The Boy I Love (Falling for You #2)

by Danielle Lee Zwissler

  Fashion design, not even close to library science. I nodded. “Well, I guess it is a good thing then.”

  “Yep. Okay, well, I’ll show you the spine again that way you can figure out where to put these books,” Jessop said, and then turned a book over in his hand. I looked down.

  “Do you see these numbers and letters?”

  “Yes,” I replied and nodded.

  “Okay, the shelves will have letters on them, and the numbers correspond with the order on the shelf and the number in the card catalogue.”

  “Oh, okay. It really wasn’t rocket science. I was worried for nothing.”

  “Yeah,” Jessop agreed with a smile. “So, I’ll check on you after about twenty minutes. I’ll take the shelf closest to the wall, and you take this one here. Sound good?”

  “Yeah, sounds great,” I replied, and then started on the cart. There were about one hundred books if I were to guess.

  ***

  Payton

  I picked up one of the soft brushes and started to brush down Carmel, my mother’s horse. She was old, good natured, and a beauty. Mom rode her every morning and night, and it was my job to brush her down after her second ride, right after I fed her. I fed her late tonight, and didn’t brush her down. Much like everything else, I was behind.

  I took my time, running the bristles down her coarse hair, Carmel barely moved. She’d nudged me every once in a while, probably just to let me know that she was still there, but other than that, she was still, enjoying her rub down.

  I had a lot of work to do, more than usual, and since I no longer had a girlfriend, I’d have a lot of time on my hands to make things up.

  Keri.

  My best friend, my girlfriend. She was everything to me, and now she wasn’t. Yes, it was my fault that we’d broken up, yes it was my fault that we were in this situation in the first place, and yes I still loved her. I just didn’t trust her. I said I did, but I really didn’t. I didn’t trust the guys around her either. I wanted her home; I was selfish.

  College was too long, and I was here. Why couldn’t she have gone to a university in Texas? Why did she have to go to one all the way in Ohio?

  I stopped brushing down Carmel and hung the brush back on its hook. After, I cleaned out a few stalls, and then brought all the horses fresh water. I wasn’t ready to go inside yet. I didn’t want to face my parents. I didn’t want to hear about how I was rushing things with Keri, how I shouldn’t have pushed so hard, how I was still young and had a long time left to worry about such things, and how I was neglecting my chores. If I wanted to be a serious rancher, I’d have to learn to take care of simple things like chores first.

  I already knew how to do all of that; I’d been doing it for years. I put my hand down my face and sighed. How was I going to get through the next month without Keri? I looked back down at my phone, and still no text. No email. No missed calls.

  She was really done with me.

  My phone rang.

  I picked up after two rings, not noticing the caller id. “Hello?”

  “Payton?” a feminine voice asked.

  “Yes.”

  “This is Alexis, Keri’s roommate.”

  My heart started to thud in my chest. “Is everything okay?”

  “Yes, she’s fine. I just wanted to tell you not to give up.”

  I sighed, and blew out a deep breath. Alexis was a nice girl. “Did she say anything?”

  “She’s upset, but she had to work today, so she’s not here right now.”

  “I love her so much,” I admitted, and walked toward the barn office. I sat down in dad’s chair as soon as I opened the door.

  “I know, and she knows that, too. You just push a little too hard, and she’s still having a rough time over her father’s death.”

  “Yeah, I get that, it’s just…I worry.”

  “She’s not going to find anyone else, Payton. She likes you.”

  “I don’t know. She gets so frustrated with me, and I get that way with her, too. We never fought until we started dating.”

  “But that’s just the thing, isn’t it? You never really dated.”

  I thought about that, and she was right. We hadn’t. Sure we went out a few times to dinner, but it wasn’t set up like a real date. It was the same as always. “I guess you’re right.”

  “Maybe if you dated her, it would be different? You just kind of were together, and it was really bad timing.”

  “Tell me about it,” I said, and then sighed once more. “Does she know that you’re calling me?”

  “No way. She’d kill me. I just wanted you to know that she doesn’t hate you. She’ll be home for Christmas.”

  “I appreciate that, Alexis. You’re alright.”

  Alexis laughed softly. “Thanks. You are, too. Todd says hi, by the way. He also told me to tell you to tone down on the intensity.”

  I laughed roughly. “I’ve been told that before. I’ll try.”

  “Don’t tell Keri I called, okay? Give her some time. You’ll see, it’ll all work out.”

  “I will do that,” I said, and then, “have a good night, Keri.”

  “You, too.”

  I hung up, feeling a little bit better. Keri was still planning on coming home for Christmas. I stood, put my cell in my pocket, and walked out of the office and toward the house. I was hungry, and finally felt like I could face my parents.

  ***

  Keri

  “So, you look like you’re getting the hang of this,” Jessop said and nodded. He looked somewhat impressed. Probably about as impressed as you could get for shelving books.

  “Thanks, yeah it’s not a big deal at all.”

  “Great. This will go a lot faster then. So, you’re a library science major then?”

  I nodded. “Yep. There’s nothing I like better than books.”

  “Me, either. Books are my thing. Favorite author?”

  I laughed. “My favorite, or who people expect me to say my favorite is?”

  Jessop laughed, and then said, “Your actual favorite.”

  “Okay, well I love JK Rowling, the whole Harry Potter thing will forever be my go to for enjoyment, but I also love the romantics. And for that, Jane Austen all the way.”

  “Ah, Ms. Austen, of course.”

  “You?” I asked, and waited, watching Jessop’s face light up with excitement.

  “Tolkien. I can’t get over the whole “Lord of the Rings” phenomenon. But I do love a good Tolstoy.”

  “Who doesn’t?” I replied, and grinned.

  “Favorite book to movie adaptation?” Jessop asked, as he walked toward the front of the library for another cart. I followed him, and thought about my answer.

  “Harry Potter of course.”

  “Yeah, those are pretty bad ass films. I’d probably say the same.”

  “Worse book to film?” I asked.

  “Eragon, definitely.”

  “Oh, yes. That was horrible!”

  “Right? So not what I was expecting at all!” Jessop said, and then he started talking about the book. I nodded and agreed on all he had to say. “So, any plans for Christmas?”

  “Yeah, I’m going to go home.”

  “Cool. I’m going to Gloria’s. My parents are going to Europe, so I decided to hang with my girlfriend for the two weeks.”

  “Wow, Europe! I would love to go there.”

  “So, you’ve never been?”

  “Nope.”

  “Me, either. My parents have only recently started traveling. They can’t afford to ship me off anywhere, so it was either me going back home by myself or meeting Gloria’s family.”

  I grinned. “Meeting the family? Big step.”

  Jessop returned my smile and nodded. “Yeah. Huge. I’ve never met a girl’s family before. It should be interesting.”

  I thought of my dad and how he’d never meet any of my future boyfriends or my husband. I frowned.

  “You okay?” Jessop asked.

  “Yeah,
I was just thinking about my dad. He died a few months ago, and…”

  “And, I mentioned how I’d never met a girl’s family. Sorry about that, I didn’t know.”

  “I know you didn’t. That’s okay.”

  “I’m really sorry about your dad. What happened?”

  I took a deep breath and then told him all about what happened. “I didn’t even get to say goodbye. He passed just before I walked in to the hospital. Mom thinks he didn’t want me to see him that way. I was always a daddy’s girl.”

  Jessop put his hand on my shoulder and squeezed. “I’m so sorry.”

  “Thanks,” I replied, and then took a few books off the new cart that Jessop grabbed. “We better get these shelved before we get in trouble.”

  Jessop nodded. “Yeah, Fletchman is a real stickler.”

  I laughed, and then headed toward the shelves once more.

  Chapter Five

  *Baby, it’s cold outside…*

  Keri

  It was December, and with that, Ohio brought snow, and freezing cold weather. I wasn’t used to this kind of cold, the frigid, bitter cold. I was used to Texas weather, and wasn’t prepared for the snow or the constant need for winter wear.

  I did love the snow though, and although we did get snow in Texas, we didn’t get it like they do in Ohio. Ohio had all four seasons in a matter of days, sometimes hours. The weather was unpredictable, and described as a hell bent woman, according to Alexis who has lived in Ohio her entire life. I happened to agree.

  It had been a full week since I last talked to Payton and the whole breakup. It has also been a week since I got my new job at the library.

  I walked into my dorm room, and went straight to my bed, noticing that neither Alexis or Todd was home yet. I was happy though, as I wanted to email Payton.

  I flicked on my laptop and pulled up my gmail account.

  After a few minutes of wondering what to start with, I started tapping at the keys.

  Dear Payton,

  Hey. I hope everything is going well. I’ve been busy. I really like my job.

  Talk to you soon.

  Keri

  I pushed send before looking down at what I wrote and took a deep breath. Short and sweet. There, I’d done it. I wrote Payton. I put the ball back in his court.

  I shut the laptop and put it on the chair next to my bed and crawled underneath the covers. It was only 9 PM and I was completely exhausted.

  It didn’t take but five minutes, and I was asleep.

  Ten minutes if that, I heard my phone beep. I opened my eyes and wearily looked down at the screen.

  I had an email from Payton.

  I pushed on my email icon and read.

  Keri,

  I’m glad you like your new job. I’ve been busy working. I don’t have anything new to add other than I am tired all the time. Must be the winter blues. Hope you are doing well.

  Payton

  I clicked the reply button and used my thumbs to tap out a message.

  Payton,

  Thanks. Sorry you have the blues, maybe you should start writing music. I hear there is money in that.

  Keri

  I smiled as I typed the last part, and just closed my eyes when I saw the chat icon pop up on my phone. I could feel my heart thud in my chest, and I wondered if this was really a smart idea. Me talking to Payton, acting as if nothing had happened a week ago. Intrigued, I clicked the accept button and started typing.

  Hey

  *Hey*

  What’s up?

  *Just finished working. I’m sore.*

  Just finished? It’s after 9. What were you doing?

  *Dad’s got me doing a lot of work. He tore his rotator cuff and now has me doing not only my stuff, but his, too.*

  That sucks. I hope he’s okay.

  *He’s fine. I think he just needed a few weeks off.*

  Probably.

  *So, how’s the library?*

  It’s great.

  *That’s good.*

  Yeah.

  *I miss you.*

  I miss you, too. Listen, I have to go. I’m tired. I just wanted to say hi.

  *okay.*

  I looked down at the ‘okay’ and sighed. I was too tired to write anymore, but didn’t want to hurt his feelings.

  Chat tomorrow?

  *sounds good. See you around 9?*

  Okay. Goodnight.

  *Sweet dreams.*

  I signed out of google and put my phone down beside my pillow. I did miss Payton, but I still wasn’t ready for anything more than friendship with him.

  The next morning, I woke up early and went over some of my math homework. I still needed a tutor, but was going to ask Alexis for help from now on. Even though I wasn’t seeing Payton any longer, I felt guilty about getting a tutor. Stupid even.

  “Everything okay?” Alexis asked as she opened her eyes. I was sitting at my desk with my head practically in my Algebra book. I sighed and leaned back in my chair.

  “Equations,” I said and groaned. “I just don’t get this crap.”

  Alexis shifted in her bed and rolled to her side, getting her feet to the ground. “Equations are super easy. How many letters are you trying to find?” she asked, dumbing down my math.

  “One.”

  “Seriously?” she asked, and then shook her head. “All you have to do is isolate one of the letters, and you will find your answer.

  “Yeah, I get that, but I don’t know how to isolate.” I felt so incredibly dumb that I couldn’t even get the simplest of problems. Yet another reason why I should probably never have gone to college in the first place.

  “Give me a few minutes to wake up and I’ll help you,” Alexis said and yawned. “I need coffee or caffeine or… chocolate.”

  “I have some chocolate chip cookies,” I offered, and leaned back toward my mini fridge and pulled out a little baggie full of goodies. My mom had sent them home with me the week before.

  “Give me, give me,” Alexis said, holding her hand out.

  “Where’s Todd?”

  “He had an early day today. Work.”

  “Oh,” I said, frowning. “When does he get back?”

  “Sometime this afternoon. He’s skipping astronomy. He needs the money.”

  “For what?” I asked; it wasn’t as if he was paying rent.

  “I don’t know, he just said he needed money. I didn’t ask.”

  “Seriously?” I would have been up on that. Todd was never secretive, so it was a little odd that he’d all of a sudden need money. “Books?”

  “Maybe. I don’t know.” Alexis yawned once more and dragged her chair over next to mine. “Okay, you ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  After about 45 minutes of me trying to learn how to isolate a damned variable I think I finally got the concept. Sadly, Alexis looked as if she wanted to commit suicide during the study session after about five minutes. Luckily for me, she stuck with it and I finally learned something. I may just pass algebra after all.

  “You good now?” Alexis asked wearily. I knew what she wanted to know, would I be bothering her again with such a dumbass question. And the answer was probably.

  “Yeah, I think so.”

  Alexis frowned. “Seriously, how in the hell did you pass high school math?”

  “I didn’t,” I admitted. “Well, regular math, but not algebra.”

  “What do you mean? I thought you had to pass all of the electives in order to get into college.”

  “Nope,” I said, sighing. “I was on the merit roll because I had all A’s except for Math. Mr. Curly told me I would have made the National Honor Society if not for that one class.”

  Alexis shook her head. “It just doesn’t make sense.”

  I frowned, feeling even more dumb. “I know. Trust me, it’s all been explained a million times, but I really don’t have a head for numbers.”

  “Luckily for you, being a librarian isn’t really a numbers game.”

  I thought about t
hat for a second and nodded. “Well, there’s numbers involved, but that’s just for sorting… Thank God.”

  “Speaking of the whole shelving job, how’d it go?”

  I reddened, and Alexis picked up on that right away. “What?”

  “Nothing.”

  “So not nothing, Keri! What happened?”

  “There’s just…”

  “You met Jessop, didn’t you?” Alexis asked, shocking me. I gasped.

  “How’d you?”

  “I used to go to the library all the time. You’re wasting your time though; he’s dating some girl named Gloria.”

  I bit my lip, and nodded. “Yeah, he told me. He said she used to work there.”

  “Yeah, she got fired, and then they hired Carl Sanders. He was hot, but completely stupid.”

  “How do you know so much about this?” I asked, wondering if I really knew Alexis at all. I didn’t know she hung out at the library so much.

  “My brother went here and was in love with Gloria his freshman year. He talked about her all the time. Gloria this, Gloria that. So I went to check her out, and found that she was dating Jessop, the sexy Manbrarian.”

  “Manbrarian!” I laughed, probably harder than I should have. Alexis grinned.

  “Yeah, I used to go into the library all of the time. Nothing works though. I wore short shorts, minis, and push up bras. The man can’t be tempted. Trust me, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”

  “I… I’m not interested.” I blushed again, knowing that I was. Just talking to Jessop for a little bit had me thinking that maybe Payton wasn’t the right guy for me. He and I didn’t have books in common, and books were my life. How would a marriage go with Payton if we didn’t have anything to talk about? Sure kissing Payton was fantastic, but what would we talk about when we were home alone?

  “Yes you are, and I’m telling you it’s a bust. He’s loyal.”

  I sighed, and looked down at my algebra work. “Well that’s good.”

  “Yeah, for Gloria.”

  “Yeah,” I admitted, and then turned toward Alexis. “Wait a minute, when were you doing all of this tempting?”

  Alexis laughed. “Way before me and Todd. Like I said, I spied on the whole Gloria situation. I thought my brother may have dated her. I must have been wrong.”