Chapter Text
CHAPTER ONE
The sunbeams of the early summer day let the dancing dust shimmer in the already warm air of the room. A young woman carrying a big stack of books sets them down on the old wooden counter and wipes her sweaty forehead, brushing a few red strands behind her ear. Goddamn, it's fucking hot already, she thinks, and it's not even 10. She wipes her sticky palms on her favorite high-waisted pair of corduroy pants with the worn edges that feel like home. Then she takes a few steps to grab the abandoned drink from the little coffee table between the two red armchairs by the window. She raises the mug to her lips, takes a big gulp of the greenish liquid, closes her eyes and lets a little moan of appreciation escape. While she's enjoying the sensation of the cold drink running down her throat, she takes in her surroundings: the walls of the room lined with bookshelves from floor to ceiling, all practically quelling over with books; the armchairs with a floorlamp next to it and the little table by the window; the dark-brown counter with the cash register on it and a big bouquet of colorful meadow flowers next to it. A satisfied smile creeps onto her lips.
She sets her drink down and picks up a few books from the countertop. They're all the same book by an author named Charlie Blake. Damn good name, the young woman smirks to herself. She positions the books on the shiny surface so that they're the first thing a customer sees when they come into her store, The Bold Letter. It's tucked into a smaller street in Paris’ Quartier Latin near the university.
She picks up a duster from behind the counter and walks into an adjacent room which is filled with antique books and traces over the spines slowly, carefully, feeling the engravings and decorations under her fingertips. Soaking up their histories and journeys. This is her favorite place to be, surrounded by old books, which have seen so much life and it always makes her feel close to her grandfather. She closes her eyes for a moment, takes a deep breath like she's inhaling the wisdom from the pages and starts to dust off the shelves.
Having just dropped her matcha and while being currently under the counter mopping up the offending green-ish puddle on the floor, at least the mug didn't break, she hears the bell above the entrance giving off its clear ring, indicating somebody entering. "Just a moment", she says as she stands up at the precise moment the person who just stepped in is taking off their big dark sunglasses. Her vision blurs for a second from standing up too fast and she has to steady herself with a hand on the counter, but as the fog clears up, she locks onto the person who just came in and her eyes widen as she takes in the absolutely breathtaking sight before her. For a moment she thinks it must be an angel as the sun strays in from behind the woman at just the right angle and makes her blonde hair shine like a halo. She takes a breath to find her bearing, but chokes on her own spit and starts coughing uncontrollably. Feeling her face becoming flushed from embarrassment (because of course an absolute bombshell walks in and she starts acting weird) and the coughing fits. As she gets calmer and the coughing subsides she sets her eyes back on the woman and feels herself getting even redder as she takes her in. Wow I'm looking at the most beautiful woman I have ever seen in my life. The blush from before is still steadily creeping up her neck and burning cheeks and she has to mentally berate herself to not let her jaw drop to the floor as she croaks out a "welcome". They make eye contact through long lashes, sky blue, how fitting, on sapphire green, and it takes a few beats before the young woman has to avert her eyes from the intense focus of the pools she just began to drown in.
She clears her throat and attempts again. "Hello, my name is Ava, may I help you?", lifting her gaze back to the elegant older blonde before her. "No", is the clipped answer accompanied by raised eyebrows and a slight lift at the corner of her mouth, betraying her amusement. Ava finds her footing again after being thrown for a moment and rolls her eyes internally, shrugging her shoulders, trying for nonchalance and not quite succeeding. With a crooked little smile she says: "suit yourself, I'm here if you need anything".
The woman starts to browse between the stacked shelves and Ava tries and fails to keep her eyes from following the movements of the intriguing blonde. She acts as if she is busy arranging some items on the counter but her mind and eyes keep wandering. Suddenly she remembers the mess she made behind the counter and kneels down to the task of finally cleaning it up completely.
The only sounds wafting through the shop are the clicking of the woman's heels, the soft rustling of turning pages and the singing of birds. Ava had opened the door to let a bit of air circulate through the otherwise stuffy shop, which is becoming warmer by the minute, or is it the woman's presence that's making Ava feel even hotter?
After what feels like an eternity to Ava but in reality probably only about fifteen minutes later, the woman comes back up to the counter empty-handed. By chance her eyes land on the book displayed on the counter. She picks it up and reads its title and then the backside, is Ava mistaken or is the woman trying not to smile? Ava mentally high-fives herself.
“I'll take this”, she says suddenly and looks Ava in the eye, expression unreadable. Licking her lips and trying her best to play it cool, Ava takes the book to wrap it up and says “19,95€, please”. Without saying a word, the woman holds out her credit card to her, using her index and middle fingers. When Ava moves to take it from her, their fingers touch, nearly imperceptible, but it sends a shiver down her spine and she takes a sharp inhale. If the other woman notices, she doesn't give it away.
Ava completes the transaction and the packing, and puts both on the counter in front of the woman. With an air of grace she picks up the card to put it back into her wallet which along with the book lands in her purse. Then she turns towards the door, but just as she's nearly outside she turns her head around and winks at Ava, she has laugh lines around the eyes. Her stomach does a stupid flip, leaving her to stammer out a “Goodbye, hope to see you again soon”, and shooting the most awkward finger guns imaginable, while the woman moves to put her sunglasses back on and swooshes out the door. Oh, for fucks sake. And then suddenly she's back alone in the store as if nothing had happened. And all that's left for flustered Ava to do is try and catch her breath because she thinks for a moment she actually forgot how to breathe at all.