[MythicDusk]

Buck let her grin grow wider, seeing Zoey come out of her shell just a little more set her heart afloat.

"Yeah, I'd really like that, Zoey." She shifted her feet, chuckling to herself before glancing back up to Zoey, tilting her head to a side slightly to keep her hair from her green eyes. "The action books sound good, honestly. Any recs you can give me?"

Her grin was wide, broad. There was no flirtatiousness in it. Just pure friendlyness. A coffee was good, but doing something like this was better. Doing something that Zoey was obviously comfortable with was a lot better.

Buck then kicked herself for thinking in those kinds of terms. After all, Zoey was just being friendly. And Buck thought herself a fuckhead.

[Jaykobell]

Zoey was almost surprised when Buck agreed to hang out and pick out a book together. "Oh, r... really?" she said in the moment, but then she immediately felt bad, thinking it could have been taken the wrong way. "I-I mean, I'd be happy to help!"

She looked away shyly. "S-sorry, I'm just... I'm just shy," she said for an excuse, although that alone really didn't give her the right to spew whatever came to mind. "Sorry," she said again.

"Oh, but, the action books are this way," she continued, and she pointed towards another row of shelves; bigger ones, this time. "What... what else do you like? I mean - do you like... romance, or... mystery? They mix genres a lot." Action was one thing, but the books usually involved a whole lot more than that. If Buck gave her a bit more of a lead, Zoey would have a better idea of what to suggest to her.

[MythicDusk]

Buck couldn't help her smile. It was a soft, light thing. Something that offered comfort and understanding. "I used to be pretty shy too, don't worry about it." She felt her grin grow wider, tucking her hands into her pockets. "I think its kinda cute."

Then she blushed and looked away, trying to pretend she hadn't said that. "S-sorry, I don't hear myself sometimes." Her voice was a mumble as she scratched at her jaw.

"But, uh, I think action and maybe romance? I dunno, like I said, I don't read much." She shrugged nervously, still looking at anywhere but the girl in front of her.

[Jaykobell]

Zoey blinked at Buck's statement of her previous time as a shy person. She wanted to comment on it, but then the "cute" comment happened. It left Zoey rather speechless, whispering but a faint, "Um," as she tried to process the words. She couldn't tell if a blush had appeared on her face, but she was definitely avoiding eye contact, the shyness skyrocketing like never before.

But as quickly as it had been said, Buck essentially retracted her statement. Ah. Well, admittedly, Zoey found Buck's outgoing personality to be jovial. She was much too shy to admit it, though.

So instead, she quickly continued with their topic at hand: namely, finding a book for Buck. "O-oh, right," she said awkwardly as she fiddled with her fingers. "I mean, what... what kind of story do you like?" She tried to think fast. If Buck couldn't think in terms of books, maybe Zoey could compare this to something else. "Um, like... what kind of movies... do you like? They have books with a lot of action, but some have romance, or others have more horror in them with the action..." she tried to explain.

"I-I just..." She took a moment to collect her thoughts. "I-I just want to try to find the best book for you." Books were so great, and finding the perfect one could be the thing that would turn someone into an avid reader.

[MythicDusk]

Buck smiled, gentle and comforting. "Hey, it's alright even if we don't find the best book for me. I'll keep coming back until I can find one." She grinned, wide and broad. "I promise!"

She was hushed again, and she breathed a sigh.

"I like action with some horror, mostly. But I defer to your judgement." She grinned, shrugging her shoulders slightly, letting her grin fall into a gentle smile. "I'm sure I'd enjoy any book you picked out for me."

She could feel her palms sweating inside her pockets at her words. God she felt like a fool every time she said something like this. Not that she had said it to anyone besides Zoey in a long time. There was no telling if Zoey was even into girls. Why was Buck so avid about trying to take her on a date? God she was being a creeper, wasn't she. Gods, she should just leave now and save the girl her embarrassment and hide her head in the nearest sand pit like an ostrich.

But, instead, she stood her ground with a nervous chuckle, looking away with a slight blush on her cheeks.

[Jaykobell]

Perhaps it was because the librarian didn't need to hush people, usually, but Zoey had to admit it was a little aggravating. She couldn't help but to turn around when she heard Buck getting hushed. She wasn't being that loud: not to mention, no one could be truly quiet all the time.

It seemed like a strange detail to hyperfocus on, Zoey realized after the fact.

"H-horror?" she echoed, in an attempt to re-center her focus on the matter at hand. "Action and horror..." she whispered, talking to herself, and she started heading towards the shelf. She looked through a few spines, and eventually, she picked out a book.

"How about... this one?" she suggested, showing Buck the cover. It showed a dark alleyway, with black and red filters layered on top for a grimy, dark effect. "Streets of Shadows," Zoey said, reading out the title. "I-it might be a bit too heavy on the suspense," she admitted, "but it's about a war between two street gangs." A short summary, but Buck could get a much better picture from the longer description in the back of the book.

"B-but if that's no good," Zoey went on to say, "I remember a few others. M-my friends like horror books and exciting books... S-so I remember a few," she explained, and she smiled sheepishly. Indeed, her own personal tastes in books were... different.

[MythicDusk]

Buck felt herself perk up as she gently took the book in her hands, scanning over the cover and the blurb at the back. After a moment, she nodded. "Yeah, I think I'll give this one a try." She grinned, broad and wide as she tucked the book under her arm carefully, searching for her wallet and library card through her pockets.

After Zoey continued , she paused in her earch, her eyes shining with mischeif and a grin crossing her face. "So what kinda books do you like?" She hummed, her grin growing wider. She chuckled playfully, realising that her form of teasing may be too much for a first meeting. "You don't have to tell me of course, I'm sorry, I like playing around with fr- people."

God she had nearly called Zoey a friend, oh god she was thinking of this too fast. Oh god she was moving too fast. this is why she could never keep a girlfriend. Her dad was right, she jumped feet first into anything she did.

Oh god and she was blushing too.

[Jaykobell]

The milliseconds it took for Buck to read the summary in the back and look over the cover were enough suspense to make Zoey sweat - both internally and externally. What if she didn't like the book? What if it were too much? What if that choice would reflect on Buck's opinion-

Oh. The relief that washed over her when Buck said she would give it a try was a feeling Zoey couldn't even describe. So much so, that all she could do then was smile widely, albeit sheepishly, as she ran a hand through her hair and avoided eye contact like a timid child.

Oh. But then came a question, and Zoey didn't know what to say. And Buck had seemingly been embarrassed by her own question as well? "O-oh my..." Zoey whispered timidly as she pondered Buck's question over. "I-I mean... I-I like the softer things..." Oh, she couldn't admit what her favorite books were. Even she knew how bad they actually were in terms of writing, and how much, at most, people would consider them nothing more than shameful guilty pleasures.

"Books l-like... romance," she finally added, elaborating just a little, while still keeping it vague. "W-with a lot of gentle characters and stories."

[MythicDusk]

Buck nodded gently, humming softly as she turned the book over in her hands again nervously. She wanted to just. Ask it. 'Hey, do you like boys or girls? or both? Do I have a chance? Because I think I fell for you as hard as those books fell on you! ha-ha please don't think I'm a creeper.'

She sighed, letting her shoulders tremble for a moment before she grinned again, letting the fear slough away. "I'd like to read one of your favorite books some time. They must really be something if you enjoy them enough to call them your favorites."

She turned the book over in her hands again, just to have something to do with her hands.

"So is that the kinda guy you like? Gentle and soft?"

She supposed that was one way to ask if she liked girls or not.

"I mean, you don't have to answer if you don't want to."

God she was making such a mess of this.

[Jaykobell]

Zoey felt her heart revving right up into panic mode when Buck asked to try and read one of Zoey's favorite books. Oh, no. No, no, no. If anything, she couldn't suggest any of those ones. "O-oh, w-well..." she said timidly as her face grew wide with a sheepish smile. "M-maybe after y-you read this one?" And even then, only a handful of people knew about her favorite books. It was a dirty little secret she kept to herself.

She would have hoped to avoid the subject with Buck's next question, but it wasn't much better for a topic. Granted, she didn't really want to dwell into this subject, but she was also too timid to refuse an answer. "I-I mean..." she breathed as she gave Buck's question some time. "I-I guess?"

She looked away and started fiddling with her hair. "I-I haven't really... dated... before," she admitted quietly, a bit of shame in her voice. Everyone expected her to be with some guy or to have kids. She wasn't old, but she was surrounded by folks who figured eighteen to twenty was the perfect time to find your soulmate.

Seeing as the conversation was getting a little lengthy now, Zoey tried to gently redirect the subject. "B-but, um... D-did you want to check out the books? A-and go get coffee?" That setting would be much better than this library, where they were forced to talk so quietly.

[MythicDusk]

"Oh! Oh that's fine I'm sorry I wasn't asking to like, set you up with someone or anything but, yes please lets go check out the books and talk about something else so I stop making a complete ass of myself and this situation, I'm so sorry."

The words came out of her mouth like a waterfall. Just because she had been around the block a few times didn't mean everyone else had. Didn't mean everyone else knew exactly what they liked. She pushed her hair carefully from her face, the blush never seeming to lift as it ran down her neck, dyeing her collarbones a deep red.

"God that was such a creeper question, I'm sorry. I'm apparently the reason lesbians have a bad name, huh?" She gave a nervous laugh at her own joke before wincing and realising what she had said. "A-anyway, I'm gonna go check out this book and go hide in a hole somewhere probably."

[Jaykobell]

Zoey stared, dumbfounded, as Buck unloaded words much too quickly for the shier girl to keep up with. She blinked, surprised at the blush on Buck's face, almost worried that the other woman was overheating. Zoey felt bad. Had she said something wrong?

Buck's next words were easier to process, and so, easier to address, too. Granted, Zoey never would have expected to learn this amount of knowledge about a stranger so quickly. She had extroverted friends, but Buck was a whole different story. And they had just met!

"I-it's okay," Zoey assured Buck, her voice genuine, "really. A lot of people ask," she added, looking away, her eyes shifting nervously. "People are just waiting for me to find a guy..." It was a lot of pressure, and it instilled fear in her. She didn't want to fall down into just any relationship, but it felt like that was the expectation others had.

"A-anyway, we can go check out the books, a-and then go for coffee," she offered, glancing up shyly, and offering just the smallest, most timid of smiles. "I-if you still want to..."

[MythicDusk]

Oh god she still wanted to go for coffee, despite Buck being a complete and utter fuck up, she was still willing to go for coffee and get to know her! It was a step. A small, tiny, hopeful step. Buck had to stop thinking like this was the precursor to a relationship. It wasn't. She was cute, that's all.

Buck inhaled carefully before smiling and nodding. "If you're still okay with it, sure." She motioned to the front desk before walking towards it herself, digging her library card out of one of her pockets. It was and old, tattered thing that her dad forced her to get when she first moved here. She winced as the librarian gave her a withering glare over its state before swiping it.

Buck was glad it wasn't out of date or anything.

[Jaykobell]

Zoey smiled just a bit when Buck asked if she were still okay with going for coffee. "S-sure," she said timidly, but with a genuine hint of interest. Anyone she met at the library, or anyone she met that had a taste for books, sounded like a nice person. And lord knew all of her friends, the few that she had, always insisted that she needed to expand her social circle.

The librarian wasn't one for jokes or nonsense. After checking out Buck's book, she gave Zoey a frown, seeing the timid girl hanging out with that boisterous woman. Zoey smiled sheepishly, and she tried not to let it get to her. Within a few minutes, her own book had been checked out, and the two could head out the library.

Once they had passed the doors, Zoey fiddled with her book. "Um," she said hesitantly, "d-did you have somewhere in mind?"

[MythicDusk]

Buck tucked the book under her arm carefully, using her free hand to tap her library card against herl ips as she hummed in thought, eventually catching herself and tucking the card into her pocket.

"There's a little family owned place a few blocks away. My favorite coffee place, and they do great cakes too."

She grinned, wide and playful as she shrugged slightly. "Unless you would prefer somewhere closer? I'm sure we could just walk around and find a decent place in time."

God, the last thing she wanted to do was pressure this person. "It's your call, Zoey."

[Wild Pet Found]