Book Pick Me Up Novels & Stories

"There's one in Capitol Hill open until eleven. We could just browse. No agenda." "Okay. Pick me up in twenty." The bookstore is quiet. Soft lighting. The smell of coffee and paper. We split up. An unspoken agreement to explore separately. I find him thirty minutes later in the poetry section, reading with complete focus. "Find anything?" I ask. He shows me a collection by Mary Oliver. "I didn't know I liked poetry. But this is—it's beautiful." "Buy it." "I will." We leave with five books between us. None of them self-help or business strategy. Just novels and poetry and a cookbook.

“There you go. Our policy states that every borrowed book must be returned in three days.” “You have nothing to worry about,” I replied and tried to lay my hands on the book but he pulled it away from my grasp. He turned to Miles. “You’re the one whose details were captured. You should take it.” Miles nodded and grabbed the book. I frowned. “One more thing!” The bookkeeper called our attention just when we turned around to leave. "The heart must choose. The hands must heal. Or the curse will seal." He said.

I hope they still have at least a copy left, pleasee God, I mutter a short prayer under my breath as I swiftly make my way to the children's section of the bookstore. Yep, I hope no one I know or knows me sees me here. I turn the corner and there it is, my baby, staring at me and waiting to be picked up from that lonely shelf. As I reach out to grab the last copy of Aku no Hana – another large hand grabs it before I do. My fingers only grazed the cover before it was suddenly swept away before my eyes. I turn my head to confront the rude stranger only to be taken aback by how close I was to probably the most gorgeous looking man I've ever seen.

When Darius calls and asks if I want to get out for a bit, I say yes before he even finishes the question. "Luna and Cathy are having a shopping spree," he says. "Thought you might want a breather." "Please. Anywhere that's not here." He picks me up twenty minutes later and drives us to a bookstore in Brooklyn I've never been to. Small, independent, the kind of place that smells like old paper and coffee. "Come on." He takes my hand and leads me inside. We wander through the shelves aimlessly, no destination in mind. He pulls books at random and reads me the back covers in dramatic voices that make me laugh. I find a cookbook with ridiculous recipes and show him one for "deconstructed cereal

This is like money falling from the sky, and whatever we grab is pure profit! I didn't dare struggle too hard, afraid of hurting my unborn child. My cheek burned with pain, but my heart felt even colder. I was filled with rage as I looked at Paula's vicious face. "Paula, I told you there's nothing worth grabbing in there! Besides, I need to watch our groceries. What if someone takes them?" I covered my cheek, deciding to try calming Paula down first. Paula glared at me viciously and shouted, "What do you know? Those groceries aren't worth much, but these gift boxes definitely have good stuff inside. Hurry up and come grab some with us!"

Tessa and Alex both nod. "Should I help you?" Alex asks. "No, I'll look for it myself. You guys wait for me here." I say and walk out of the cube in search of my darling book. Now, in usual instances I read up online or order a book online. But this place is far from being usual and online book delivery is not an option. And the vast this library is, I doubt if any book is not available here. Hence I walk towards one of the shelves behind our cube and look for any suitable title. A book catches my eye and I pull it out.

It's fine, “ I say and pick up tons of books to carry with me. “I won’t stay too long, “ I promise her, already walking out. The library is quiet and empty. It's also super cosy. I sit in the corner, turn the green desk lamp on and open the books. That’s when my phone buzzes and I remember I haven’t checked it in hours. I unlock it and see a message on the screen. I also know who the sender is even though I don’t have the contact. It’s Max.

“I’ll write back.” I buy a small paperback on the way out because I want to put money into a place that gave me my breath back for an hour. The cashier gives me a free bookmark that says, You are already the story. I want to cry again. I don't. I put it in the book like a secret.

Will this actually work? Around three, I give up on the book and decide to do something productive. I pull out my phone and look up the coffee shop, Brewed Awakening. Check the reviews, look at photos. It looks perfect. Busy but not overwhelming. The kind of place where you could have a private conversation without being completely isolated. I'm still scrolling through photos when my phone rings. Rhys. "Hey," I answer. "Everything okay?" "Yeah, just checking in. How's your day going?"

I'll be back as soon as I get my book. "Fine." "I'm taking Connor's old car!" I grabbed the keys from the rack before heading to the garage and hopping inside the black range rover. Why, out of all of my books, would Elijah borrow that specific book? Mom knows that it isn't for borrowing, which I had a label on it and Elijah even knows how valuable that book is to me and he hates classical novels. So why even borrow a book that you won't even read? I pulled in front of their house, stepping out of the car and headed straight to the door in which I rang the doorbell. In a span of a few minutes, the door opened and it revealed Reyna, Elijah’s little sister, the girl I used to babysat almost ev