Free Love In The Stacks: a short story/ a mini chick lit by Lisa Lim Page B

to find the right words. “When
you realize that you want to spend the rest of your life with
someone, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as
possible.”
    I laughed in spite of myself. “Isn’t that
from When Harry Met Sally ?”
    “Nope.” He gave a lopsided grin. “It’s from When Ben Met Liv . And I’ve been wanting to do this for a
while . . .” Reaching into his coat pocket, he pulled out a rubber
stamp. Taking my left hand, his voice caught in a husky rasp as he
whispered, “Marry me.” Then he pressed the rubber stamp across my
wrists.
    My gaze shifted down to my hands and I
examined those three words:
     
     
    NOT FOR CIRCULATION
     
     
    On impulse, I flung my arms around him, and I didn’t
ever want to let go. The sweetness of his gesture nearly undid me.
“You know I’ve been ‘checked out’ of the library since the day I’d
met you.”
    Buried in his strong forearms, he murmured in
my hair, “That was long overdue.”

    After we reluctantly peeled apart, I
whispered in his ear, “I’ve got a surprise for you at home.”
    “Well, I look forward to it.” He pressed a
kiss on top of my forehead. “I’ve got to go back to work now, but
I’ll be home by six.”
     
     
     
     
    TWO
     
     
     
     
    It was pitch-black in my apartment. I’d
turned off all the lights and draped myself seductively across the
damask duvet. Sexy music played softly in the background and I’d
scattered rose petals everywhere. Taking a deep breath, I fluffed
my hair and waited, jittery with anticipation. Then I heard the key
turn in the lock and immediately I panicked. On impulse, I jumped
out of bed and sprinted to the bathroom. As I rounded a corner, I
ran smack dab into a wall, knocking myself out in the process.
    When I’d regained consciousness, Ben was in
my face. “Are you OK, Liv?” he asked, and I could hear the concern
in his voice.
    “Nurrrggggh,” I grunted.
    “Shhhhhh.” Ben pressed a finger to his lips.
“Don’t talk babe. You’ve lost your front tooth.”
    “I have?” I asked, licking my bloody lip.
    He nodded gravely. “I’m afraid you might have
sustained a concussion too. You were out cold for several
minutes.”
    I groaned and rubbed my temples. “My head
feels like it’s about to explode.”
    Ben helped me to my feet. “I think it’s best
you get it checked out. I’ll pull the car around while you put on
some clothes.” He dragged his eyes upward toward my face and gave a
playful wink. “Your body looks absolutely sinful in that
contraption.”
    I could feel a blush rising in my cheeks, in
my ears and in my throat. I wanted to crawl into the Tora Bora cave
and DIE. Ben handed me a towel, which I gratefully accepted.
    After Ben had left the room, I quickly threw
on a pair of jeans and a plain white tee. Then I grabbed my bag,
hoisted it over my shoulder and hurried out the front door.
     

    The ride to the ER was awkward to say the
least. Eventually, Ben broke the silence. “Um, so where did you get
those unmentionables?”
    I giggled. “Unmentionables?”
    Ben’s lips curled at one corner. “That’s what
my grandma calls them.”
    I sank into the leather seat. “I bought the
lingerie today, at Victoria’s Secret.” I quickly added, “It was
Jenny’s idea. She thought I needed to spice things up for
Valentine’s Day and be sexy and all that .”
    Ben reached over and squeezed my knee. “Liv,
you don’t need lingerie to make you sexy.” At the stop light, he
cast me a sidelong glance, increasing the pressure on my knee. “I
find you sexy because you have no idea how sexually appealing you
are. You seduce me when you’re wearing my boxer shorts, reading a
book in bed. You seduce me when you’re looking intently at your
laptop, indulging yourself in celebrity gossip. You seduce me in
the morning, when you tumble out of bed, your hair mussed from
sleep.”
    The light turned green and Ben eased the gear
shift, keeping his eyes on the road.
    I smiled