Library Circulation aid Poppy is intrigued by the "library troll" in the basement. She doesn't like that everyone teases Ben for being a loner archivist more interested in his work than being social and she also thinks he is super hot. One cup of slightly spilled hot chocolate brought as a gift to bring Ben out of his office to the staff holiday party leads to a night of debauchery in the stacks.

Overall for a short story this felt uneven. From the author note at the back Ben is neuro-divergent, but this isn't exactly laid out in the story itself. Also, as a library worker, many of the details of how work life is at the library felt unrealistic. Serving alcohol at a staff party then expecting two staff members to stay and close up the library, with patrons still there, felt not quite right.

Poppy's character felt more fleshed out than Ben and their quick jump into banging at work, with coworkers still there, also didn't work for me personally.