His Best Friend's Sister

I went inside and perused the shelves for a few minutes, waiting for a title or cover to jump out at me. A couple of books on the new-release rack caught my attention, and I took those along with a few tried-and-true favorites. After checking the books out, I realized there could be another benefit to being here at the library.

Tucking the books away in the reusable tote I snagged from the counter, I headed deeper into the library and the small study rooms lining the back wall. I didn’t make it all the way there before pausing. Ahead of me, Tyler stood near one of the shelves, holding a book and flipping through the pages like he was sampling it.

I brought my bag into the study room and used the sliding indicator beside the door to show it was in use. Then I snuck back to where Tyler stood and slipped up behind him before he noticed I was there. I put my hands over his eyes and felt him take hold of my wrists.

“Guess who,” I said.

“Um, Elvira, Mistress of the Dark?” he said. He used his grip on my wrists to move my hands away from his face and turned around to look at me. Lowering my hands, he let out a theatrical, muffled sigh. “It’s never Elvira.”

We both laughed softly. “What are you doing here?”

“I’ve been thinking that I need more exercise in my life, so I thought I would come do some cardio,” he said, deadpan.

I shook my head at him. “You’re just full of the sassiness today, aren’t you?”

“Always,” he said. “Actually, I love reading.”

“Really?” I was surprised by the revelation. “I never knew that about you.”

“It’s the dark and mysterious mystique I have going on. There are countless things you don’t know about me,” he said in an affected deeper voice and slight accent.

I paused for a few seconds, then pointed at him. “Oh. Was that the dark and mysterious mystique?”

“Yes.”

“Very mysterious,” I said.

Tyler grinned at me.

“I’m trying to find a new book that just got released. It sounds amazing, and I’ve been waiting for it to get here so I can check it out,” he said. “How about you? What are you doing here?”

“I’m here to pick up some new books to read, do some research on a local therapist in the next town over who has offered me an interview for a paid internship, and to escape my parents,” I said.

That made Tyler laugh. “Good things all around.”

I pointed toward where I had put my bags. “I’m actually all set up in a little study room over there. Why don’t you go look for your book, and when you find it, come join me?”

“Sounds good. I’ll see you in just a few minutes,” Tyler said.

I went into the study room and logged into the computer integrated into the counter. I pulled up some information on the therapist and the practice where I was considering working. I was reading through it when Tyler appeared at the door.

“Did you find the book you were looking for?” I asked.

Tyler shook his head, looking disappointed. “No. And I asked the librarian about it and she said somebody had just checked it out.”

I narrowed my eyes at him slightly. There wasn’t anybody else anywhere near the checkout counter when I was up there checking out my books.

“What book was it?” I asked. He told me, and I shook my head, leaning down and pulling the title out of my tote bag. “That’s why you couldn’t find it. I checked it out, already.”

He gave another of his theatrical sighs. “Of all the libraries in all the towns, why did you have to walk into mine?”

“You should take it and read it first. I have a tower of books to read.”

He held the book up. “Thanks. I’ll bring it back to you when I’m done with it.”

“Well, if it’s bad, just bring it back here and drop it off. You can save me the hassle. Be my personal CliffsNotes.”

“You mentioned that internship a second ago. What was that all about?” Tyler asked.

“I’ve always wanted to be a child psychologist. That’s actually what I went to college for. But then I met Steven and managed to let him distract me. I stopped really focusing, and I got good grades and all but never started looking for a job. I figured it was just going to be a brief thing. I was just taking a little bit of a break. And that break turned into years. But that whole attempting to get married without a groom showing up to the ceremony thing happened. Now I have plenty of time to try again,” I said.

“That’s awesome,” he said. “You’re going to be a great psychologist.”

“Well, we’ll see. Let me get through the internship first. Actually, let me get the internship first. That’s what the interview is for. There’s this fantastic therapist the next town over, and the practice is offering a paid internship that would cover my first full year. If I got it, it would be an amazing experience and really get my foot in the door to either work in that practice or to be headhunted by another one,” I said.