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“I’m at the bookstore right now so I’m hanging up,” Alex announced to June, who was still talking about her latest article and how well it had done in the magazine. He was very proud of his sister, don’t get him wrong, but he had been searching for a book for his thesis for weeks now and this was the only place that had it in stock. He didn’t want to miss it.
“Okay, okay,” June huffed through her laugh. ‘Go get your book and I’ll see you later.” She hung up the call for him and Alex pocketed his phone before pushing the door to the bookstore open and stepping inside.
The thing was, Alex was a bit of a nerd. He loved to read and whenever he stepped into a bookstore, his heart did a flip of excitement at the smell and sight of all the books just...there, waiting for new homes. If he could, he’d buy so many books, but alas his bank and limited space in his dorm wouldn’t allow it.
Luckily, the bookstore was relatively quiet and Alex managed to find his way to the section where his book should be; and there it was. He let out a breath and picked it up, groaning at the weight and hoisting it under his arm. He certainly was not looking forward to carting it back to NYU dorms on the subway.
As he made his way to the till, Alex stopped short as his eyes landed on a stack of books that were listed as ‘book of the week’. It was a book he had been eyeing up for weeks now, one by a relatively new author, but certainly not new to the public eye. The book was written by Henry Fox, son of the actor Arthur Fox aka James Bond himself. Alex knew he’d been writing a novel, as he followed him on instagram and twitter, but he’d been so lost in schookwork he must have missed the release date.
“Ah, fuck it,” Alex grumbled to himself and picked one of the copies from the desk. He’d been working hard these past few weeks, he was entitled to treat himself to a new book. He made to head towards the checkout, when a voice to his left stopped him.
“Nice choice, I’ve heard decent things about it.” The voice was British and Alex bit the inside of his cheek. Him and his fucking...turn on for men with british accents. He didn’t even know if the man was attractive or not. Slowly, Alex turned around and as his eyes settled on the owner of the voice, his own voice faltered.
The man addressing him wasn’t just any regular British man commenting on his choice of fiction. The man was none other than Henry Fox himself, the author of the book in his hand. Alex’s jaw was prepared to fully drop but he managed to compose himself and clear his throat. “Yeah, uh, it’s been on my list for a while. Must have missed the release date...been so busy with my final year. Thesis and all that.”
Henry raised an eyebrow and his eyes glanced to the large book under Alex’s arm. “Law? Impressive.”
Alex shrugged a little, “I mean yeah, but it’s exhausting. No time to really be a student.” Sometimes Alex did wish he took a normal course that would allow him to be lenient with his classes, to actually take part in freshers week and other student activities, but then he also remembers how much he wants this and the other thoughts go out the window. “It’s worth it though, it’ll always be worth it.”
“I’m guessing you need to get back to studying?” Henry asked and Alex bit down on his cheek again. Technically the answer to that question was yes, but it wasn’t everyday Alex bumped into someone he admired in a small bookstore on the side streets of New York City.
“I think I could spare a few more minutes,” Alex offered a smile and Henry returned it with a smile of his own, warm and friendly. “I’m Alex, by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” He offered out his hand in a polite greeting.
Henry paused, looking at Alex’s hand before he accepted it, his grasp firm yet welcoming. “Henry...but I presume you already knew that?” He asked and Alex nodded his head. “You didn’t seem...surprised?”
Alex barked out a laugh, letting his hand fall from Henry’s grip and immediately missing the touch, “Oh I was surprised, I just have a great poker face. Born and raised in Texas so you kind of need to hide your emotions a lot.” He tilted his head just slightly to the side, “Can I ask why you’re just, hanging out in a bookstore in New York?”
“You can, actually,” Henry answered, and gestured around him. “This was my dad’s bookshop. He bought it before he became famous and never actually had the heart to sell it. It was his starting point, a major role in where he is now.” He pointed to behind the counter, to a small plaque there and Alex took a step closer so he could read it.
The Book Spot
Est. 1988
Founded by Arthur Fox
“Every book in a bookstore is a fresh beginning”
‘Do you miss him?” Alex asked after a moment and he turned from the plaque back to Henry. “I- I remember seeing it on the news and thinking how hard it must have been for you and your siblings...and your mom. I could never imagine…” he trailed off. “I’m sorry, that was rude of me.”
Henry shook his head, “No, no it’s fine,” the smile was back. “I miss him everyday. It’s why I come here so often. This was our special place. He’d bring me here whenever we were in New York because he wanted to show me how he made a life for himself after he moved here from England. He was only twenty-one.” Henry cleared his throat and Alex knew it was to hide the fact he was close to tears. “He met my mom here too.”
Alex couldn’t help but just watch Henry as he spoke about his dad, the way his eyes lit up. “He sounds like he was an amazing man.” He lifted the hand that wasn’t holding the books to the back of his neck. “Do you maybe want to get a coffee with me? I could use a pick me up and there’s one just across the road from here.” There was a pause and Alex felt the panic set in, “I mean, if you’re busy it’s fine. Fuck- of course you’re busy, you came here to be close to your dad and here I am asking you out for coffee. Ignore me, I’ll just...go.” As he turned to walk away, a hand on his wrist stopped him.
“I’d love to get coffee with you, Alex,” Henry grinned and Alex tried his best not to flush at the electricity he felt when Henry touched his wrist. “You can put your books in the back store if you’d like?”
Nodding his head, Alex let Henry put his books into a safe place before he took a deep breath and reached his hand back down, letting their fingers brush before Henry made the move to lace them together and head towards the main exit. The exited out onto the street and Henry turned his head to Alex just a little, that grin still plastered on his lips. Alex found himself thinking he could very easily fall for that smile...fall for Henry in fact.
“Well Alex, why don’t you lead the way?” Henry asked.
And with a grin of his own, Alex did.