Just a Game

Vintage Vibes

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Alice // chapter three

T H E sun shone warmly as I drove through the traffic to downtown. The radio played in a hushed tone in the background as my eyes focused on the cars in front. I was only half a mile from the library, but the traffic made it seem as though it would take me hours to reach it rather than the minutes it should really take.

When I finally turned into the parking lot of the library, I looked at the clock and let out a breath of relief when I saw that it was three minutes before six.

I quickly parked near the back of the lot and stepped out with my necessities. My feet came to a halt when my eyes caught Jace standing alone by the main entrance. He was staring out into space, his eyes fixated on a certain object from afar.

Keep walking.

I shook my head and started walking towards him. His focus didn't waver to me as I approached him, but stayed on whatever he'd been staring at before. The soft smell of cologne radiated from his body, engulfing my mind.

But before my thoughts can go down the wrong road, I pushed them in the right direction.

"Jace?" I asked, coming to a stop right before him.

Although a second late, his eyes turned to mine at his name. They remained dazed for a while before my identity dawned on him. The blue in his eyes lightened as a small smile pulled on his lips. "Hey, you're here."

His smile must be contagious because my lips bent into a smile for no apparent reason. "I am."

"Come on, let's go in," he said, turning around and facing the library. I followed behind as he walked through the double doors and headed for an empty table.

"You come here often?" I asked as I took the seat next to him. My eyes quickly wandered around the large building; it had this vintage edge I've never felt from a library before.

When my eyes returned to him, he offered a soft smile. "Not often, barely."

"Hmm, let me guess you hate school?" I mused, attempting to pull off a decent joke.

I guess he noticed my poor attempt because he let out a small chuckle before shaking his head. "No. I just prefer cafés, they're a bit more intimate."

Intimate?

I froze for a split second, what he'd said swirling around my thoughts. "Intimate, huh?"

"Well, yeah," he shrugged, "It's the best place for pure concentration, for me at least. It's a great place to read, too."

My eyes widened indefinite shock. "Really?"

He nodded. "You just connect with the stories so much more than you would in an open space. Well, at least that's how it is for me. It's just me and the characters. I can put myself in their shoes with no interruptions from the real world," he leaned in a bit closer as he continued, "it's a real getaway."

"I would bet so," I scoffed, not in a dismissing way, but in a baffles fashion. Call me an idiot, but I didn't expect for him to say that about books. I'd guessed he was one of the smart ones who got through classes because the just knew everything. One lecture and they're ready to test. I definitely didn't think he actually liked it.

Boy, was I wrong.

He pulled away smiling and reached for my textbook. "Do you read?"