~L I L Y~

I CANNOT BELIEVE I JUST ASKED JACKSON TO HANG OUT WITH ME. It has only been a few days since I started working here and I am already asking Jackson to hang out.

"We should hang out sometime and catch up. I don't think I have ever seen someone glow up the way you did."

It's been years since I last rejected him because of his high school status and I have no idea if asking him to hang out is reasonable.

The look of pure awe on his face already has me wishing I had a time machine. That way, I can go back to our high school days and say yes. Yes to when he first asked me out and yes to when he last asked me out. But there wouldn't be a last if I just say yes the first time.

I feel so awful for asking him to hang out when I should have said yes years ago. He presumably thinks I'm a fraud and that I just want to hang out because he is no longer hanging with those cheerleading girls or no longer staring at girls' booties when they model pass him.

"Uhr. . ." He trails, his face morphing into a huge grin before he starts tugging at his hair. "Really, you want to hang out with me?" He asks, concealing how pleased he actually is, or I think he is.

It's just that, he has been behaving so casually and carefree lately. I'm liking it, trust me but I have a bad feeling this is just an act to hide how he is truly feeling, especially with his dad. Why do I always let my brain do my speaking? My damn foolish brain and foolish mouth that can't stay shut sometimes.

"Well, yes." I'm surprised my voice doesn't crack. "I mean, it has been too long and we haven't even been in contact all those years."

Even though we never hung out.

"Well, duh." He says in a girly manner and chuckles, "you rejected me. But it's okay, we can totally like hang out." I laugh at his try at sounding like a girl.

I try to hide how timid I am because he just told me in a 'duh' tone that I was the one who rejected him. I feel so nasty but I had a really good defense. Back then, I didn't want to get heartbroken. It should be understandable. This is definitely not me saying that I will not get it broken just because most of the guys these days have matured.

No longer breathing on girls. I even saw Austin Palmer, the same guy who tried too hard to get my best friend, Alexis into his bed. But she wasn't understanding all of that because well, you already know why.

We were just so innocent. We still are, nothing changed.

"Your girl impersonation needs a lot of work!" Someone from behind me confirms and I nod. When I take a glance at the guy, Austin is standing there with a grin and his hands shoved in his jean pockets.

Jack scowls at him, "it doesn't, it's faultlessly fine."

I shake my head no with a laugh, indicating I disagree. A few more minutes pass in which Austin and Jackson compete against each other to see who has the best girl impersonation. Austin won because Jackson's voice is a lot more deeper than his. I like it though, it's so velvety.

Gee, Lily, calm down.

I am totally calmed. No need to worry about me.

"So, you guys are a couple?" I ask after some time of silence as we start categorizing the bookshops.

As the clock tik, it gets colder by the second and I'm so pleased I brought an additional coat. I mean, what would Mia think if she knew I am walking around with one coat and it's fricking freezing.

"What? Fuck no!" Austin yells and my eyes widen. He utters filth words so much. "Sorry, I forgot you're so innocuous. It's been years, really. I know nothing so you can't wield everything against me."

He had been swearing almost the whole day and it's been getting on my nerves.

"To answer your question, we are a couple. Austin is my girlfriend." Jack confirms, flinging an arm around Austin's shoulder while scrutinizing him.

Austin sighs, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, I guess Jack is my boyfriend." He mutters under his breath, I hardly hear it.

"What was that, babe?" Jack asks, poking fun at Austin and putting intensity on the babe.

"You know what, I'm getting sick and tired of this shit. Just because I corrected you doesn't mean we are actually a couple!" Austin yells, getting frustrated. I raise my hand with an arched eyebrow.

When they notice me wanting their scrutiny, Jack speaks up formally, "yes, miss Wilson."

"What happened when Austin corrected you?" I cock my head to the side, studying their utterance.

"At first, we were talking about how terrible of a girlfriend Austin is but then somehow, it got to be talking about our marriage and-are you catching on?" He asks, snickering at me.

I nod, telling him to proceed. "After that, he corrected me saying I was his girlfriend."

"Now you're just talking bull-" he shuts his mouth before he can swear once he sees my scowl. God, I hate swearing. "What happened was; he said his girlfriend-referring to me couldn't make amazing hot chocolate. But then, he said something along the lines of marriage. I was wondering what the hell we are because he was confusing me. So I asked him if it wasn't that I was his girlfriend and not his wife."

"That still means you're confirming that you are his girlfriend." I shrug, my furrowed brows raising.

Austin presumably starts contemplating whether I'm correct or not. His mouth forms an O and his eyes hurdle with understanding. I laugh at his attempt at making it seem like nothing was going on between the two which I already know. Jackson is just teasing him. I think.

I stare as Jackson and Austin bicker on and on about the circumstance. Jackson has his chocolate brown eyes trained on Austin and I marvel at him. He had the kind of face that stopped you in your tracks.

I guess he must get used to that, the sudden pause in a person's natural expression when they looked his way followed by overcompensating with a nonchalant gaze and a weak smile.

Of course, the blush that accompanied it was a dead give-away. It didn't help that he was so modest with it, it made the girls fall for him all the more. And it made that little uncomfortable feeling in the pit of my stomach arise.

Despite all the opportunities that came his way, he was a one-woman-man who prized genuineness and thoughtful conversation above lipstick and high-heels. He was handsome, but inside he was beautiful.

I would notice him staring at a certain book when sitting behind the counter and one time when I followed his eyes, I saw he was staring at a romance novel, Sex, and Vanity by Kevin Kwan was the title. It was Mr. Stone's favorite book and by the way, he is in such deep thought, I knew he missed his dad.

The thought alone has me on edge. Mr. Stone had been more of a father to me than my actual dad. But that was in my younger days when I would attend the bookstore with my sister in hopes of finding some good thrillers or romance. He was an amazing father to two handsome boys and one of them being all grown up and independent.

For years I've been working on building a relationship with my dad but he is all about his work. Well, I have been trying to. I can't properly get ahold of him. I don't know him that well anyway, it shouldn't be such a biggie.

Wilson Enterprises Inc. My sister and I would get so mad that my dad cared more about his job than he did about his own and only two daughters. When Mia and I were old enough, we bought our own apartment and lived together but then she got a boyfriend.

They dated for two and a half years then he proposed. They did the ding dong and had an amazing little girl, her name is Rose, short for Roseanne. We were too much to live in that one tiny apartment so I had to force Mia and their family out. I even offered to buy their home for them but they didn't want to let me live alone in that apartment complex. Now, we are all living together, happily.

With a lot of convincing, I finally got the two to stop their banter. On one condition, we go out this weekend and look for a Christmas tree for their home. When I found out they live together, I laughed because that would actually make people think they are a couple.

I grab my second coat as Jackson waits for me outside so that he could lock up. With a glance around the place, I jog out and catch sight of Zachary's car, Mia's husband. With a small smile, I wave at him and turn to Jackson.

Not knowing what to say as his back is faced to me, I think of something. Should I just say goodbye? I mean, Zach looks like he has been waiting for some time now and it would be rude to keep him waiting because he probably needs to get home.

I mean, it is cold.

"Uh," I chuckle, my breath coming out in puffs of this cold weather. "I'm going to head out."

He turns to look at me once the place is locked up and secured. He smiles, his voice thick and soothing, "you need a ride?"

I shake my head no, "I got a ride." I point to Zach's car as he glances at it, his eyes squinting.

"Your boyfriend?" He questions.

I laugh out loud, shaking my head. "No, no no! It's my sister's husband."

He visibly relaxes. "Oh, well, I'll see you tomorrow, yeah?"

I nod, not knowing if I should hug him or not. Of course not! I turn around, ready to walk away when I feel a grasp around my wrist. I glance up at Jack, raising my brow. He chuckles.

"Monday," he starts, taking a deep breath before continuing, "you weren't at work and haven't been answering my calls or texts, I was wondering if everything was okay?"

My eyes widen and I nod profusely. "Everything is fine. I had to stay home and look after my sister's child. Both of Rose's parents were super busy and I couldn't just let her stay at home alone so, I volunteered. And I'm sorry I haven't been answering your calls or texts, it all came through this morning because my phone was on flight mode."

"Oh, well I'm glad you're okay!" He cheers, his eyes visibly widening. "I mean, we wouldn't want my dad's favorite customer to be hurt or anything, now would we?" He chuckles nervously, trying to cover up what he really meant.

I giggle. "We wouldn't."

We continue to talk for a small while and I jog to the car. When I get in, I take a deep breath with a little shudder. God, he is no longer that arrogant jerk who slept with the whole female population, he is. . .different. And sometimes I can't talk to him because well, he just changed so much to the extent that I can't bear it.

His brown eyes twinkle when we talk about his dad and that huge genuine grin that takes over when we talk about the bookstore and how his dad was such an amazing person to pass at such a young age.

A small smile spreads on my face when I think about the days he would try to ask me out but I would actually just walk past him. He would notice that I didn't want anything to do with him and then finally. . .you get the point.

"Who's that?" I hear Zach ask. I totally forgot he is here.

I shrug. "My boss."

He laughs, shaking his head like he doesn't believe me. Once he sees my serious face, he stops laughing. "Are you serious? He looks so young!"

"His father passed last year so he is taking over the bookstore. Guess who that is though?"

He raises a brow with a shrug. "Jackson!" I confirm, pressing my lips into a thin line while nodding.

"Thee Jackson?" I nod as he drives through the not-so-heavy snow.

Mia told him about the guy who wouldn't stop asking Lily out and I just had to explain it to him. Mia tried getting contact with him like three years ago in hopes of finding him because she wanted to blindly set us up, but I found out and stopped it all.

"Why are you guys talking like you're long-lost friends who just got together after the year of the apocalypse?" He asks in one breath. I laugh.

"What do you mean?"

"He looked so confident and comfortable all while avoiding a certain word at line."

"Did you hear anything?" I look at him, his eyes focused on the road.

He shakes his head no, "my windows were rolled up."

I make a hmm sound and smile. The rest of the ride to the house is filled with chatter about Rose's birthday on the first of next year. Rose was born on the first of January at 12:00:09am. She was one of the lucky children to feature on the news and surprisingly, the newspaper. It was a big moment for Mia but Zach hated the attention Rose got in this small town because it could easily get her hurt or even worse, kidnapped.

When we arrive, I grab my bag and rush out of the car to get inside. Mia is playing with Rose in the decorated living room when I get in. It looks like they're playing with the tea set.

"Aunty Liwy!!!" Rose yells, standing to her four-year-old feet and rushing to give me a warm hug.

"Rosey!!" I cheer, bending down and resting on my knees. She runs into my arms wrapping hers around my neck while I hug her little torso.

She smells just like roses and it's an amazing smell for a little Rose like Roseanne.

"How are you, sweetie?" I question once I manage to get her arms by her side.

She smiles a toothy grin and I giggle at the adorableness that she got from Mia. "I'm hawing a tea pawty wit mummy!"

"Ooh, sounds fun. Can I join?" I ask and her eyes widen joyously as she nods, dragging me to the living room.

"Can I join too?" Zach asks and Rose stops walking turning around almost forgetting she has a daddy too.

"Oh, fogwot daddy here too! Come on. . .daddy!" She yells, grabbing ahold of Zach's arm while pulling us to Mia.

I embrace Mia in a hug and Zach kisses her forehead.

"You're going to regret wanting to play with us!" Mia warns and both Zach and I laugh, knowing we are going to regret it. We would play for hours on end and Rose wouldn't get tired. Even when she should go to bed. Sometimes I wouldn't eat because well, I'm so tired.

Rose is too energetic if you had to ask me. But sometimes, I love it.

✘✘✘

she is just the cutest. i literally have so much planned for this book. its going to be so cheery and holiday-y, haha. i can't wait to dive into the real world, AHH im excited! ☺️

please vote, comment and if this is so far enjoyable, share! <3