My heart fluttered and skipped a beat as me and Claire continued to sit on the floor watching more episodes of Family Guy. The first few minutes after our kiss were a little awkward, but as if she was sensing my nerves, Claire's smooth hand landed on top of mine, squeezing just the tiniest bit as she intertwined her fingers with mine.

The TV continued to play, soon drowning out and becoming background noise to Claire's tranquil and steady breathing. I felt the thin musty layer of sweat seep onto my skin from Claire's palm, but I didn't care. I enjoyed the touch of her hand against me, softly caressing my skin with her thumb. A goofy smile creeped up on my face as Claire stammered out an apology for her sweaty hands. I only leaned down slightly, pulling our hands up to meet me halfway, and placed a small kiss against her knuckles and tightened my grip on her hand so she wouldn't pull away.

Claire rested her head against my shoulder and sighed in content, still brushing her thumb across the top of my hand. She closed her eyes and hummed quietly to herself, though the sound drifted into my ear. I didn't recognize the song, and I don't think Claire knew what she was singing, but the gentle tune caused my smile to grow and I leaned my head down to rest on top of hers. I inhaled deeply, taking in the intoxicating scent of her hair and sighed. We stayed like that for...I don't even know how long, but at some point the two of us fell asleep, still sitting on the floor with Claire's head on my shoulder and my head on hers.

Claire's head shot up, knocking against mine. We both hissed in pain, and when she realized what happened, her hands flew up to my face and cradled my cheeks, pulling my face close to hers. Her purple-contact eyes stared into mine, filled with concern and worry.

"OhmyGodImsosorryareyouokay?"

I chuckled and pried her hands off my cheeks, holding them and rubbing my thumbs across the surfaces like she did for me, and smiled at her.

"Claire, calm down. I'm fine." She smiled, her upper row of teeth peeking out from the gap in her lips. She blushed at our close proximity, but didn't pull away from me, which I was grateful for.

We didn't even establish what we were—whether we were dating or what—but at that moment, I didn't really care. I just wanted to spend time with her, hold her, enjoy her without the seriousness of labels. Not that I didn't want to be serious with her, I just...for some reason, my crush on Claire was different than the rest of the crushes I've had. I couldn't explain it; when she touched me, her fingertips left a blazing trail of tingling sensations under my skin. When she kissed me I felt warm and light-headed. Her smile sent waves of shivers through my body and her eyes—her eyes! Oh, her eyes were the crown jewel of her beauty. Not the purple contacts that she wore in her eyes—don't get me wrong, the purple is very pretty and looks very good on her—but the gorgeous blue that resided underneath. On the rare occasions where I saw Claire without her contacts, I was frozen in place. Her deep blue eyes sparkled and shimmered in any type of lighting, creating deep cavernous tropical pools that I fell deeply into, drowning.

Claire snapped her fingers in the small space in front of my face, snapping me from my inner monologue of ogling Claire's eyes. The red tint of her blush didn't fade, but darkened as I continued to stare at her, my own face heating up.

"Dude, where did you go?" she asked with a bit of humor and a small knowing smirk.

"What do you mean?"

"You're like a million miles away."

"That's not true. I'm right here." Claire rolled her eyes and released a breathless chuckle before grabbing my hand again and swinging it lightly in the open space between us, looking down at our fingers.

It was my turn to lean against Claire as we sat on the floor, my head resting comfortably in her lap as her fingers still played with my hand, twisting the rings around on my fingers. I smiled at the gesture, but it disappeared soon after as a yawn escaped my lips.

"What time is it?" I asked as I brought up my free hand and rubbed my tired eyes. Claire reached over and pulled her phone down from off her bed and checked the time.

"It's a little after 12. You getting tired?"

"Yeah. I want to go to bed, but...I'm so comfortable," I said dramatically as I nuzzled my head against her lap. Claire laughed and ran her fingers through my hair, curling her fingers around the strands at the end.

"Go to bed, Little Red. Tomorrow we can talk more and figure shit out." Claire leaned down, her hair draping onto my face, tickling my cheeks and my nose causing me to laugh. She giggled too kissed my forehead. "Go to sleep. Go on; get up." She stirred underneath me, forcing me off of her and giggle more. I sighed and sat up, picking myself off the floor and crawled into my bed, pulling to covers over me. Claire too got up and walked over to the door, flipping the light switch and turning out the light. She walked back over to her bed and laid down, looking over at me.

"Goodnight, Claire."

"Goodnight, Wanda."

○○○

Why won't today just end?! All I wanted to do was go back to my room and fall into Claire's warm arms and feel her lips brush against my skin as we talked the rest of the night, but...at this point, the universe wanted me to sit through two boring morning classes and five hours of work in the library. If I was honest, I was grateful for the hours that I was in the library because in my downtime, I finished my homework and was able to get some reading done.

My day was brightened when I saw the familiar shade of red hair belonging to Claire walk through the doors of the library, heading right for the reference desk, smiling brightly. She leaned her right arm against the counter and looked right at me, drumming her fingers against it.

"Excuse me, miss, but could you point me in the direction of the romances?" Claire asked with a smug grin. I laughed and rolled my eyes at her and typed in the information into the campus directory that was pulled up in front of me on my computer and grinned back at her.

"Romances are found on the third floor," I told her, pressing my elbows against the counter and leaning up and over it towards Claire, my grin turning into a smirk. "Do you need any more help?"

"Well, now that you mention it," Claire shot me a similar smirk and leaned further over the counter, coming closer to me, "do you have any...I don't know...recommendations? Romance isn't exactly my cup of tea..."

"I know it's cheesy, but personally, I enjoy anything by Nicholas Sparks."

Claire pulled away a little with raised eyebrows and said, "Really? Huh...I didn't expect that..." she was silent for a few seconds before she shook her head and leaned back in. "Why don't you take me up there and show me some of your favorites?" Her raised eyebrows wiggled and her voice lowered in a suggestive tone as she smirked.

I laughed and rolled my eyes at her before getting up from my seat and walking around the desk to stand next to Claire. She subtly grabbed my hand and I pulled her in the direction of the romance section, which was conveniently located in a more...secluded section of the third floor.

Arriving on the third floor and walking to the back where most of the romance books were kept, Claire, still holding my hand, tightened her grip and pulled me between the stacks and forced me up against it, pressing her lips against mine in an aggressive and passionate manner which took my breath away and made me feel light-headed. A tingling sensation spread through me, burning under my skin. She pulled away all too soon, breathing heavily, a light blush dusting her cheeks and a smile on her face.

"I'm sorry," she said breathlessly, "but I really needed to do that. I've been going crazy all day and I needed to see you." I smiled at her and glanced down quickly before meeting her blue eyes.

"You too, huh?"

"My God it's been awful!" Claire threw her head back as she sighed out the words. I giggled and pulled her close, my arms flying up to the back of her neck, and I buried my face into her long hair. Claire inhaled deeply and let out a low content hum. "I missed you," she muttered.

"It's only been a day," I said and Claire groaned a little. "I missed you too." Claire smiled and leaned back in for another kiss which I whole-heartedly accepted. Her hands slid down my body, stopping and resting firmly on my hips. The kiss was softer than before, gentler but still filled with the same level of passion.

The rest of the week continued on like that. On the days that I had work, Claire would come to the library under the ploy of needing help with an assignment or looking for a particular book, and I would step out from the desk, leading her back to our spot hidden in the stacks and we would just...take a break. I loved it. It was thrilling to do something so intimate in such a public setting; the fear of someone—a student or another librarian—finding us loomed over our heads as we continued to meet and explore each other in the stacks, but we didn't care because it only added fuel to the passion.

Claire's hands lowered from their usual place on my hips down to rest against the sides of my thighs. She groaned and buried her face into my neck, placing small kisses against my pulse point and gently nibbling the skin. God! what was she doing to me? I smiled and giggled at the fluttering feeling that erupted in my chest and my stomach whenever Claire kissed me, especially on my neck. I placed my hands on her lower back and pulled her closer to me, flinching just a little when her knee slid between my legs.

"Sorry," she breathed out, laying her forehead against mine and closing her eyes.

"It's fine," I whispered. Claire brushed her lips across my forehead in a gentle kiss. Her arms moved from my thighs back to my waist and her head left mine, lowering back down to my lips, capturing them once more. I moved my lips against hers hungrily, longing to feel her more. I leaned up off the stack of books and stepped closer to her, pulling her into me. Claire dropped her hands down to the backs of my thighs and gripped them tightly as she jerked upwards, lifting me up and pressing me against the stack once again. I squealed at the sudden movement and giggled against Claire's lips.

I wrapped my legs around Claire's waist and she stepped further in the open space, pressing herself closer to me. I felt her smile against my lips and my body warmed in response. Whatever fire that burned under my skin flooded into stomach, exploding into pure ecstasy. And I loved it. I couldn't get enough of it or of Claire and I wanted to feel it again. I craned my neck as Claire once again moved her lips from mine and back to my neck, offering her more space. I gasped and closed my eyes as she nibbled with more ferocity and hunger than before. I tensed a bit when her teeth scraped against my skin and my breath hitched. I couldn't help the moan that escaped my lips as Claire continued to move against me slightly, creating a little bit of friction.

I was lost in my own little world where it was just me, Claire, and the stacks that kept our intimacy a secret from the rest of the world. I was lost in the bliss that I didn't hear the familiar heavy set of footsteps on the linoleum floor coming our way.

"Hey Wanda, you up here? I was wondering what you wanted to do for din—what the fuck?!"

My eyes snapped open and Claire immediately pulled herself from my neck. Both our heads looked over to the right where the voice of Pietro came from. He stood at the front of the stacks, staring at me and Claire with shocked eyes and his mouth wide open in disbelief. Fear took over in my eyes and my body froze. Despite the warmth of Claire's body, I felt cold. Caught off guard, Claire's hands on my thighs started to slip, causing me to fall a bit, but she reacted quickly to help me settle myself back onto my feet.

Pietro crossed his arms over his broad chest and in an act of intimidation, he puffed out his chest and stood taller as he walked down the aisle of the two stacks that me and Claire stood between. He stopped and stood directly in front of Claire, his eyes hard and full of...anger? I felt my face heat up profusely in embarrassment and I shifted my weight onto my right foot and looked down, away from him and Claire. His harsh glare moved between us, making me uncomfortable, before it settled on me.

"What the hell is going on here?" he asked the both of us, though it was directed more at me. Out of the corners of my eyes I saw Claire subtly move closer to me, standing a little in front of me, acting like a shield, protecting my from my overprotective brother. Claire shrugged and matched Pietro's harsh stare.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she replied nonchalantly. Pietro's face contorted at her answer, his anger and frustration bubbling over turning his face a bright red. It was always a funny sight, watching Pietro get angry; it reminded me of when we were children, and his face would turn to this same shade of red and his cheeks would puff out making him look like a chipmunk, and then he would either cry or throw a temper tantrum—which now that I think about it, usually involved crying. But it wasn't funny this time. Rather than him puffing out his cheeks, his jaw locked, clenching hard and emphasizing his displeasure. I've never actually seen him this angry. This was like...real anger compared to what I've seen before.

"Don't pull that bullshit with me. I know what I saw," he spat out, taking another step closer to Claire, causing the both of us to take a step back. Fear flickered on Claire's face, but as quickly as it came, it left. "Now why the hell was my baby sister pressed against the shelves with your hands all over her?"

I flinched at the loudness of his voice. Claire opened her mouth to answer, but before she could, Pietro cut her off. "Who the hell do you think you are? What gives you the right to take advantage of her like this? You know, she's a sweet girl and doesn't need you and your bullshit so why don't you just—"

I furrowed my brows from behind Claire when I heard my brother's words. I replayed them over and over in my head, getting more and more angry each time I heard them. I could tell Claire was also getting angry; her hand which fell limp at her side beside mine clenched in a tight fist, her knuckles turning white. I saw it shake a bit as her anger built inside her. Carefully I reached out and took her closed hand in mine, soothing it and opening it up to release the tension and to keep her fingernails from piercing her skin, but the gesture did little to help her. Her chest heaved from the deep breaths she was taking, but Pietro didn't notice. He just continued to yell and lecture.

"Who do you think I am? Who do you think you are? Claire exploded. "You're the one who tried to set us up, don't forget! Do you remember that? When you gave your sister's phone number to a complete stranger that you had a conversation with for all of...five minutes? Does that ring any bells? And remember whenever we would talk and you'd be making not-so-subtle gestures at us because we agreed on something? You've been pushing for us to get together since we met, and now you have some big issue with it?" Pietro stared at her in shock. She was now stepping forward, backing Pietro up back down the aisle, her finger wagging and poking him in the chest accusingly as she made each point, throwing his whole irrational accusation back in his face. "And by the way, we weren't doing anything. It's not something that's out of the ordinary. I was kissing my girlfriend, and believe me buddy, it wasn't the grossest thing people have done in here."

Pietro's eyes were wide and he looked between me and Claire. His anger had dissipated and he was left with only confusion and slight embarrassment. I walked towards them, standing next to Claire and took her hand once more, softly massaging it by running my thumb in soothing patters across the surface and moving to the inside of her palm. Pietro cleared his throat and blinked a few times.

"How...how long has this been going on?" he asked in a much calmer voice. "You two dating, not your...intimate excursions in the library."

I groaned and rolled my eyes at him. "It's not like we've been having sex in here, Pete," I said, the "duh" implied through my attitude. "It's still kind of new; we've only been together for a week. We're not labeling right now."

"Yeah, we're just trying to see if it works," Claire said, finally relaxing against my touch and intertwining her fingers with mine. I looked over her and smiled, and she followed.

"I think it works." Her smile brightened and my face became hot again. Pietro cleared his throat, gaining our attention again.

"Can we go somewhere and talk?"