Unexpected Plans

Glancing at the spine of the book she held, Ashlie then scanned the row on the shelf in front of her. She found the two titles in the row that it belonged between and slotted it in. Smiling with satisfaction she reached for the next book in the stack on the wheeled cart beside her.

As she slid it into its appropriate place on the bookshelf, she felt a soft vibration in the hip pocket of her jeans. Her smile broadened as she pulled the cell phone from her pocket and tapped the icon on its screen to accept the incoming call.

"Migsy?" she said as she held it up to her ear.

"Hey girl, where are you?" Miguel's voice asked her.

"Just finishing up. Give me just a minute."

"No worries. But I'm not going to park. I'm in front of the building."

The line went dead and Ashlie shook her head, looking at her phone with a quiet laugh before pushing it back into her pocket. Miguel hated talking on the phone and always ended his calls abruptly, usually without warning or even saying goodbye. As polite as he was insistent on always being, it was the one thing that he came across rude in.

Ashlie pushed the wooden cart to the end of the aisle, one of its caster wheels shuddering as it went, causing it to wobble slightly. She brought the cart to a stop beside the end of the long counter that acted as a both a reception desk for the librarians to check out and return books at, and removed her denim jacket from the back of a chair behind the desk.

After switching off the mains at the circuit board on the wall behind the counter, which turned off all lights in the building except for one fixture holding two fluorescent tubes in the library's entry foyer, she made her way to the front door. She locked the heavy glass door at the entrance of the building, and entered a code on the keypad beside it, setting the alarm system.

• • • •

"It's about time."

Miguel rolled his eyes as he watched Ashlie close the passenger door of his small sedan and began buckling her safety belt.

"I told you I'd be a minute." Ashlie gave him a look as the dome light above them dimmed and then went out.

"I don't want to be late." Miguel put the car in drive and pulled away from the curb. "I've got a reservation."

"Hey, I told you that you didn't need to pick me up." Leaning back against the car's headrest, Ashlie closed her eyes. "I could have taken the bus home."

"Oh, I know," Miguel said, trying not to let his disdain for the city's public transportation system seem too obvious in his voice, "but I'm not taking you home."

Ashlie shook her head with a sigh.

"Oh no, Migs, please..." she said exasperatedly, turning her head to look at him. "Just let me out. I can still make it in time for the bus."

"I will do no such thing," Miguel said, speeding up slightly as though to keep her from trying to open the car's door. "Did you have a bad day or something?"

"Not at all."

"Then what's the matter?"

"I just don't feel like attending another 'Thirsty Thursday' with a group of people I don't even know." Chiding herself for not having found out Miguel's plans earlier, Ashlie again laid her head against the head rest, looking out the window glumly. "I don't even drink."

"Excuse me, I never mentioned drinking," Miguel laughed, "though come to mention it, I hadn't thought about it being Thursday."

"You drink every time we go somewhere..."

Miguel cast a glance at his passenger, who still had her head turned away from him. She had a point. He had a tendency to choose an establishment based more on the rating of their bar than their food or service.

"Well, for your information, Sean suggested a lovely restaurant with good vibes," he said. "And I reserved a table for us."

"Sean," Ashlie asked, rolling her eyes, "the barista booty-call?"

"He was not a booty call. We met at the Pink Panther and left together later that night," Miguel spoke matter-of-factly, a smile creeping onto his face. "It'll be a booty call next time we hook up... And yes, he is the one who recommended the place we're going."

Resigning herself to the fact that there was going to be no talking her friend out of it, Ashlie began to wonder where they were going. She noticed that they drove in the direction of the area she lived in, but Miguel had said that he wasn't taking her home. With a sigh, she watched the sidewalk and the lamp posts pass by the window she looked out of.

Reaching over, Miguel used two fingers to poke the side of Ashlie's thigh. Receiving no response from her, he poked her again.

"Here we are," he said, turning on his indicator and began slowing the car. "And did you just come up with that?"

As he turned into a small but well-lit parking lot, Ashlie looked at her friend with a puzzled expression.

"...barista booty call..." Miguel chuckled. "I love it."