Libby the Librarian: A Rom Com Novella by Alice Bex Read Free Book Online Page A

Since you told me to.”
    “I’ve been telling you that for years. You’re just now listening ?”
    He sighed dramatically at the end of the line. “Can I come over or not? I have a present for you.”
    Adam loves giving presents. It’s one of his better qualities. I don’t think he’s had a girlfriend who lasted more than six months who didn’t leave the relationship in possession of some very nice jewelry.
    He must have already been halfway over by the time he called, because he showed up five minutes later.
    He handed me a shirt box. I opened it. There was a bright red bikini inside.
    “The leopard print sounded a little slutty,” he said. “I want you to attract a better class of man.”
    I hit him with the empty box.
    “You do realize that I made up the leopard print bikini.”
    “Yes. I didn’t believe you for a second. You’d never own a leopard print bikini. I’ll bet you I can describe your real suit, sight unseen.”
    “I bet you can’t.”
    “What do you bet?”
    “A hundred dollars.”
    “I already have a hundred dollars. What do I want with another hundred?”
    “Fine. What do you want to bet?”
    “If I can describe your old suit correctly, you have to model your new one for me.”
    “And if you get it wrong?”
    “I’ll model your old suit.”
    He’d stretch it out. That was OK. I didn’t like my old suit much anyway.
    “Shake on it,” I said.
    “ Parameters?”
    “ You must accurately identify at least four attributes of the old suit correctly.”
    “Deal!”
    “Alright, let’s hear it.”
    “It’s black.”
    That wasn’t much of a challenge. 85% of women’s bathing suits are black.
    “It has straps.”
    “That’s a copout.”
    “It is not a copout. I’ve seen strapless suits. They’re a real thing.”
    Strapless suits are a real thing. I let it go.
    “It has that gathery stuff on the front. You know, like there was a lot of extra material and then they ran a seam across it.”
    “It’s called ruching—“ I couldn’t believe I knew that. “And yes. That is also correct.”
    “One more—“
    I was getting worried. I was certain that I had not attained the high level of personal maintenance necessary to appear in a bikini on short notice.  Shasta had given me long and detailed instructions on waxing, but I hadn’t worked up the nerve to try it. I had been saving the dreaded procedure for later in the evening. If I couldn’t work up the nerve, plan B was to wear shorts over my suit the whole week.
    “ Your old suit has a skirt on it.”
    Thank Mother of Pearl! That was wrong.
    “What do you think I am? An eighty-year-old?”
    “No skirt, then?”
    “Certainly not.”
    I retrieved the old suit from my bedroom. I hadn’t yet decided whether I was going to hold him to his end of the bet, but Adam took it right out of my hand.
    “Th is’ll look sensational on me—“ Adam said. “Black is definitely my color.”
    Then he started stripping down, right there in my living room.
    “Don’t you want to go in the bathroom or something?”
    “No. What I will be wearing is going a lot more embarrassing then what I won’t be wearing.”
    I’ve always known Adam is pretty casual about nudity, but I’ve never seen him completely naked. Surely, I wasn’t about to.
    “Please, tell me you’re planning on leaving your underwear on. I might want to wear that suit again , someday.”
    Adam looked slightly miffed. I don’t think he ever intended to strip down to his bare bones, but I think me acting like I didn’t want him to bruised his ego a little. I tried not to look at him until he had my old suit on. I was hoping the ridiculousness of his costume would make up for the beautifulness of his body and the two would cancel each other out. Besides, once he got it on, I was supposed to stare. 
    He did look pretty funny. It wasn’t hard to laugh, which is what he expected. Adam started dancing around in a comically suggestive manner , and once I got started