CHAPTER 3 : ADMIRER

The next day, Marley got to work a little late. She had overslept and by the time she woke up, she only had thirty minutes to bathe and get dressed. She walked through the bookstore doors sweating and gasping for air from the little jog she had done.

"Someone had a goodnight's sleep" Cherlynn spoke sarcastically as she watched Marley plop to the floor exhausted.

"Is Moe in yet?"

Cherlynn sat down next to her exhausted friend and handed her a bottle of water, "yeah" she responded, "he left a few minutes ago to get coffee. Don't worry he didn't even notice you weren't here yet."

"oh thank goodness" Marley said as she sighed in relief.

She stood up and inspected her clothes. She was in such a rush that she didn't pay attention to what she threw on.

"Nice outfit" Cherlynn giggled

Marley had planned to wear a skirt and a formal shirt but she ended up wearing a low cut top she used for a cosplay outfit a year ago. This attire was far from professional. She looked like a hot librarian from a hentai clip.

"Really loving the cleavage" Cherlynn spoke in a raspy tone as she creeped up behind Marley and gave her boobs a squeeze , "customers will be flocking in today for sure!"

Marley squealed, stepped away from Cherlynn and covered her chest with both her arms. "I had a wardrobe malfunction this morning!" She screamed, her face as red as a tomato.

Cherlynn chuckled cynically and stretched out her arms towards Marley's chest while wiggling her fingers.

"Come on Marley" Cherlynn spoke with a smirk, "let me give those sweater stretchers a squeeze"

"Get away from me you weirdo!" Marley protested.

Moe almost dropped his coffee when he walked in on the two girls. Marley was screaming and covering her chest while Cherlynn was trying to yank Marley's hands away so she could fondle with her boobs.

Moe wanted nothing more than to let the girls go at it and see how it would all end. Would Cherlynn succeed in pulling Marley's arms away, reviling those beautiful perky mellons? Moe could feel a nosebleed initiating as he watched the girls who to him, seemed to be moving in slow motion like in the movies. In as much as he wanted it to go on, he had to stop the girls before a customer walked in and misinterpreted the entire situation.

Moe cleared his throat to grab the girl's attention.

*

"This is a place of work" Moe scolded the girls, "even though that little display was, umh , intriguing," he added on while clearing his throat, "this isn't the right place or time."

He looked at Marley and sighed. "Here" Moe spoke handing her his jacket, "you can wear this for now. And from now on I don't expect anymore closet mishaps."

"Sorry" both the girls apologized and Moe walked to his office, leaving the girls to their work.

When he was completely out of sight, Cherlynn leaned towards Marley and whispered, "he's such a pervert. I bet he enjoyed every second of it."

Marley caught her friends gaze and they both burst out into laughter.

It's true that Moe did have a little perverted side to him. He was known for strictly hiring only the most attractive young ladies to work in his book shop, and Marley and Cherlynn had caught him ogling at attractive customers more times than they could count.

Moe was a tall slender man in his mid 30s with jet black hair, brown eyes and a signature porn stash. He almost always wore odd colored suits, a matching hat and walked around with a toothpick in his mouth. In a nutshell, Moe dressed like a pimp. But aside from all his weird traits, he was a good guy who liked to help people. He had a sense of humor and as far as anyone was concerned, he was an upright member of society.

The girls had started sorting out the new books that had come in, when Cherlynn abruptly stood up and ran to the front desk. She then returned with a bouquet of tulips in one hand and a note in the other.

"With all the commotion this morning, I forgot to tell you these came in for you" Cherlynn spoke as she handed the bouquet to Marley.

Marley took the flowers and gave them a little sniff, "tulips" she spoke, "they're.."

"Your favorite! I know!" Cherlynn finished her sentence with excitement, "seems like you have a secret admirer" she added on, handing the note to Marley.

"All it says is 'thank you', with a little heart at the bottom" Marley spoke as she studied the note. "Who brought these?"

"A delivery guy" Cherlynn responded, "he didn't leave a name or anything."

Marley studied the note a bit more, trying to look for more clues.

"Stop being such a Debbie downer Marley" Cherlynn nudged her friend, "most girls would be over the moon if they had a secret admirer"

Marley tucked the note into the flowers, " I guess. Hey Cherlynn?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you think this could be the same mystery guy from the restaurant the other day" Marley questioned.

"Or mystery girl." Cherlynn replied with chuckle

"Lynn!!"

"I'm kidding!" Cherlynn chuckled, "who cares who it's from Marley. People receive little gifts like this from secret admirers all the time. Lighten up!"

Marley looked at the flowers again. Cherlynn was right, she was just overthinking things. It's just flowers right? What's the worse that could happen?

*

At the far end of the bookstore, a brown haired female watched Marley put the tulips in a vase. The same tulips she'd seen her brother picking earlier that day. She took a deep breath and prayed to the gods Apollo wasn't doing what she thought he was doing.