WITH A CHILDLIKE CURIOSITY, I watched Harry put his training to good use from behind the front desk of the second floor. He was helping a little girl with crinkly hair find a book from The Magic Tree House series, and the sight of them interacting brought a smile to my face. Every time Harry would utter a word to the girl, she'd blush furiously and shyly give him her reply.

After a few minutes of navigating the Fantasy Fiction aisle, Harry emerged carrying a stack of books that were from The Magic Tree House series in his hand. He gently set them on one of the children's tables in the back of the room before giving the girl a dimpled smile and saying goodbye. I'm sure she would've fainted if her derriere hadn't landed on the chair.

"How am I doing so far?" A gruff voice asked. I turned my head around to see who was addressing me. My smile grew just a little bit when I saw it was only Harry.

"Not bad," I replied as I leaned back in my seat, "but the real challenge begins at one," I told him.

"Why? What's at one?" Harry questioned anxiously.

"We're having a games session for kids eight years and older in the basement," I answered. "Sometimes it can get a little hectic, but it's mostly fun."

Harry let out a breath before dropping his gaze to the floor. "Cool. So, um, do you need help with set-up or anything like that?" He inquired, his eyes meeting mine again.

I smiled. "That's sweet of you to ask, but the librarians downstairs usually do that. All we have to do is monitor the kids and make sure everything runs smoothly for the hour," I explained.

"Cool," Harry casually said. "Well, I'm going to stop being a bother and let you get back to work. See you at one."

Just as Harry began to walk away, I called for him to wait. You're not a bother, I so badly wanted to say. With his eyebrows raised, he turned his body around to face me. We stared at each other in silence for a few seconds because I was hesitant to say what I had planned but smiled to mask my nervousness.

"We break for lunch at twelve," I informed him instead.

Harry nodded his head and returned my smile, but it didn't reach his eyes. "Okay, guess I'll see you at twelve then Florence."

"Yeah..." This time I didn't stop him as he walked away, too dazed to even try. All I could focus on was how good my name sounded coming from his mouth.

It's definitely the British accent, I shook my head. That has to be it.

§

I was out of breath by the time I completed my second round of Dance Dance Revolution. Justin, a boy of twelve years of age had challenged me to a song when he overheard me telling Harry about my background in Latin American dance as well as hip-hop. His golden brown eyes were pleading when they gazed into my own, and I couldn't resist his adorable face.

I held my own the first round because we got to dance to one of my favorite songs, "Bailando" by Enrique Iglesias. I could see Harry's eyes wandering over my figure in my peripheral vision in the early stages of the song and tried not to smile too wide. Justin insisted that "Bailando" was too easy for me and chose something to match his taste the next round: "Smooth Criminal" by Michael Jackson.

I felt confident in my moves until the second half of the song started playing. I could barely keep up with the fast pace and ended up receiving a lot of "Misses" and "Almosts" than I would have liked. I snuck a glance at Justin who was on the mat beside me, and he was putting my dance moves to shame. His danced like a natural, completing each move effortlessly.

By the end of the song, it was clear Justin won this round, but I was too tired to even break our tie.

"I forfeit. There's no way I can out dance you, Justin," I breathed deeply, trying to calm my fast-beating heart.

He showed off his pearly white teeth in a smile, lifting a shoulder. "I don't know. I mean, you were pretty good."

Before I could say thank you, another deep voice cut into the conversation.

"—Pretty good? I think that's the understatement of the century," Harry said while walking over to us. "You were...just wow."

"Oh stop," I giggled, gently nudging his side with my elbow. "You're making me blush."

Two dimples indented his cheeks as he saw my face turn beet red. We stood there smiling at each other, my eyes locked on his. I could have stared at him all day if we had the time, but I was suddenly brought out of my daze by the clearing of one's throat.

"D-Do you know where I can find the water fountain?" Justin croaked after pointing to his throat.

I was about to offer to show him before Harry pointed towards the hallway.

"It's at the end of the hall just down that way," Harry explained to Justin, his eyes only shifting away from mine for a second.

"Cool," He replied. "It was fun dancing with you Florence."

I smiled. "Same for me, Justin," I called out.

My eyes settled back on Harry's who had his bottom lip rolled in between his teeth. I swallowed thickly and moved a strand of hair behind my ear. The silence was stressing me out.

"Did you know my father's restaurant is catering your family's winter formal?" I blurted out randomly.

Harry shook his head and laughed. "No, not until you just told me, love."

Nice one, Florence. Way to ruin the moment, my inner voice nagged.

"Oh, well I-I just figured you should know. I mean--I would want to know. I hope you like Italian food," I rambled.

Harry grinned at me before saying, "You're cute when ramble like that."

I felt my cheeks blush a shade darker as I lowered my gaze to the floor. "Thanks," I muttered. "I think..."

"Anytime," He replied.

"Speaking of the time..." I trailed off, checking the time on my phone. "It's a quarter to two, but you're free to leave now since I made you come in earlier."

Harry hesitated for a moment as he shifted his gaze between his phone and the kids occupying the space. Slowly shaking his head, he turned his head back in my direction to look straight into my eyes and say, "No, I think I'll stay."

You hear that? He wants to stay with you, Florence, my subconscious repeatedly said. I tried not to make a big deal out of it, but I couldn't help the warm and fuzzy feeling that spread inside of me as a result of his words.

"Then let's make these last fifteen minutes count," I found my voice again and told him. "We should start by cleaning up those board games over there," I said while pointing to the corner of the room where a few board games were displayed across the wooden table.

"Yes, ma'am."

Author's Note:

Hey everyone. Thank you for reading this chapter. I can't believe this story has 500 reads. I'm so thankful for everyone who decided to give this story a chance.

Feel free to vote, comment, share this story with a friend, and add it to your reading list.

Question for my readers: When are your birthdays?

My birthday is November 7th.

—
Kaylandia