Sneak peek of book bee part 2! (Patreon)

Helo! This is what I have so far

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ii. 

"What the fuck did you have me read?" 

Niall drops the copy of Blood Meridian that Y/N had given him down on the counter in front of her, where she'd been hunched over for the last hour taking inventory and when she startles from the thud of the book against the dark granite, a scratch of red ink stains over the bold black lines of her chart. No matter his two weeks here, she was still getting used to someone being in the store with her apart from the weird hours that Harry frequents. The second day he'd come in, she forgot that she'd left the door open for him in the first place, and when she'd walked out of the bathroom to be immediately greeted with him turning around the corner she'd jumped so far out of her skin that she managed to reverberate her fear off of him. 

He was nice enough and having someone touching the books and walking around the shop other than her wasn't as bad as she thought it to be. She'd taken Harry's advice and made an effort to get to know him; had constructed an application that -- after the standard necessities like his name, number, past experience -- included sections inquiring his likes, dislikes, favorite books, favorite movie etc. And after reading it and inviting him back in, she brought in a plate of cookies, had him come in an hour or so before opening, and had a conversation with him. They didn't really go beyond surface level things (apart from what she'd known from their night at the bar where he'd given her a play by play of what he'd gone through in the past month), but she did learn more about what kind of person he was. He has a grumpy looking face but for the most part he was pretty sweet; he had an affinity for chocolate chip cookies, his only hobby beyond a little bit of doodling here or there, was cooking. Niall had told her that he hoped to save up some money working here so that he'd be able to save up to go to culinary school. 

That morning, as she was getting ready to open the store and told him that if he wanted he could start working today, he'd asked Y/N if she and Harry were together. "I hope 'm not pushing," he'd added when she took a moment to respond, "You lot just seem real close to one another." 

After she told him that they weren't it had thrown her into a whole turmoil. Did they look like they were together?  Were they acting like they were a couple? She very vaguely remembers that night before the point of going to his flat, climbing into his bed, and letting him steal her breath with such a soft, sweet kiss that was so tender she could still feel it on her lips. Could feel the warmth of his air breathed through his nose atop her upper lip, the faint bitter taste of his drink on his tongue, how it felt when he'd pulled her leg over his hip to tug her closer to him, and what it felt like when she felt the hard bump in his pants up against her. The memory of it had her feeling a little warm. 

Her and Harry had not spoken of it, but their friendship had definitely extended from what it had been. There was a lot more touching and a lot more longing gazes and a lot more of Y/N staring at his lips when he's speaking to her and trying to not look completely obvious when he asks what's on her mind. It makes her heart race being around him much more than it did before and her brain flooding with memories of them pressed together wasn't helping. Nor were the memories of her waking up to his right arm slung around her waist, chin to her shoulder and legs tangled, his gentle breathing lulling her to sleep. And it certainly didn't help when she woke the second time to the smell of syrup and the sizzling of a skillet to find Harry had made her eggs and waffles, a big grin on his face when she waddles out, her overalls straps having slung off her shoulders and the front flapped over, "Good morning, Sleepyhead, I've made us food." 

Neither had brought it up and Y/N was beginning to wonder if he'd even remembered it. Both of them had been pretty far gone but Y/N doesn't think she could've forgotten that kissed even if she'd drank to the point of blacking out -- it would've shown through the dark in one prominent, bright speck. But she keeps her mouth sewn shut every time the mention of it bubbles in her throat, instead choosing to enjoy the closeness that came afterwards, without the burden of speaking through it and figuring out her feelings because she's not good with them. As much as she wanted to know exactly what she wanted and how she wanted, she didn't, because her last relationship had been sophomore year of college and after that she'd sworn off boys for the time being. Said she wouldn't bother with them until she'd opened her store, gotten settled, and was on the path she wanted to be on, but after so long of not being interested, for Harry to come crashing into her life and being sweet, and real, and all these things she could think to want in someone? It was overwhelming, to say the least. 

It's far too much for her to think about by herself, so she runs it by Ayla every so often, who thinks it's easy as bringing it up and running off into the sunset but she doesn't know. Doesn't know if Harry would even want to be with her in a way that's not platonic apart from an accidental, drunken kiss and cuddle, and maybe a part of her wants to keep believing that there was a chance that he might have meant more than just that. When it's in limbo like this, then things could be anything, and as stressful as that is, it's better than rejection being definite. 

"You said you wanted something scary," Y/N tells him, spinning the book around so the red cover faces her. 

Niall lets out an exasperated huff, leaning his elbows onto the counter, "I said scary, not fucked up." He shakes his head, "Made me feel so gross and grubby I had to take a shower after reading a few pages. Where did you even find something like this?" 

She nods, "It was all I could think about for a solid month until I could get my hands on another book to pour my brain into," she admits to him, "I was in a book club in college and each of us got to pick a book of the month to read -- this one girl picked this one 'cos she'd read it a year or so back and needed people to stress about it with." 

"That's evil," he shakes his head and gives a shiver as the door's bell twinkles soundly, "And you've gone and done it t'a me, haven't you?" 

"Gone and done what?" Harry's voice breaks through the air and she looks over to him, watching as he flexes and unflexes his fingers outward -- stretching them out after a particularly long, complex tattoo -- ambling over to where they both stood. He was in a loose tank top and black jeans with holes at the knees, his hair floppy, product free and soft without a hat tucked over his head. In his hand was a crumbled paper bag with the bakery across the streets name printed over the brown and a small smile twitches at the corner of Y/N's mouth. 

Niall pokes at the cover of the book, "This cutie is trying to give me nightmares, is what she's gone and done." He says easily and Y/N thinks her face blooms with intense heat at the playful compliment, but he continues on before either of them could say anything on it, "This book has got me triple locking me door! Last time I fuckin' triple locked the door was. . .well, shite, I rarely ever lock it." 

"So really she's only helping you in the end," Harry points out seemingly thrown but Niall's comment some, his brows having raised more than they had been, setting the baggy down in front of Y/N who peeks into it, seeing a chocolate croissant and she smiles wild, "You live in too dodgy of a area to be sleeping with the doors unlocked."

"Don't I know it," Niall shakes his head, "Killer diner down the road though, so not all bad." He pats the counter softly, "Anyway, 'nough of that, I've got some books to shelve and a bathroom to freshen up. Talk to you lot later." 

With this he leaves Y/N with Harry, whom has his brows raised at her, and as soon as Niall is out of ear shot he leans closer in, "This cutie, eh? Niall courting you with his charming vulgarity?" 

There was something lingering beneath his tone that she hadn't recognized but she brushes it off with a roll of her eyes, "Of course he is. We're married by dawn, you're welcome to join. Y'can be a mix of best man and maid of honor," she snaps her fingers and points towards him, "Best maid, that's it!" 

Harry pouts his lips deeply, "Don' marry him, he misses the toilet more often than not and doesn't bring you chocolate croissants out of his own free will," he reaches into the bag and tears off a corner, pushing it past his lips, "Marry me instead." 

She tries to dismiss the way her cheeks heat up, ignoring his words so she doesn't say something stupid like ask me too then, because it plays on the tip of her tongue tantalizingly. Instead she points to where he's still stretching out his fingers, like he might be trying to regain feeling within them, "What all did you tattoo today?" 

A big smile pulls at his mouth, "You wanna know? Really?" When she nods, his face seems to light up even more, and it takes her a moment to piece together that he probably doesn't have someone who asks him and when he did -- well, they told him he spoke about it too much. This makes the joy that encompasses his features both sweet and sad, "Well, a man came in who wanted his kids names tattooed down his back this morning." 

"Were they normal names?" Y/N questions, reaching into the bag and pulling out the warm, flaky croissant and placing it atop of that bag so that she could start plucking at it. 

He seems elated that she wants to know, reaching back for the stool she had pushed up in the corner and pulling it up to the counter so he could sit besides her. Mounting it, he crosses his arms and leans atop of the surface, "There was Gary, Terri, and Johnathan." Harry titters, "I asked him about it and he said when his wife was pregnant with Johnathan she was a lot meaner and she got gestational diabetes, so that's how they got back at him with a non-rhymed name." He gleams when she laughs, like he'd been waiting to tell somebody all day, "The next one I did was contributing to this sleeve this woman is working on; I added three roses and a squid wrapped around a sail boat."