book on the shelf slightly behind her. He moved closer and closer, and the girl with the blue beanie continued ignoring him, her unmoving eyes fixed on her open book. The distance between them lessened, and Zack felt feelings of excitement rising in his chest again as he closed in, raising his arm to grab the book off of the shelf, inhaling the faint flowery scent coming from her hair again. However, just as he was about to press himself against her just as she had done, the girl took another massive lunge to the side, moving away from him.
Zack had to admit to himself that he should’ve known this would happen. He narrowed his eyes, staring at the girls face, wondering what to do next. Should he grab her? Would that be too aggressive? He tentatively took another step towards her again, watching her face. It remained stoic, her eyes still trained on the same spot on her page, even as he started walking towards her again.
Then, with a massive jolt of excitement, Zack noticed a tiny smirk start to appear on her face. She looked like she was trying to hold it back, pressing her soft lips together, but she couldn’t, and the smirk only grew wider as Zack slowly moved closer to her. By now, his heart was pounding in his chest, and he felt his member stir in his pants.
She suddenly looked up from her book, her large brown eyes locking onto his, her smirk transforming to a coy smile. He stood, frozen, in the middle of the aisle. She didn’t move either, but just kept staring at him, her eyes rooting him to the ground, and her grin causing his chest to fill with nervous excitement. Slowly, she bit her bottom lip, still smiling, and Zack realized he had underestimated this girl.
But that was okay, because Zack was perfectly fine with playing games with her all evening.
*to be continued*
Source: reddit.com/r/sexystories/comments/88u6pc/the_girl_with_the_blue_beanie_part_1_str8_mf
Very well written, I’d love to read more.
Sequel!