"And I crave you, not like an addiction, but an obsession. I guess that's the best way to describe it. No. I am not obsessed with you, I love you. Everything about you."

It's getting worse, he floods her brain like a parasite looking for its food. Steve began a habit of stepping into the store every other day. He likes the cheap coffee, he says. He helps himself to the coffee bar every morning and updates her on whatever book he's currently reading. She accepts it. Because why not? She likes seeing him, she craves him more and more as the days go on. She knew him for a little over two weeks now.

Two weeks. She's figured him out. He comes in every morning. Every three days he gets a new book. He never did return Watch Me Follow, but she doesn't mention it. He's currently reading Chosen by Barbara Elsborg. He leaves after making a quick little joke about whatever book he's reading. He turns left and then she counts down the minutes till the next morning.

Maria doesn't like him. Apparently, she found him more appealing when he was a stranger in passing. A possible hook-up for her friend. Not a constant customer. "He's like a leech," Maria had told her one day. "He never goes away."

But what Maria didn't know was that was what she liked best about him. She called him a leech. She called him dependable. Because even if he was a leech, she was a parasite. His parasite. She decided that she needed more of him. More outside of the usual bookstore banter. Fate be darned.

She had the day off, and she was outside her bookshop. See her schedule, unlike Steve's, was unpredictable. She didn't know she had the day off till that morning, so she assumed Steve would make his usual stop at her shop. She'd like to know what he did for a change.

Just as she had predicted, Steve came walking past her shop. A smile formed on her face as she watched the man eye the windows of the store. He was in a hoodie today, his head covered. Odd. She didn't know exactly what he did for a job, but he also seemed to be dressed casually. Natasha studied the man and watched as he stopped so close to the door. He looked around before continuing his trek straight. Huh.

That was odd. He didn't even look in her store. It's like she felt that she wasn't there. If anything it made her heart beat faster. She followed from across the street as Steve kept walking. She kept her distance, kept her red hair hidden from the world. Steve stopped. Like he felt someone watching him. Quickly she turned around, pretending to be walking in the other direction. That's when she heard his voice.

"Natasha!" There was no one else on the street, it would have been hard to ignore him. She turned around and saw he was already crossing the street over to her. That god damn smile on his face again.

"Steve! Hey," She foreign shocked.

"Off to work?" She asked.

"Not quite," He said. "Just taking a walk. How about you?"

"Oh you know, the same,"

"How about I join you? Give us a chance to talk," he looked around, "And you never know what could happen here in New York." Her knight in shining armor. "People aren't always what they seem."

"Don't I know it," She replied softly. "I would love for you to join me,"

"Where were you heading?"

"Nowhere particular." She shrugged. "I've been locked in that shop for days on end, figured I'd just get fresh air."

"I feel as though there are better places to do that instead of right in front of your store?" He chuckled.

"What can I say, no matter where I am it draws me right back to it," Steve nodded if in understanding. "So I guess we can walk where you were going to go."

"I'm wondering," Steve said as they began to walk. "How you can spend all your time locked in that book store? You seemingly have one other employee and, excuse me if I am being rude, but there is little demand for books these days."

"maybe so," Natasha nodded. "But I have a love for books and the world they create, I don't so much as mind the silence. It's like a security blanket really. Besides how much company do I truly need if I have a stalker come in every morning"

"I am assuming, I am your stalker,"

"Yes, well I don't really have regular customers, you however are a strange, yet welcoming presence."

"I assure you I am merely a fan of the works of art in the story and not just the covers of the books." A red blush filled her cheeks as he spoke. She was encaptured by his words, everything he said seemed to resinate with her on a personal level. Except after he said those words the rest of his sentence muffled out, had he been flirting with her?

"You are a charmer Rogers," She played with his last name, and said with a voice meant to draw him in, she was hoping she wouldn't have to do too much seeing as though he's already encaptured by her. "So you know about me, now tell me, what does Steve Rogers do for a living."

"I'm an artist," He supplied. An artist. He knew how to appreciate the little things in life. He knew how to look beyond the exterior to find a deeper meaning. "I do portraits really,"

"Is that what brought you to New York?"

"I was actually raised here, well Brooklyn really. I just opened a little studio not too far." He smiled thinking about his small personal space. "Being your own boss does have its privileges, like being able to go to the book store owner every morning."

"Yes I can see how that would be welcoming," She smiled. Steve looked over at her smiling at her as she dreamed of what would happen if he took away from this busy city. He'd have a cabin of course, like the one snow-white found refuge in, minus the seven dwarfs, of course, this would just be her and her prince. He'd expect nothing of her but what she was willing to reveal. Steve would be a total and complete sweetheart. She could imagine waking up to that smile every morning, feeling nothing but ease and comfort.

"Yes well, you may have another customer soon,"

"Is that so?" She asked, her mind barely paying any attention to the conversation. She was too busy thinking about her life, her and Steve's life. How in at any moment they could just run. Take off to the woods.

"Yes, my girlfriend is actually itching to come by,"

Girlfriend?

Note, I wanna try and update every Friday 🤍 making a schedule will hopefully help me keep up with the book