After listening to the song for a few seconds, he pointed at the books in front of me.
"Which one would you recommend?"
I looked at the books hesitantly, then turned to him.
"That depends on what kind of books you like to read."
"I don't really discriminate, but I'd say I'm more interested in gripping stories inspired by real events."
After thinking for a brief moment, I grinned widely and took out my earbud.
"I know a book that's perfect for you. Wait a bit, I'll get it right away."
I stood up and quickly disappeared between the shelves, heading to the section with the type of books I was looking for. Scanning the titles quickly, I found what I wanted, pulled it out, and returned to my spot. Sitting next to him, I handed him the book while explaining my choice.
"This book has all the qualities you're looking for. I bought it on my brother's recommendation. I finished it in one night. It's really an amazing book. I fell in love with the author's style. The plot is very interesting, the characters are both natural and likable, and the storyline is handled really well. I have no doubt you'll like it."
Raising his eyebrow, he replied teasingly,
"Are you sure you want to be an engineer, Sunshine? I don't know why, but I have a feeling you'd be far more successful in book marketing."
I hit his arm and spoke grumpily.
"Don't make fun of me, Hotshot! I'm serious."
"You won't believe this, but I'm serious too."
Just as I was about to hit him again, he laughed and raised his hand.
"Okay, okay."
While I picked up my next book, he examined the one I'd given him and murmured to himself,
"Seems worth a try."
Just as I were about to lean back and start reading again, he leaned toward my shoulder and spoke calmly.
"You should still think about what I said. At this rate, you'll be richer than me in a few years."
When I turned my head slightly and glared at him, he grinned innocently and went back to his book.
After a while, I reached for my coffee and realized it was empty. Without taking my eyes off my book, I murmured in a low voice,
"Is there any harm in having your men bring me coffee, Hotshot? It's not like they have anything more important to do right now. And if I bump into the shelves or get a paper cut, I'm sure you'll help me, right?"
He sighed before answering.
"I'm sorry, Sunshine. I know you don't like this, but even in another city, I couldn't bring myself to take the risk. I was hoping you wouldn't notice."
I replied casually as I turned the page.
"This is a small town, and those two follow me everywhere I go, Hotshot. At this rate, even our local grocer will notice them. And if he notices, it won't take half a day for the rest of the town to find out."
He laughed and took out his phone, and I kept reading, satisfied that my request was about to be handled.
When my second coffee was finished too, I looked from the mountain of books piled in front of me to Kerem, who was reading with full focus. Since he didn't want to go to the hotel and I loved spending time among books, we'd been sitting in the same spot, in the same position, for more than two hours.
After the first batch, I'd examined two more armfuls of books, and with the time getting later and all the coffee I'd already consumed, I'd pushed my meetup with my friend to a later hour, changing it from a coffee date to a dinner date instead.
I still had some time until then, but there were no books left that interested me and that I hadn't checked. With nothing else to do, I leaned back again, closed my eyes, and decided to simply enjoy the peaceful moment I was in.
(Listening : Özlem Tekin - Kimse Bilmez acoustic version)
Just then, one of my favorite songs came on. Smiling, I started quietly humming along to the melody. Near the end of the song, I felt like I was being watched. I opened my eyes a little and turned my head to the side.
Kerem was turned toward me the same way, the side of his head resting against the shelf behind him. He was watching me with a soft, sweet smile, just like I'd been smiling while listening to the song.
At first, I almost asked why he was watching me, but then it felt like talking wouldn't suit the moment, like it would break the strange little spell that had formed between us.
When he tilted his head a bit more, a strand of hair fell onto his forehead. Before I even realized what I was doing, I gently brushed it back. His smile twisted into a crooked grin. Before I could pull my hand away, he caught it, pulled me toward him, and didn't give me a chance to retreat.
God… Every time I looked into his eyes from this close, it was like my ability to think logically evaporated into thin air.
When only a few centimeters remained between our faces, he murmured in a voice close to a whisper,
"When we go back to İzmir, everything at your place will be finished and ready for you to move in… but before you go back home, I want you to stay with me for one last night."
His gaze flicked to my lips for a moment, then returned to my eyes as he continued,
"What do you say, Sunshine? One last night with your old roommate?"
There was something about the way he said it that sounded… wrong. But my mind was too foggy to figure out what it was in that moment, so I simply nodded.
He smiled, about to close the tiny gap between us—
when an awful ringtone that blew everything up made him freeze.
I stubbornly pretended I couldn't hear it and waited for him to kiss me anyway, but he lifted an eyebrow and asked, teasingly,
"Are you going to answer your phone?"
"My phone can't possibly ring like that, Hotshot. I hate that guy's songs—"
Then, as it hit me, I started ranting furiously. In response to his curious look, I grumbled,
"I'm mad at my brother. He stole my phone while I was asleep and changed the ringtone again. Annoying idiot."
He laughed at my answer and went back to his book, while I pulled my bag closer, still grumpy, and took out my phone.
When I saw an unknown number on the screen, I answered, hoping nothing weird was going on again.
When the call ended, I set the phone on my lap and started brooding, trying to figure out how to solve the problem in my hands. Kerem cut in.
"Are you okay, Sunshine? You didn't get bad news, did you?"
I let out a helpless sigh and lifted my head.
"Not bad, but… news that causes trouble. At the New Year's party, one of the designers Feyza's mom invited liked Aylin and offered her to model for his own collection. Aylin didn't want to, but I forced her to at least go to the test shoot. The person who called was his assistant. The test shoot is tomorrow morning."
"And? What's the problem?"
"The problem is this: the guy is foreign, and Aylin's not good at foreign languages. So there's no way she can meet him without someone reliable by her side. And it's not just that—there also needs to be someone who can soften the atmosphere between them and guide Aylin properly. Because if he says or asks for the tiniest wrong thing, all hell will break loose. Feyza is automatically out of the question, because that crazy blonde is worse than Aylin. If she snaps, she won't stop Aylin—she'll happily help her. Mete has to be at the hospital tomorrow, and I can't make it to a meeting that early in the morning by bus. So I honestly don't know what to do."
With a frustrated motion, I threw my head back and sighed miserably.
"Ugh! I really wanted her to get this job."
"If I didn't have a meeting tomorrow, we could've solved it, but unfortunately… Really bad timing."
At the word meeting, something clicked in my head. I turned to him quickly.
"Which foreign languages did you say Demir knows?"
"English. He speaks Russian and French like a native. His Arabic and Chinese are decent too. I know what you're thinking, Duru, but I'm warning you—you're getting your hopes up for nothing."
I picked up my phone again and replied with a smug smile,
"Want to bet, Hotshot?"