Crushing on the Geek(18)

“I've heard that name before, but I think you're saying it wrong. I think it might be Sir Bedwyr,” Josh said.

“I'm just saying it how Tam said it,” Amber said,

“I'm saying it how Greg said it,” Tamara said.

“I think both of you need to stop listening to Greg. He's not that smart.”

“Jealous, much?” Tamara laughed.

“No. It's just that Greg has always been pretty out there.”

“So what do you know about Sir Bedivere or Sir Bedwyr or however you want to say it.”

“If you're talking about Sir Bedwyr, he was a knight of the round table.”

“Like King Author and the Knights of the Round Table?”

“Yeah,” Josh nodded, “See the thing he's best known for is throwing King Author's sword into the lake.”

“So, he was a bad guy?”

“No, King Author told him to, but that's neither here nor there. The statue might have been named for the guy from mythology, but it doesn't mean the it has anything to do with it.”

“Then why are you telling me all of this?” Tamara asked.

“Because you asked me,” Josh said.

“Well, thanks for the ride, anyway,” Tamara said as she exited the car. “You sure you don't want to come and help me, Amber? Just think of all the times I've helped you shop.”

“You'll be okay. As long as you don't rip up any books you won't have to worry about finding a good deal,” Amber giggled.

“Fine,” Tamara said.

Tamara pushed open the large double doors and stepped inside. She rubbed her palms together thankful for the warmth radiating from the walls. Her hands trembled as she walked from the lobby into the main part of the building. She had been here plenty of times before, but never alone. Standing here now without Amber made Tamara feel like a trespasser, a very lost trespasser, nonetheless.

“Can I help you?” a familiar voice called from behind a roll of books.

“I'm not exactly sure what I'm looking for,” Tamara admitted.

“Most people aren't when they come here,” the librarian appeared from behind the row of books.

“I'm just going to have a look around if that's okay?”

“Sure, if you need help, just come and find me.”

“Thanks,” Tamara said and ducked in between two rows of books. She looked up at the shelves, had they always been taller than her? Without bothering with reading the titles of the books Tamara moved onto the next row. The covers told her all she needed to know. Tamara was pretty sure trashy romance novels weren't going to help her, unless Sir Bedivere was using his offerings to court a lady knight piece. Tamara stiffled a giggle and quickly checked each row of books for anything that looked promising, wondering how Amber made it seem easy to find anything and everything in a library.

She was about to give up on thefiction section when the spine of a book caught her attention. It was a white book with gold lettering and a tiny faerie with bright gold wings. Tamara was pretty sure it wouldn't help her, but it looked interesting at least.

“Faerie Bella Goes to School,” Tamara read out loud, “Great. It's a kid's book.”

“Sometimes, childrens' books are more insightful than adult books,” a lady said from behind her.

“I don't think this is what I'm look for,” Tamara said looking over her shoulder. She blinked twice and the book fell from her grasp, clattering onto the floor. The woman was taller than Tamara by at least a foot. Her eyes instantly went to the woman's feet, thinking she must be wearing heels, but her pale feet were bare and her toenails painted a deep crimson. Her dress was black, billowing around her knees and fitted at the hips.

The bodice was low-cut and Tamara thought the woman looked a little too old to be wearing a push-up bra, but with the cleavage the dress was showing, the lady must have been, but it wasn't her bare feet, nor the low-cut dress that had Tamara bemused. It was the glittering black wings she wore on her back. The wings looked to be custom made, the fabric was thick and looked life-like. Tamara raised a hand intending to touch them, but they fluttered. Startled, Tamara stumbled back three steps. Light danced through the woman's green eyes and her black curls bounced as if a breeze had shuffled through the building.

“Those look really... well real,” Tamara said, stooping down to retrieve the fallen book.

Halloween was creeping closer everyday, but it was too early for costumes. Besides, who were costumes to the library anyway?

“Thank ye, lass,” the woman said. Tamara noticed a faint trace of a fake Irish accent.

“Your accent needs some work,” Tamara said and reshelved the book.

The woman laughed, making Tamara take another step back. The air vibrated over her arms, sending a chill up her spine. The lights flickered and for a moment Tamara thought the floor trembled beneath her feet. It stopped so suddenly that she couldn't be sure.