AllFreeNovel
Share Us
As I did, he got up and pawed all three books into one of his large hands. “Where are you going?”
He lifted the books. “To buy you these. They are the ones you wanted, right? I’m happy for you to choose a few more.”
“You want tobuythem for me?”
“Would be a pretty crappy bookstore date if I didn’t.”
I shook my head, feeling a little too awkward now. “Oh, you don’t have to buy me the books.”
“I want to.”
“It’s too much.”
He looked down at the three books in his hand like they were nothing. “Three books? They aren’t going to cost the world. Let me treat you, Aster. How many people have bought you books before?”
I looked down at his hand. “Besides family? No one.”
“Great. Then let me do this for you. I want to.”
I pursed my lips, and nodded, because it felt strange having someone want to do something nice for me with no motivation behind it.
Leaving me to sip on my latte, he went and paid for the books. When he came back, he plopped a paper bag next to me and smiled before rubbing his palms across his pants.
“Is there something untoward in those books?”
“What do you mean?”
“When I went up there, the cashier nearly choked on her bubblegum and asked me if I was really reading those.”
I held back a smile, but Tanner could see it. “Aster,” he growled in warning. Something about how gravelly his voice was made the hairs on the back of my neck stand.
“Fine. They might be a little spicy,” I relented, taking a sip of my latte, because I wasn't ashamed about reading spice, but it was amusing that he willingly bought them for me.
“Wait. Did you just make me buy a set of sex books for you?” He whispered, looking around. His cheeks were burning, and I chuckled.
“Honestly, no. They have a few more graphic descriptions in there, but it's like three scenes. You're fine. No one is going to think you're one of those weird guys that stand in the romance section just to pick up women.”
“Setting the bar real high there for me, aren't you, Teach?”
“Always.” I grinned, and he grinned back. Then I realized that anyone watching would just see us weirdly smiling at each other over our coffees.
“Thank you for the books.”
“No problem.” He looked from either side and offered me a sly smirk. “So now that you’ve got your books, I thought maybe we could go to dinner once we've finished these drinks?” He lifted his.
“I thought you said I wasn't the type of girl to take to a fancy restaurant?”
“I didn't say fancy, did I?”
“No.”
“Now tell me if I'm wrong, but you look like the kind of girl that would love a chicken sandwich from El Poro's.”
“I love that place.”
“I knew it.” He sipped his coffee with a little more pride. “You've got good taste, but I'm surprised I never see you in there, considering I'm always going after practice.”
“That's exactly why you don’t. I only go during the early bird discounts because it guarantees the line isn’t around the block.”
