Dear Diary | Proxies

iii. platform boots and the sushi incident

His eyes widened the slightest bit at the sight, but he covered it quickly. I hadn't been able to catch how tall he and Brian were when I met them last time, but with these shoes on, Tim and I were eye level, and it seemed to have caught him off guard.

"Well, good morning to you, too," I joked after he didn't make a move to talk.

"Holy shit." It was the only thing he could say as his eyes trailed over my form before crawling back to my face. "That's attractive." He spoke the words before he really thought about them, and I could tell because his eyes widened immediately after, and he turned away, hiding his face.

I giggled at that. "Do I need to do a spin or something so y'all can see it from every angle?"

Toby, not understanding that it had been a joke, nodded enthusiastically and grinned when I laughed at him. He cracked his neck and stepped forward towards me, standing incredibly close. "C-can-can I t-t-t-touch yyy-your neck-necklaces?"

Tim made a noise like he was going to tell the boy to back up and get out of my space, but stopped when I nodded at the boy. I pulled the jewelry from where they had ended up slipping into my shirt, and Toby flushed when he realized the rosary I was wearing had ended up between my tits, and I had to pull it out slowly.

Shaky fingers thumbed through the many chains I was wearing, mostly crosses and pentagrams. He seemed to take great interest in one particular necklace, a heavy silver axe on a thick silver chain. I had gotten it about a year ago but wore it today because it had reminded me of the boy; I remembered how he said he enjoyed axe-throwing. It was becoming fun to see the boy become all flustered, especially when his hand accidentally pressed against my chest a bit too hard as he reached for a specific necklace, apologies falling from his lips faster than he could catch them as he took a step or two back.

I laughed and rubbed my hand against the top of his hair. "It's okay, Tobes, I promise. No harm done."

I looked up to meet Tim's eyes as he stared at the scene in front of him, his hands holding a cheap flip phone. He had paused his texting to watch us, but when he saw me notice, he quickly turned away, grumbling to himself about how stupid Toby was acting in his eyes.

I went to ask who he was texting, but my question was answered as soon as I thought it as Brian rounded the corner, one hand stuffed into his hoodie pocket while the other snapped close his own flip phone. "Y'all have some old ass phones," I said, grinning as Tim rolled his eyes and Brian laughed.

Brian made a show of looking over me, and I felt my hand slip from Toby's head to his shoulder. Toby shuddered at the feeling, and I finally realized the sexual tension around the group. "I like the skirt," Brian said as he stepped around Tim towards me and Toby.

He was taller than me, I realized as I looked up a bit to meet his gaze. He was a good two inches above me, meaning he was about six-foot-three. I felt my breath get caught in my throat as he took in my face. He raised a hand like he was going to cup my face but paused and pushed his thumb against my cheek, effectively smudging my makeup. He hummed to himself and stepped away.

I took a shaky breath as I watched him step over to Tim, and I realized I was gripping Toby's shoulder like my life depended on it. I quickly pulled away, and he moved to stand beside me instead of partially in front. His fingers pressed lightly against my hand before deciding to not hold it, and I gave him a reassuring smile.

"So, what brings y'all to Walmart?"

Tim rolled his eyes. "Shopping, duh."

I laughed, and he seemed almost relieved to see that I didn't take the rudeness to heart. "Well, how much more do you have to get?"