After Hours...

“I got you Mrs. Baker, no problem!” Julie shouted at her boss, stacking up books onto her cart. The public library of Northern Wisconsin was closing. Typically Mrs. Baker stays with Julie as they clean up for the day, but she got a call from her son frantically asking her to come home. Mrs. Baker asked if Julie was alright to close up by herself tonight.

Mrs. Baker smiled, grabbing her things. “I knew I could count on you. The keys are on the counter to lock up. I’ll see you tomorrow Julie!” The door slammed and Julie listened as her car started with the engine roaring. As Mrs. Baker drove off, her car became fainter. Soon, there was complete silence. Julie gleamed, bouncing on the balls of her feet. She has never been inside a library after hours. Even though she technically works there, it was still exciting to her. As much as she wanted to fool around, she knew she had to get work done. The books on the cart needed to be put away, the check-ins had to be done, there was cleaning to do and the list seemed to go on and on. She grabbed her phone and earbuds, blasting Girl In Red, and got to work. 

Her feet danced along with the music in her ears. Her whisper singing echoed throughout the empty library. Rolling the cart into the YA section, she started to get a sense of someone watching her. She took her earbuds out, the sound of Sweater Weather faintly still playing. As Julie looked across the dark room, the feeling washed over her. She was probably just anxious. She turned around to continue her job when she felt hands grab her waist. She started screaming, prying at the hands to let her go. Her phone dropped to the ground, music still playing through the earbuds. 

“Stop! Julie, it’s me.” A calm voice whispered in her ear. She slumped down into the person’s arms, the chills from the voice shook her body. The arms wrapped around the rest of her body to hug her. Julie knew the person, and they felt like home. 

Even though Julie knew she was safe, she stepped away from the hug to turn around and hit them in the arm. “Max!” She screeched, seeing her partner chuckling at her. 

Max picked up the phone that fell and handed it back to Julie, “Sweater Weather? Nice.” Julie snatched it from them and placed it on the cart. 

“What are you doing here?” Julie asked, trying to continue her job by pushing the cart forward. Max ran over to the other side of the cart and stopped it from moving.

“I missed you.”

Julie’s heart skipped a beat, but she refused to let that show on her heated face. She turned to look in the other direction as to not reward the behave Max was doing. Max grinned, catching a glimpse of Julie’s blushed face. 

“Well I am working, how did you even know I would be here alone? You know Mrs. Baker always closes with me.” Julie challenged, trying to calm her burning cheeks. Max remained silent, letting go of the cart. They looked to the floor, guilt spread all over their face. Julie noticed this, “What did you do?”

Max looked back up at her and smiled, wearily. Julie took this moment to move the cart past her, still trying to figure out why Max looked so guilty. She made it about halfway into the YA section before realizing it. She gasps and turned to her partner.

“She said her son fell down the stairs. Did you-”

“No!” Max yelled, racing over to Julie. They grabbed Julie by the arm, softly. Max’s finger tinged her arm and she felt her stomach flutter. Even after eight months of being together, Max still found a way to make her feel like that. “I did not push her son down the stairs.”

Julie let out a breath of relief. She knew Max would never do something like that, but who knows. 

Max let go of her and muttered, “I might have paid the brother though to.”

“What!?” Julie asked. Max laughed grabbing the cart from her and continuing into the YA section. Julie stomped after them, her head filled with so many buzzing questions.

“What do you mean? Why did you do that? Is he okay? Are they in trouble? What if she finds out? What if I am fired? What are you even doing here? I-”

Max cut her off by abruptly turning around. They grabbed Julie’s chin and tilted it towards them. Julie stopped talking and swallowed her words. Max brought her face closer to theirs and used their other hand to brush back Julie’s long, brown hair behind her shoulders. Julie’s hands were just by her side. She grabbed the ends of her shirt and wiped her hands on it. Max grabbed her hand and held it tightly. They moved their forehead so that it was against Julie’s. Julie relaxed in their arms and closed her eyes for a few seconds. Both of their breathing was in sync. As if they were one person. Julie opened her eyes to find Max staring into them. Max leaned in closer and brushed their lips against hers. Julie’s breath hitched, but she didn’t move away. She didn’t want to. As Julie tried to reach in closer, Max backed away, grinning at her. 

“I mean his brother, gave him a little shove because I gave him twenty dollars. Why? To get Mrs. Baker home. They are not in trouble, probably. She won’t find out. You aren’t getting fired and I am here because I want to spend time with you, alone.”

As mad as Julie was at everything Max just said, the last part warmed her heart. She sighed and sat down on the floor. Max, cautiously, followed her lead and sat next to her. “Are you mad?”

“I don’t know,” Julie answered honestly. “Kind of, but also I want to spend time with you too, alone. When we both aren’t in school, I am always here at the library and you are always at the park, coaching your team. The only time we ever get to see each other is for like an hour on the weekends in between our jobs and our parents are always home. We never get any alone time.”

Max smirked, “Ah, so you want alone time with me?” 

Julie turned to face them, grabbing the back of their neck to pull them in closer. Their lips only inches apart. Max, surprised at the sudden moment, turned bright red. Julie giggled before letting Max go, knowing she holds the same effect on them that Max has on her. She stands up, going through the books on the car. “Yes, I want alone time with you.” 

Max remained on the floor, pouting. “No fair. You caught me off guard.” 

“You always catch me off guard so, it is fair.” Julie pointed out, starting to actually do her job by putting the books away. Max stands up, walking over to the shelf Julie was putting books on. They lean up against it and folded their arms. 

“Fine. But why are you doing that?” Max asked and nodded to the cart.

Julie looked confused, “It’s my job?”

Max grabbed her hands and guided her to a different aisle. Julie tried to fight back, but she mostly went with it, her curiosity getting the best of her. Max sat her on the ground before looking through the books. 

Julie tried to ask, “What are you-”

Max shushed her and continued their hunt. They finally found what they were looking for and grabbed a book from a shelf. Julie wanted to protest, knowing she organized that section earlier, but instead, she stayed quiet. Max laid down, their head in Julie’s lap, and opened the book. They flipped to a page and handed it to Julie. Julie grabbed the book, giving Max a side-eye. She looks down into it and noticed that it was one of her favorite books, Sonnett XVII by Pablo Neruda. She noticed a certain line was circled and she decided to read it out loud. 

“I love you as certain dark things are to be loved, in secret, between the shadow and the soul.”

Julie looks to Max who had their eyes closed. She smiles at them and starts playing with their hair. “Why?” She asked.

“Because I am the dark thing that you love.” 

Julie paused, knowing they have never used that word before. 

Love.

Max opened their eyes, continuing their thought. “I know being with me wasn’t always easy, and it never will be. Relationships are complicated, but I made it harder by being gender-neutral.”

Julie tried to cut them off, “No you-”

“Just wait,” Max said, sitting up to face her. “Let me finish.” Julie nodded, wanting to know what Max is trying to say. “I saw the look on your parents’ faces when they saw me. Even though they knew beforehand, they couldn’t mask their feelings. I don’t blame them or anything, I know it can be difficult to grasp. But I just wanted to thank you for being so amazing.” Max grabbed her hands and held them close to their face. Julie’s heart has never raced so fast before. She could tell what was coming, but she didn’t want to assume. Her body felt fluid-like and she couldn’t think straight. Max placed a soft kiss on the backside of her hand, not letting go. They looked into Julie’s eyes, falling deeper for her. “And that I love you.”