Gavin raised a questioning eyebrow. Stan barely noticed. They were the next in line to go into the store and he was even more jazzed than before.
"Where'd she go?" Gavin asked.
"I dunno. Home?"
"What did you do?" The accusation was clear in Gavin's tone.
"Honest to God, I don't know. I gave her a hug."
"You hugged Avery?" Gavin made a sound of disbelief. "Unlikely."
"She was upset. Actually, she hugged me." He wasn't sure how to express himself. He knew what needed to be said, but not how to do it. "We need to start treating her more like a girl."
Gavin's other eyebrow joined the first. "Excuse me? Ms. Woman's Lib wants to be treated like a female? Since when?"
"Since I don't know. She'd never say it, but it would make her feel good if a guy looked at her the way we're all looking at the girl in there."
"If she had something worth looking at...."
Colby punched Gavin in the stomach. His friend doubled over. Grabbing his collar, Colby hauled him over, growling in his ear. "Try to be polite, huh? Compliment her once in awhile."
"You don't," Gavin gasped. "We all kinda treat her like a guy, cause she acts like a guy."
"Then we all need to work on it. She's one of our best friends, and we ignore her. What does that say for us?"
"Our turn!" Stan bounced around happily. Having been chosen to enter, he took a deep breath and walked through the door, grinning. To his friends' amazement, he slowed his steps and stopped jumping like a jack rabbit.
When Stan stood up straight, he reminded Colby of a Viking. His broad shoulders and blond hair hovered above the crowd. The blonde behind the counter looked up, focusing on the lanky young man. Her eyes widened and she smiled. Stan grinned, waving at her like a little kid. The girl giggled, looking away to deal with her customer. Like a huge puppy who hasn't figured out how to move, Stan capered over to the counter, leaning on it casually.
The girl glanced at him, smiling again. Her attention reverted to her customer once more, but her eyes kept drifting to the tall, blond man who stood silently, watching her every move. When the customer had concluded his business, Stan cut to the head of the line, standing directly in front of the girl. Others protested, voices rose in anger.
Stan turned, glaring down at them. The men were average height, some decidedly overweight, others scrawny. Simply by virtue of his size, Stan could intimidate them. He frowned, raising his chin in challenge. The others backed off like lemmings approaching the cliff edge. Turning his back on them, Stan smiled down at the girl. She was tall for a woman, probably 5'10", but still nine inches shorter than he.
"I'm Stan." He held out his hand.
Hesitantly, the girl took it. "Alice."
Stan's lips brushed her fingertips and she shivered, gazing up at him with huge blue eyes. Stan wound his fingers with hers, continuing to caress them.
"You seeing anyone, Alice?" he murmured against her skin.
"N-no."
"May I buy you coffee after you get off work?"
"S-sure. Thanks. I'm off at two."
Stan glanced at his watch with a nonchalant flick of his wrist. "I'll see you at two," he replied. His lips rested lingeringly on her fingers before he let go of her hand.
Alice watched him as he walked away without a backward glance. Her blue eyes followed his blond head through the crowd and out the door. Her next customer had to tap on the counter to get her attention. Clearing her throat, she smiled and went back to her job.
Stan made it to the fountain in the center of the mall before he collapsed on a bench. His friends were still in the store ogling Alice. He'd done it! He'd actually asked her out. He found it hard to believe he'd had the balls to talk to her, let alone ask her for coffee. His nerves caught up with him and he exhaled slowly, trying not to completely freak out.
His phone rang, playing Darth Vader's theme from Star Wars. Gavin's ringtone.
"Where are you, man?"
"The fountain."
"What're you doing there? I thought you wanted to see the hot chick."
"I did. I asked her out for coffee."
"You did not." Gavin's tone was scathing and derisive.
"I did! I'm meeting her at two when she gets off work."
"Oh, right. So, if I asked her what she's doing after work...."
"She'd tell you. Ask her."
He heard Gavin speaking to someone. "Hey, hiya. What's your name?"
"Alice," Stan heard faintly in the background.
"Pretty name, Alice. Like the chick in Resident Evil."
©2021 Dellani Oakes
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