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It has been about an hour since he entered Waterstone's, telling himself "I'm just gonna look at the books on sale for five minutes and go."
The place kinda resembled a shoe store at the beginning. Corridors which were divided by genres, a few little cube bookshelves in the middle of some long ones and covering the colorful walls were loads of mat navy blue, wood bookshelves. The glass showcase infront of the shop was decorated by newly released books. He thought he could control his willpower but the thing that always pulled Alexander to this place were those showcased books that he could actually call the pulling "dark magic". He and these hay coloured pages in-between two covers had a undeniable bond, like they promised to eachother. Hay coloured pages saved Alex from his past and whenever he needed them -which includes the layered and complex problems puberty brought- they were there for him.
Books weren't like people. Books never turned their backs on him.
Maybe it was because of his physical inability to turn his back on all the books on the shelves or maybe because he finished all of his homework for this week days ago, he leaned on to the bookshelves and he let himself disappear in the history smelling, technical words and numbers in the book he picked up -The Rise and Fall of American Growth by Robert J. Gordon.
At least he could give himself these little library moments every once in a while. Otherwise, he couldn't imagine doing something else when he wasn't drowning in the essays that he tries to deliver before the deadline. For now.
He could stand upright getting support from the bookshelf he was leaning against for at least one more hour and his feet wouldn't even realise they are tired. But instead of doing that, he put his finger on the sentence he was at and closed the book because of the boy infront of him clearing his throat. He looked up and down at the boy who was stuffing his hands in his pockets, looking at him with a shy smile. The first noticeable thing about him was that he was looking down at him with about one and a half heads of difference. Even tho Alex's curious eyes wanted to look at the boy up and down, the other boy acted faster than him and the unspoken question he had in the corner of his mind was answered with a somewhat of a shine in his eyes.
"My ex girlfriend entered a few moments ago, arm to arm with a new guy and, umm, you would be doing a big favouri if you could hold this for me."
With that, the nameless, tall boy who Alex guessed as southern because of his accent offered him his hand with kind but also expecting eyes as if he was inviting him to dance in a fancy ball. For a moment, Alexander looked like he would say something but because of the shock and confusion of the moment, the sounds that came out of his lips were only some meaningless sounds.
"Uhhh... The- uh, I..."
"Pretty please with a cherry on top?"
To be honest, the boy infront of him was undeniably attractive and Alexander had to say, his southern accent only added more to his attractiveness. Normally, Alex wasn't the type to chase after girls and boys; after an experience he had a couple of years ago, he stayed away from the subject. But if he turned down this -handsome- opportunity, what kind of man would he be? Also there was something that made Alex curious in those caramel eyes. The words that were shaped by his full lips left a dramatic and listenable effect. And at this point what did he have to lose? He excluded the time he would spend in the library a while ago anyways.
Now there was only one thing he wanted to know.
"What as your name again?"
The stranger's expecting smile turned to a cheerful expression where he showed his white teeth.
"Thomas."
And now Alex's fake boyfriend had a name.
He nodded as he let go of the breath he didn't know he was holding and to grab his hand he stepped forward to the stranger -Thomas-.
The moment he entered Thomas' aura, he was greeted with the scent of coconuts and vanilla of his perfume. His hand was big enough to cover his hand as he had expected. And warm; Alex couldn't help the soft, relaxing wave that covered his body. He let Thomas pull him towards a section which was closer to the exit. He followed him with his shorter steps compared to him.
"We need to look like we're having a casual couple conversation, right?"
"Yeah," he answered with a joy in his voice and he didn't even try to cover.
Thomas always ended his sentences with this magnificent grin, which makes Alex try to shove the feeling on his cheeks with his shrugs.
"Okay then... Since we met in a library tell me about your favourite books?"
And like this, they started to get to know eachother over their reading tastes. Alex thought they only met today but one of the most effective ways to get to know a person is by their taste of books. And as they talked, Thomas' sentences sounded like they haven't just met but actually knew eachother for centuries. There were moments where they agreed with eachother like they were talking about a true sanctification but there were also moments where they stated the other's opinion was absolutely wrong and kept trying to prove why they were wrong with definite determination. However, they always kept sympathetic and they never made the other mad or sad. Alexander oddly enjoyed this. It has been a long time since he discussed with someone with an equally intellectual mind. And this was different from the stressful and annoying ones he joined in the school's debate group.
But when he accepted the offer in the first place, he would of course make it look like he was doing it because of the pitty for the boy in his head, because otherwise, it meant feelings.
-
It seemed like Thomas had the specialty of keeping Alexander on the ground, like he had been working on this for centuries and now it was a part of his nature. Sentences that would normally make Alex angry and defensive made him almost laugh when it was from Thomas. He couldn't help but admire that.
They just stood there, holding hands and talking until they forgot how long they were talking for. They weren't only talking about books; Thomas learned that Alex was fluent in Spanish and Alex learned that Thomas' favourite food was mac & cheese. The conversation was now one of those conversations; the type where it could go on forever. If the clock would stop moving -and if "coffee" wasn't a need for humans like Alex to function- Alexander was sure they would talk until the next morning.
As Thomas let go of Alex's hand to put the books they grabbed back into place, he glanced at the glass showcase unconsciously. When Thomas followed his gaze and looked closely, he noticed a coffee shop infront of the bookstore. He couldn't help but grin, now he found out his next move. As soon as he finished putting the books in their places, he grabbed Alex's hand when he was unprepared and dragged him towards the door.
"C'mon," he said cutting off the questions that were prepared to come out from Alexander's mouth.
"I have one last thing I want you to do."
Alex didn't like the word "last". He thought about the few seconds when their hands were separated while he perfectly matched Thomas' steps and he was stunned when he noticed how he got used to holding his - Thomas'- hand. This boy somehow seemed familiar. Familiar and interesting; when words came out from those full lips on that flawless tanned face, they were irresistible. Because of this, even though the negative energy that came from the thought that this was their last time holding hands, he pushed aside the blooming curiosity and excitement flowers in his stomach by biting his bottom lip and didn't ask a single question about where they were going.
The walk to the aforementioned unknown - to only Alex, of course - place was short. When they stood infront of the coffee stand Thomas turned around and gave him a handsome smile and said: "I thought that I should get back to the favor. Coffees on me."
"My God Thomas, you're so cliché." Alex laughed. Even though the teasing in his words, he said them with a laugh and that meant Alex wouldn't say no to a cup of coffee which was enough to make Thomas happy.
They enjoyed the comfortable silence surrounding them as they walked to a bench, warm cardboard cups of coffee in one of their hands and their other hands embraced together. While they sipped their coffee, these silent minutes extended their visit and continued to stay with them. Alex was focused on the steam that was rising from his cup and when he all of a sudden looked up at Thomas, he catched him staring at him. While Alex's cheeks started to go a little red, Thomas gave him a crooked smirk. Even though Alex felt his lips turning upwards, he turned his head in embarrassment and let a few more seconds to pass again.
While he was taking in the surroundings before looking at Thomas, he thought about how he never mentioned his name during the time they talked and how Thomas never asked. Also he realised there weren't any other couples arround them too - fake or not.
When Thomas saw the glints in those intelligent eyes he couldn't stop watching, they were so close to eachother. So much closer than any strangers would sit. Alex aimed for this quote on quote "stranger's" caramel coloured eyes, wanting to be closer to him than possible and whispered.
"There wasn't such thing as an ex girlfriend right?"
Thomas shook his head without dropping his smile -but this wasn't the charming smile that Alex got used to seeing within a few hours now. It was the slightly shy smile Thomas gave him when their eyes first met. Before Alex decided this was his favourite smile Thomas gave him, he leaned forward and pressed their foreheads together with a similar look on his face. Both of the breaths that got mixed together smelled like coffee; the strong expresso scent from Alex and the sweet smell of vanilla coming from Thomas created a sweet aroma and soon, not being able to resist it, both of them clasped their lips together for the expected kiss.
A little while later when they separated, breathing heavily, both of them had the same silly and happy expression.
"Alexander," said Alex "My name. Alexander. Alex."
It was a sweet kiss. Maybe a little bit sour because of the coffee. They didn't mind.
"I know," Thomas said as he smiled to the other's lips.
It was Perfect.