Unraveled

I will be honest. I felt kind of silly. I was wearing something a bit more formal than my usual slacks and blouse to work today.

It would look kind of odd to most people to see someone in an office wearing a corset and all laced up in a dress, skirt, and high-kneed boots. But thankfully, I do not work in an office, really.

Being a children’s librarian gives you a bit of fun and leeway in how professionalism looks. I had an event for the kids today that allowed me to dress up a bit. I enjoy the theater of my job sometimes. Making people smile, acting out books, even if just with my voice.

Today was a good day for it. It was very lively and chaotic, which always puts me in a good mood, even if it drives my director crazy. She had to leave early, leaving me in charge. She couldn’t handle it. That was fine with me. I enjoyed it. Sitting back and taking it all in without necessarily participating in all the drama of the day.

As I watched the last kid leave, I was left with a slow breath and a smile. A job well done. A success pulled off. And now I have the library to myself. It wasn’t anything big and fancy, just a cute little regional branch in a big city.

I will be honest, my section was a disaster, and it wasn’t just because of the day. Walking around, I picked up books to shelve later and put them on carts. Picked up stray paper from the crafts area, where the kids enjoyed making the best kind of messes, and began to do my normal closing tasks.

Walking around, turning off lights, made the place feel a bit magical in all its darkness and quiet. Maybe I was enjoying the quiet too much. Someone decided it had to stop. But who? Everyone else should be gone. I was the last of the staff here. Everyone left 30 min ago shortly after the closing announcement.

Looking around, I finally spot him, Sophie’s dad. I met him months ago. He and his wife recently divorced, and I usually only see her mom here. He has come in once or twice. Every time, I took notice, but tried not to eye fuck him through the stacks. He was one of those guys who grabbed your attention instantly. Made you drop everything just for a small piece of attention.

He was a good father, too, even his ex-wife thought so. We had a few casual conversations, and she never had a bad thing to say about him.

“Hi, sorry to interrupt, and I know you are closing, but the side door wasn’t locked. My wife said Sophie left her bracelet here, and I wanted to see if I could find it since I was driving by anyway. I didn’t realize it was after hours, sorry.”

“That’s ok, you just surprised me. I thought I had already locked all the doors. Please have a look, and then I can follow you out. I am almost done closing up.”

I watched him smile and walk toward the event room, the most likely place for her bracelet. I turned the last set of lights off in the main library and headed that way.

Once he found the bracelet, I tried to usher him out. All the lights were off, and everything but the side door where he came in was locked. It made for an interesting atmosphere with him there with me.

“Let me follow you to your car. It is getting late.”

“Thank you.”

“I like your outfit, by the way. I am sorry I missed today’s activities. I would have loved to see you having fun with it. If I am being honest, I love hearing your voice when you read aloud.”

Biting my lip and being bashful at his compliment somehow affected him. His smile got bigger and somehow naughtier if that is a thing.

“Hopefully I am not overstepping, but that corset looks great on you.”

“I appreciate that. I like getting to wear something different every now and then, although if I am honest, I am looking forward to breathing later once it is off.”

That earned a chuckle from him, and what a delicious sound it was. I am just awkward enough to not know what to do in these situations. Not that I have ever been in this situation with a man like him. If I don’t really like a guy, I can be funny and confident, but add a man with a certain type of energy, and watch me overthink and vomit out nonsense.

This is why I like dominant men. I love for them to take the lead and quiet my disaster of a mind.

“How about you let me help you breathe now?”

I wasn’t sure what he meant at first. I was trying to keep up the charade of a mild-mannered librarian, but in his eyes, I saw other ideas.

There was nothing cautious about the way he asked for consent and then slowly started unraveling me as he unraveled my corset by the threads.

And suddenly, as the corset loosened and shifted, so did my professional facade.

There were no lights except the one shining through the streetlight from outside. There were no cameras inside this little library.

We were here together alone. No one here to interrupt.

No one to see the completion of my unraveling.

In the quiet and the stillness of the library, there was only the sound of the laces being untied. Somehow, I wish it were rope across my skin or his belt coming off. But this was just as good.

“So, Miss Librarian, tell me a story. One with a happy ending and how we get there.”