Taking a Chance

Taking a
Chance

By Eviant

Copyright
ã
2011 by Eviant

Smashwords
Edition

This story is
entirely fictional. Any resemblance to real people, living or dead,
is entirely coincidental.

Chapter 1

"Damn rain!"
Jane Bennington grumbled as she slogged through the puddles and mud
coagulating on the sidewalk. It had been raining for three days
straight and while Jane typically loved the rain, she was over it.
Over it! Jane continued to grumble as she reached the bus stop that
was thankfully covered. She squeezed in among the group of people
packed into the enclosure and looked at her watch. She was going to
be late.

The bus finally
arrived ten minutes later and she gratefully took a seat and
started digging through her backpack for her cell phone. She pulled
it out and flipped it open only to find that it was dead. She had
just charged it the night before, but the battery wasn't holding a
charge. She let her head fall back on the headrest and rolled her
head towards the window. She absolutely despised being late.

Twenty minutes
later, and half an hour after she was scheduled to arrive, she
finally reached the North Carolina State Library where she worked
as a librarian. She wiped her feet off as best she could on the mat
outside and cringed at her reflection in the automatic doors. Her
Doc Martens were covered in mud and she looked like a bedraggled
street person. She was assaulted by the air conditioning as she
walked inside and shivered at the temperature difference.

"Jane! There
you are. I was beginning to think that you weren't coming!" Jane's
boss, Larry exclaimed as she made her way to the employee break
room. Larry was in his fifties, wore his pants three inches too
short and had gray hair that always looked like Larry had just
rolled out of bed. He was the epitome of high energy and was always
flitting from one place to another.

"I'm so sorry,
Larry. It's been a hell of a morning."

"Hmm, yes, I
can see that," he replied as he raked his gaze over her dripping
hair and now-orange shoes. "Well, my dear, go get dried off and
de-mudded and then head over to the research desk."

Thank God for
Larry. He may be frenetic and occasionally, downright strange, but
he was a good boss.

Jane dried her
hair as best she could under the hand-dryer in the bathroom and
rinsed her shoes in the sink. She grimaced as she looked in the
mirror. Well, she no longer looked like a bedraggled street person,
but she didn't look much better. She cleaned her glasses with
toilet paper, took a deep breath and went to attack her day.

*****

Jacob Myers
pulled his 20-year old VW Jetta into a parking space at the State
Library and sent up a mental thanks that his car got him to another
destination. It was still early, so he was able to get a space
fairly close to the door. He got out and made a mad dash for the
entrance, but still ended up soaked.

He had chosen
to visit this library for the first time, as opposed to one of the
libraries on the NC State campus, in hopes that he could find more
books on South Carolina's history. Though he was attending school
on a wrestling scholarship, he was a history major and planned to
be a history professor after he got his Master's Degree. He was
finishing up his Bachelor's Degree now and was looking forward to
taking a TA position next semester.

He followed the
signs to the Research Desk and got in line behind a man who was
gesturing wildly, his high-pitched voice going on about books not
being returned to the correct shelves and common courtesy. Jacob
pulled out his cell phone and made sure that it was on vibrate. He
didn't want to do anything piss this guy off and be forced to
listen to another tantrum.

"Larry," the
voice behind the desk said. Larry either ignored the female voice
or didn't hear her.

"LARRY!" the
voice said more sharply. Jacob could've sworn he heard Larry's
teeth snap together. "There is a patron standing behind you, who
I'm sure
always
puts books back where they belong," the
voice said dryly.

Jacob covered
his laugh with a cough. "Um, yes sir." Jacob had to cough again
once he got a look at Larry's Mozart-like hair and thick round
glasses.

Larry blushed
and huffed, finally walking away. Jacob put his hands in his
pockets and finally got a glimpse of the face that went along with
the voice. The woman had her glasses in one hand and the other
pinched the bridge of her nose. "Rough morning?" he asked in an
amused voice.

The woman put
her glasses back on and looked up. "You have no fucking idea."

He had to laugh
at her candor. His laugh must have been contagious because now she
was grinning as well. His laugh trailed off as he looked at her
face. This woman was stunning. Or maybe adorable was a more apt
description. Fair skin with chocolate brown eyes behind funky,
purple glasses. Inky black hair with blue streaks (that was
currently sticking up in some places), a pixie-like nose and the
most luscious pink mouth with a line down the center of the bottom
lip. It didn't look like she had any make-up on.

"You know, it's
really rude to stare. I had to walk to the bus stop in the shit
outside and I know I look drowning peacock."

"N...no! You
look..."

She interrupted
him, "Don't bother. I don't need a fake pick-me up from a jock." He
could see her letting the professional librarian facade slide over
her face. "What can I help you with, sir?" she asked with a wide
smile that didn't reach her eyes.

Jacob shook his
head to clear his mind. "Um, American History."

"Down the hall,
to the right on the last cluster of shelves on the left. Have a
nice day!"

Wow, she was
certainly a feisty one. "I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't tell
you my name," she replied cheekily.

He held out his
hand to shake. "I'm Jacob Myers."

She reluctantly
reached out and shook his hand. "Jane Bennington."

He caressed his
thumb over her wrist, noticing that her nails were free of any
polish. She jerked her hand away, giving him a contemptuous
look.

"It was nice to
meet you, Jane Bennington," he said, making eye contact, then
turning and walking away.

Chapter 2

Jane stared at
the counter in front of her, wondering what just happened. She was
normally immune to the advances of either sex, few and far between
as they were. She had no interest in dating and no interest in sex.
She was perfectly happy with her books and writing her own erotic
stories.

"
Right
Jane,"
she thought,
"you just keep telling yourself
that."

So, what was it
that was different about Jacob? He was a jock for sure, so he
probably fucked his way through half of the city and had an
attitude more arrogant than an ass.

"Wait a second,
don't you hate it when people assume that you're goth because of
your fair skin and black hair? You're stereotyping him, just like
people stereotype you."

"Oh, shut up
Jane!" she grumbled to herself. But she couldn't keep herself from
keeping an eye out for him. He was at least 6'4 -- more than a foot
taller than herself -- and had the most piercing gray eyes that she
had ever seen. He had a boyish face and chestnut brown hair. And
those muscles...wow. She had literally felt goosebumps when he
touched her wrist.

She found that
she was staring into space and ripped herself back to the work in
front of her. She couldn't afford to day-dream about something that
she could never allow herself to have. Not after...no. She wasn't
even going to think about that time in her life.

*****

It was several
hours later when she saw Jacob come back around the corner. She
took a deep breath and tried to force the professional facade back
around her.

"Did you find
what you were looking for?"

"I think so.
You definitely have a bigger selection here than the library on
campus."

"Where are you
in school?" she asked, cursing herself for prolonging the
conversation.

"NC State," he
replied. "I'm a history major."

"Really?" she
asked a little too skeptically.

He frowned.
"Yes, really. Let me guess, big muscles equate to small brain."

"No, I'm sorry,
I..."

He interrupted,
"And now we're even for the misunderstanding before," he said with
a mischievous grin. "Jane, can I buy you a cup of coffee?"

She looked up
at him with surprise on her face. "Um, no...I'm here until 6pm, but
thanks for the offer."

"How about
after you get off work?"

She shook her
head. "Sorry, I have plans."

"Tomorrow
then," he pressed on.

"It just
wouldn't be a good idea."

Was that regret
on her face that he saw? He wasn't going to give up that easily,
but he would leave her alone for today.

He nodded at
her. "Bye, Janey."

He noticed her
disgruntled expression at the nick-name and just grinned, walking
out of the library and back into the rain.

*****

It was three
days before he could go back to the library. He was going to wear
Jane down.

"Not today," he
said as he walked back out of the library several hours later after
being rejected again.

He went every
day he was available and she wasn't threatening a restraining
order, so that was a good thing.

Two months
later, he escaped from the heat and humidity of the summer into the
refreshing air-conditioner, only to find his Janey at the front
desk instead of the research desk. She was wearing a bright pink
tank top that was holding in her tiny, barely-there breasts. The
air-conditioner was making her large nipples stand out, however,
and he noticed that the boy in line was enjoying the view while
Jane's eyes were on the screen. He wanted to growl that those were
his, but he figured Janey wouldn't appreciate a show of
ownership.

She looked up
when it was his turn in the line.

"Fine, Jacob,"
she said in a defeated tone.

"Fine?" he
replied, hoping she meant what he thought she meant.

“
You’re as tenacious as a fucking bull-dog. One date. Got
it?”

He tried not to
smile too big, but he was jumping up and down inside. Though it was
rumored that he was the romeo of the senior class, they were just
that--rumors. Sure, he had a one-night stand every now and then.
But he wanted something real. He wanted Jane.

“
What time does your shift end?” he asked. He didn’t want to
take the chance of her changing her mind.

She looked at
her watch. “Now, but...”

“
Great!” he said, “Let’s go. Although, I think iced-coffee
would be the best choice.”

Chapter 3

Jane waited for
her mind to start protesting, but she felt her body gathering her
things and following him out the door. She felt her hand enveloped
in his and immediately yanked it back, glaring up at him.

“
Let’s get one thing straight, big boy,” she said as sternly as
she could get her voice to work, “no touching.” She expected that
this would turn him off and she would be free.

“
Okay,” he said.

Okay?

He held the
door for her as they reached the near-by coffee shop. Though they
had only walked a short distance, her tank was sticking to her and
she could feel her hair frizzing from the humidity.

They ordered
their drinks and chose a table under a fan. He seemed to sense her
reluctance to share, so he told stories about growing up in
Charlotte and setting up play-wrestling matches with his three
brothers. He was the youngest and had several nieces and nephews,
which he showed her pictures of from his cell phone.

“
Did you grow up here?” he asked.

She felt
uncomfortable with the attention being back on her. She didn’t
socialize much and she had always hated being the center of
attention.

“
No, I grew up in South Carolina.”

“
Really, where?”

“
Just a tiny town that I’m sure you’ve never heard of,” she
replied evasively. Even thinking of “home” brought back memories
that she didn’t want to deal with in public.

*****

Jacob noticed
the pain and apprehension in her eyes when she mentioned home. He
wanted to take her hand, but remembered her ‘no touching’ rule.

“
Let me make you dinner,” he said suddenly.

“
Why?”

He bit the
bullet and reached over and took her hand. She tried to jerk away,
but he he held her hand gently, but firmly. “Because I like you,
Janey, and I want to spend more time with you,” he replied
softly.