Four
His name was Steven and his eyes were as blue as the ocean tide.
He had approached me after he spotted me standing in the young adult aisle; browsing through the various dystopian novels that were all too common these days. While my eyes hung on the cover of a girl saving her futuristic world from the monstrous government, his eyes had caught on to me.
The footsteps he took sounded like the gentle thumping of my heartbeats, and as he neared closer I could smell the deep woods scent of his cologne.
"Wouldn't expect to see a gal like you in a place like this."
His breath smelled like mint and I wanted to taste it.
"Straighten your back so your boobs look nice." Tina had told me; both of us laying in the grass, clutching onto the cold frappuccinos we had bought from the Starbucks just up the road.
"Leaning into him shows you're interested... Matt tells me that it's a big turn-on for guys to know you're totally into them."
As casually as I could, I let my back glide up straighter, and adjusted my position to face into him instead out away. I let our bodies angle towards one another and gave him a sultry smile.
"I'm full of surprises, I promise."
"I bet you are." He tilted his head and ran his fingers through his hair to lift it up and out of his eyes.
"I'm Steven." Steven was grinning now; his eyes scanning my body up and down like a predator observing it's prey. His voice was rich and velvety, washing over me like warm chocolate; absorbing me in all things sweet.
Instinctively at this fluttering feeling in my heart, I reached to pull down at the bottom of my skirt, but Steven took my hand before I could make it that far.
"Do you want to grab coffee or something?"
I found myself getting lost in the picturesque ocean that glimmered in front of me and I let myself nod my head.
"Sweet. My car is right across the street." He smiled, dropping my wrist and pointing out towards the door of the bookstore.
As reality started to fade back in, I remembered I was still clutching onto the novel I had been looking for when I walked in the store earlier in the day. The cover had the bad ass female heroine soaked in blood and firing her guns off in some unknown direction; facing an enemy we could only imagine.
"Okay, cool." I said rather quickly, trying to catch myself from blushing.
"Just let me buy this and I'll meet you outside in one second."
Steven nodded his head and turned around to walk out toward the door.
"If he asks you out, make sure you know what your doing. Show some skin, maybe kiss him a little. Just leave him wanting more... Boys are all about that sense of touch." Tina laughed, finishing her drink and licking the whipped cream off of the bottom of the straw.
"Really? But what about the words that you say, or the little romantic gestures outside of the sexual nature... Aren't they important?" I felt like a naive child next to her when it came to these types of issues. I was foolish, and inexperienced. Love was a foreign language, and Tina was trying to teach me as best as she could.
She laughed; deep and hearty, her blonde locks dancing in the late afternoon sun with each swivel of her head.
"Boys don't think with their heads, they think with their dicks Amber. A card with your feelings isn't going to get them laid.... Besides-" She put her hands up behind her head and rested back into the grass.
"Love is physical; conversation is just the side game. If women didn't talk, men's jobs would be so much easier."
I pulled my dark green wallet out of my purse and counted out the fifteen dollars that I needed in order to purchase the book. Laying the book on the counter, I turned away to place my wallet back in my purse, and turned back just in time to see a hand pull the book towards the other side and scan it.
"This one is really good. The other ones in the series don't measure up half as much."
A guy about my age stood behind the counter, putting the book in one of the grey paper bags that I had grown so accustomed to at the store.
"Really?" I smiled, taking the bag and making sure the change when back in my wallet.
"I promise. I mean, it's not 'Hunger Games' or 'Divergent' but it's still pretty fantastic."
There was a knock on the front door of the bookstore, and I saw Steven standing on the steps, giving me a smile. The guy behind the counter spotted him to.
"Well, I won't hold you up any longer. Looks like someone's looking for you. Enjoy the book."
He gave me a smile and opened up the cash register to put my bills inside. I looked up at the name tag that was hanging on the side of his shirt, just barely making it out as he turned.
"Thanks- Apollo?" I asked, stifling a laugh.
'Apollo' sighed.
"It's actually Dylan. My brother likes to mess around with my name tag... My parents own the store."
"Ah... Well Greek Mythology is never a bad thing, I promise."
I started heading for the door and pushed it open. "See you around Apollo!"
He gave me a wave and a closed lip smile, and I got into the car with Steven and we drove off down the road; running my fingers through his hair and wondering why I didn't feel satisfied in the slightest.
