Iris & Mason

1. Iris

"You know, I could make a silly name up for you too." She threatened as she joined me. "I'm just above that."

"I'm sure you are."

Despite our banter throughout each day, Delilah and I were friends. We spent almost every day together, mostly making conversation about anything and everything that came up. Sometimes we would dance around to whatever was playing as we cleaned up, or in my case, attempted to.

We hummed along to the next Sinatra song that came on, bumping our hips with each other. To be perfectly honest, Delilah was the only friend I'd managed to make here. I only moved here four months ago, and it took me two to get settled in.

I heard the bell ring from the front of the store, meaning a new customer had come in. Turning around to see a familiar face, I tapped Delilah's shoulder and nudged my head toward him.

"Nate!" She squealed and ran across the store into his arms. I watched as the two of them spun around joyfully, laughing together. Nate was Delilah's boyfriend of two years. Every once in a while he'd come and see Delilah at work. Every time he visited, they acted like he just got back from fighting in a war or something.

Watching the couple interact with each other reminded me of the one boyfriend I had in high school, Carter. It was nice to have a boyfriend, an automatic date to every dance, someone to talk to in the hallway, but there was never that love that I longed for in a relationship. I liked him as a friend, really. And I think he felt the same way.

Delilah and Nate didn't remind me of my relationship with Carter because they were similar. They were actually the opposite. You could absolutely tell that they were in love, unlike us.

"Hey Iris." Nate waved over to me.

"Hey Nate." I smiled back before turning around so I could finish organizing the sale section. I figured it would just be awkward if I stood there and watched them be all lovey dovey. I had work to do anyway. Luckily, Wednesdays were always the emptiest.

I heard the bell on the door ring once again, but this time I didn't turn around. I heard Delilah greet the customer in a much more chipper voice than she was using five minutes ago.

Finally, Fly Me to the Moon came on, setting a switch off in my brain. A smile immediately appeared on my face as I quietly sang along. I wasn't sure what it was about this song that was so special, but it was definitely special. Sinatra was a legend.

After I finished organizing, I returned to the cash register where Delilah was. "Go take a lunch break." I insisted.

"Are you sure? I know you wanted to go get something to eat." She gave me a guilty look, but I waved it off.

"I'll be fine. Go ahead, really."

Delilah smiled and collected her things. "Thanks Iris, I owe you one."

Within a few minutes, the happy couple had gone and it was just me, Sinatra, and a customer who had his back to me, scanning through the selection of new arrivals. We got new shipments every two weeks, and usually didn't sell too many records, which meant the shop would have been jam packed if they hadn't hired a certain employee by the name of Iris Webber who happened to suggest that a plethora of bookshelves be purchased to store records along the walls to prevent cluttering.

I watched as the customer turned around, holding an old Peter Paul and Mary record, definitely not from the new arrivals section. He walked up to the checkout in silence, laying the record down in front of me.

"Hello, how are you today?" I asked politely.

"Good, thanks." The guy replied with a raspy tone in his voice. I looked up to meet a pair of brown eyes, and decided to scan the rest of his face. He was biting his plump lips with perfect teeth from what I could see. Something about this guy kept me staring. Maybe it was the scattered freckles across his caramel skin or his long eyelashes.

He didn't look any more than two years older then me. I wondered if he-

"So are you going to ring it up?" He raised his eyebrow.

I froze for a second before recollecting myself. "Oh yeah, I'm sorry." Taking the record into my hands, I scanned it and let him know what his total was.

"Usually I come here at night, and the guy that works here always looks at me like I'm about to steal something, but at least he doesn't spend two minutes checking me out." He laughed before dropping a twenty dollar bill on the counter and leaving with his record, not even waiting for change or a response.

I stood there in shock, not even knowing what to think about the fact that I had just stared openly at a customer for a matter of minutes. He was hot, I had to admit, and I guess hotness hindered my ability to do my very easy job.

Due to lack of work to be done in the store, I spent the rest of my shift thinking about that one moment, not knowing what to make of it. What I thought about most was the fact that I was thinking about it, and he probably just went on with his day without a second thought. By the end of my shift, I was beating myself up for over thinking everything.

"Delilah, I'm out of here." I called over my shoulder after I collected my things. My stomach was begging for some food since I skipped lunch so the two love birds could have their moment.

"See you tomorrow, Iris!" My friend called after me.

"I need food." I muttered to myself as I began to walk down the street hurriedly.

I knew of a great Chinese spot that was always nice and quiet. Since it was usually somewhat empty, the food came quickly. That was exactly what I needed. I crossed the street and made my way to the small restaurant.

When I finally got to my destination I was a little more than slightly sweaty from my speed walking, my breathing was abnormal to say the least, and I practically knocked into three different waiters.The hostess who always wore a bright smile still welcomed me despite my frazzled state.

"Table for one?" She asked knowingly. I nodded and followed her to a booth since almost everything was available. I wondered why this place was always so empty. It could be the fact that my shift ended at eight, long after most people ate dinner.

I scanned the menu, despite the fact that I knew I was ordering Lo Mein and cream cheese wontons as always.

It did feel a little bit like déjà vu, going through this same routine at least once a week.

But just as I started to think that, something completely different happened. Something that I would never forget. For the rest of my life.