Five Minutes Late (12 page)

He wasn’t going to give up yet. He just hoped she hadn’t already done so.

Chapter Eleven

“This is disgusting.” Ellie sprayed the self-checkout machine with cleaner and wiped it down with a handful of paper towels. “It just seems like common sense to me that you don’t put your drink on top of a machine while you’re using it. Or even when you’re not using it!”

“Since when do teenagers have common sense?” asked Julio.

Ellie nodded. “Good point.”

“Speaking of common sense, I think it’s time you threw away your list.”

Ellie let out a deep breath. “Believe me, I’ve been very close to doing just that.”

Her dates with “The Dick” and “The Buck” were a disaster. Maybe it was a good thing Swayze never showed.

Then there was Cedric Johnson. Mr. I Don’t Date. Mr. Incredibly Kind and Generous.
 

Cedric was driving her crazy and he wasn’t even there.

Pickles!

Her heart skipped a beat watching Cedric through the window as he approached the entrance.
 

Ellie grabbed the spray bottle and paper towels and plugged the machine back into the outlet. “I’ll be back. “

“Looks like your lover boy is here.”
 

“He’s not my lover boy. What is he doing here?”

“Volunteering, of course.”

Ellie swung around to face Julio. “What?”

“You didn’t know?”

Hell no, she didn’t know.

Julio smiled. “He’s sweet, isn’t he?”

“Like sugar. Gotta run.” She turned and—

“Ellie!” Peggy said, stopping her in her tracks. She glanced over Ellie’s shoulders and smiled. “And Cedric!”

Ellie turned around and tried to avoid eye contact with Cedric. She pretended to inspect the spray bottle. Good quality plastic, that’s for sure.

“You two have met, already, right?” asked Peggy.

“Yes, we have,” said Cedric. “Nice to see you again, Ellie.” He held out his hand.

Nice trick. Now they have to touch and her girly parts were going to twitch.

“Nice to see you again too.” Ellie shook his hand.
 

Twitch. Twitch. Twitch.
 

Damn.

Julio held out his hand. “We haven’t officially met. Although I did talk with you when you came in the other day. I’m Julio.”

Cedric shook his hand. “Nice to meet you.”
 

Ellie was pretty sure some part of Julio was twitching too.

“I need to run to a meeting with the event director at the San Jose Museum of Art,” said Peggy. “I’ll try to check in on you later.” She turned to Cedric. “If you have any questions, ask Ellie. She knows the reading program better than anyone. She created it.”

Cedric’s eyes widened, a smile forming on his lips. “I’m impressed.”

Peggy nodded. “You probably don’t know this, but we had an amazing children’s area, but there was a break-in recently and hundreds of books were destroyed and vandalized.”

“What a shame.”

“It is. We have a fundraiser in a couple of weeks and hope to raise enough money to replace the books. Maybe you can attend?”

“Sounds great.”

“You are the best! Isn’t he something, Ellie?”

Peggy winked at Ellie. What was she up to?
 

Ellie forced a smile. “He certainly is.”

“Do you have
The Very Hungry Caterpillar?
” asked Cedric. “It’s one of my favorites.”

Ellie felt a flutter in her belly. “I love that book.”

“Sounds like I won’t have to worry about you two,” said Peggy. “You’re the perfect match!”

Did she just say that? Someone needed to wipe that grin off of Cedric’s face.

A few minutes later, Ellie and Cedric sat on two small stools directly across from Jose, who was happily sitting on a Kermit the Frog pillow; his legs were crossed and his hands folded neatly on his lap. Ellie smiled at Jose and noticed his eyes were bright and wide open as he rocked back and forth. Must be in eager anticipation of the reading, Ellie thought. This was clearly a child who loved stories and couldn’t wait to get started.
 

“I love books,” said Jose.

“That’s what I heard,” said Ellie. “Are you ready, then?”

“Yes please.”

“Great, let’s get started.”

As Ellie opened
The Very Hungry Caterpillar
, she couldn’t help but notice the clean, refreshing smell drifting over from Cedric, kind of like that white tea and jasmine body wash she used to use. She wanted to lean in for a closer whiff, but knew it wouldn’t have been appropriate.
 

She read for a few minutes from the book, and then paused to ask Jose a question or two. Interaction was key to get a child’s imagination going.

“The caterpillar sounds hungry, doesn’t he?” asked Ellie.

“Yeah. Maybe he wants a hot dog with ketchup and mustard.”

“Maybe he does.”

“Or mac & cheese. I like mac & cheese.”

“Do you?”

Jose nodded.
 

“So do I,” said Cedric.

Ellie did a double take at Cedric.

“Or a cookie,” said Jose.

“Sure,” said Ellie. “A cookie is possible too.”

“His mommy can give him a cookie, but he has to be a good caterpillar.”

“Of course he does. Well, let’s see what he finds.” Ellie went back to the place she marked in the book and continued reading.

“Where do baby caterpillars come from?” asked Jose.

Great.

Ellie was not prepared to talk about the birds and the bees, let alone the reproductive processes of butterflies. Especially in front of Cedric.
 

Ellie smiled at Jose and then looked at Cedric. She knew the answer, of course, but didn’t want to get into it. Maybe she could just continue with the story and Jose would forget about it.

“They come from butterfly eggs,” said Cedric as Ellie’s mouth hung open. “The butterfly lays the eggs on the bottom side of leaves so they don’t get wet from the rain. They’re very smart.”

Where the heck did Cedric get
that
from? What else was he hiding?

“Are butterfly eggs like Easter eggs?” asked Jose.
 

Ellie turned to Cedric to see if he was going to respond to that one as well.
 

Good luck!

“No,” answered Cedric. “Easter eggs are a lot bigger and much more colorful. But they do have something in common. Do you know what it is?”

“No,” said Jose.

Neither did Ellie.

“Butterflies like to lay their eggs in March and April. And
that’s when Easter is.”

Jose’s eyes opened wide. So did Ellie’s.

Very impressive. Cedric was good with children too. She pictured him as a father and had a feeling he’d be a
great one. He was kind and sincere and down to earth.
 

Pickles!

Ellie applied the brakes on her positive thoughts about Cedric. He was a liar and she had to think with her head, not her—

 
“Is he your boyfriend?” asked Jose.
 

“Not yet,” answered Cedric, grinning.

Ellie shifted in her chair. She felt her body temperature rising.

 
“Do you like to kiss?” asked Jose.

“Absolutely.” Cedric bent down to high-five Jose. “Do you know the world record for the longest kiss?”

“Okay!” Ellie’s hands flew in the air. “That’s enough questions for now. Let’s see what the caterpillar does next.”

Twenty minutes later Ellie and Cedric said goodbye to Jose. Ellie moved the two stools against the wall and placed the book on the shelf.

Ellie tried to act professional and pretend there was nothing happening between her and Cedric. “So, do you have any questions about anything?” She stood there anxiously, tapping her fingers on the side of her leg, waiting for an answer.

Cedric smiled. He was getting to know Ellie well. She had a lot of cute nervous habits. His favorite was probably the one she was doing at the moment…that finger-dance on the side of her leg. Very cute.
 

Crap.

He just realized he’d been staring at her thighs for the last twenty seconds or so. Ellie’s finger-dancing on her leg stopped, and Cedric slowly lifted his gaze to her eyes. She did not look happy.

Busted. Again.
 

Cedric scratched the side of his face and shrugged. He wondered if his nervous habits were as obvious as hers. He wanted to apologize to her for his random acts of stupidity whenever she was within a fifty-mile radius. He opened his mouth, hoping a few sensible words would come out.

“Ellie …”

Well, okay, one word. That was a start. Ellie held up her hand to stop Cedric, as if she knew what he was going to say.

“Cedric, let’s not get distracted here.”

He stared at her lips. “I …”

“In fact, can you email me your—”

Cedric kissed her.

And it was the most amazing kiss.

Then Peggy walked in and Ellie slapped Cedric.
 

Crap.

“Oh,” said Peggy. “I—”

“I’m very sorry,” said Cedric. “I shouldn’t have done that. I’ll go now.”

As Cedric left the library, he caressed the side of his face and smiled. He’d gladly take another ten of those slaps for just one more kiss from Ellie.

Chapter Twelve

“He kissed me in the library!” said Ellie. “That’s my place of work and it’s completely inappropriate.” Ellie forked some noodles on her plate. “I’m up for the biggest promotion of my life and if that kiss has repercussions, I’ll kill him with my bare hands.”

Grandpa Frank laughed. “You’re not overreacting a bit?”

“You don’t go kissing people in their place of work.”

“Well, I don’t know about that. Things happen in the moment of passion and sometimes you just can’t help yourself. I kissed your grandma in the malt shop … a few times.”

Ellie stopped chewing.
 

“Don’t look so surprised. I wasn’t a prude, you know.”

“I know, but …”

“Is it about the promotion? Or is it something else?”

Grandpa Frank knew her so well.

No. It wasn’t about the promotion, now that she’d thought about it.

The real issue was … she enjoyed the kiss, and she didn’t want it to stop. That scared her, because she still wasn’t sure about who he was. She was attracted to Cedric that was for sure. He was witty and charming, but she had a lot of unanswered questions and doubts about him.

Ellie smiled. “Have I ever told you that you’re a wise man?”

“Yes.” Grandpa Frank chuckled. “But I don’t get tired of hearing it.”

“I enjoyed it. The kiss.”

Grandpa Frank nodded.
 

“And I slapped him.”

Grandpa Frank grimaced. “Poor guy. I guess this is one of those times where we men don’t understand you women. Why would you slap him if you enjoyed the kiss?”

Ellie shrugged and fidgeted with the salt and pepper shakers. “Nervous reaction, I guess.”

“Okay …”

“Peggy was standing there too. I wanted her to know it wasn’t my idea to kiss and I would never think of doing that in the library.”

“Now we’re getting somewhere.”

“I should pay you for your services. You can become a pro.”

“I think you’re figuring this out on your own.”

“I guess I’m scared.”

“Fear is not good. It can paralyze you.”

“You’re right.”

Ellie stared down at Grandpa Frank’s plate. He still hadn’t taken a bite of his food.

“Speaking of fear, you still haven’t touched your food.”

He smiled. “Touché.”

Grandpa Frank picked at the Mongolian Delight dish he ordered, moving the food around with his fork, like a five-year-old.
 

“Just try it.”

He wrinkled his nose. “How could this not be meat? Looks like meat to me.”

Ellie patiently smiled. “It’s supposed to look like that. It’s made of soy protein.”

He played with the food a little more and forked a few pieces of vegetables—along with the meat-looking thing—and stuffed them in his mouth and chewed. He gave no indication of whether he liked it or not. He grabbed another forkful and ate it. Then a little more. And a little more. “It’s got to be meat.”

“There’s a reason the sign on the building says Vela Veggie. This is a vegetarian restaurant. Do you like it? Yes or no?”

He nodded. “Not bad.” Then he took another bite. And another. And another.

“For someone who thinks the food is ‘not bad’ you sure are eating rather quickly.”

He smiled. “Okay. I like it.”

“You see? You opened yourself up to something new and look at the positive result.” She took a bite of her pineapple-fried rice and moaned. “Oh God, I love this stuff.”

Grandpa Frank forked another bite into his mouth. “Obviously they add some type of addictive ingredient to the food. That must be illegal. Now I can’t stop.”

Ellie laughed. “I wish you would use that enthusiasm to meet someone new.”

“I’m seventy-five years old, Ellie. There isn’t a lot of inventory on the market for me, and most women my age can’t keep up with me anyway.”

“Well, you may have a point there. But that’s because you’re a stud, grandpa. You’ve been walking an hour a day for the last forty years. Before that you used to run. You just need to meet someone younger. Then,
they’ll be able to keep up with you. Maybe.”

“I won’t rule it out. Never say never.” He ate the last bit of food on his plate. “But I won’t hold my breath either.”

Ellie stared at his empty plate. “Since you enjoyed the food so much, we are going to celebrate by having dessert.”

“Makes sense. We celebrate the food by eating more food.”
 

“Why not?”

Grandpa Frank chuckled. “Where did you meet him? The amazing kisser.”

“His name is Cedric and I saved him from being hit by a UPS truck. Then we talked at Starbucks.”

“What do you like about him?”

“He’s handsome, intelligent, funny, and sweet.” Ellie shrugged. “I thought we had a connection …”

“But?”

“But … as usual, Dr. Jekyll turned into Mr. Hyde and that was that. He lied to me, basically. He told me he wasn’t dating, but I saw his profile on the dating website.”