...
"And there you go, that's pretty much everything," I said as I extended my arms out.
"This place is cute."
"But you're cuter," I teased.
She checks me out from head to toe and smirks, "I beg to differ."
This whole time, we've been explicitly flirting with each other and even though I usually feel confident, her comebacks throw mine under the bus.
I kinda felt intimidated, but oddly enough, I was having so much fun.
We were the only people in the store and it was only 3 hours into the night shift - leaving us with 7 more hours until the next guards take our place.
"Soooo," Nancy sighs, "What do you wanna do?" But even before I answered, she fires back, "other than play games up there for the rest of the night."
I smiled, "I think you're beginning to know me all too well."
She leans on the nearest shelf and says with a smile, "Well if I'm only starting to get to know you, I wanna know more."
This girl is very intriguing.
Suddenly, she takes my hand and guides me through the aisles until we reached the bedding area.
The next thing I knew, she was running to a mattress and literally dives onto the bed.
My amusement has definitely gone beyond the roof.
Naively, she lifts her head to look at me and asks, "Well? Are you gonna join me?"
Without a second thought, I belly flop right beside her and she starts giggling, which gets me laughing too.
"Comfy."
"Mhmmm."
"How about some pillow talk?"
I chuckle, "We're supposed to be watching the cameras."
"We'll go up in a bit," and before she continues, she rolls onto her stomach and rests her head on her hand to look at me, "Just tell me one thing about yourself that you've never told anyone else."
Despite just meeting Nancy, I already felt so drawn to her and it kinda freaked me out. Only because I instantly told her, "This wasn't really a big deal, but when I was really young - maybe 7 years old - I actually had my first kiss with a girl. But, I lied years later and told everyone I kissed this boy when I was in the fifth grade."
"Spicy," she giggles.
"Ewww, get out of here."
"Soo, are you into girls or was that kiss an innocent mistake?"
I chuckled at her question, "I lean more to girls - men are disappointing."
"I can totally relate."
"So you're-"
"I can do both if that's what you're asking."
I instinctively snorted at how she worded her phrase.
And with a smile, she rolls her eyes and chuckles, "You know what I mean."
I smiled at her response, "Nice to know." We laid in bed for a few more seconds in silence before I said, "Now, you gotta tell me a bit about yourself. Tell me something you've never told anyone before."
I saw that she was trying really hard to dig for a story before it was masked with a wide grin, "The first time I ever got drunk at a crazy frat party, I accidentally walked into a threesome and ever since that day, I've never been the same."
My jaw dropped a bit, "No way, did the people see you?"
"Ohhh yeahh, but it's no one I've met before so I think I'm good," she says with a laugh.
"Gheezzz, Frat parties were never my thing."
"Really?"
"Yeah, why?"
"I dunno, you seem like the kinda girl that got action at parties."
I snorted, "While people were at parties, I was probably with my cat watching horror movies."
"Awwwwwwhhhhhhhh, that is super adorable."
"I was such a loser," I giggled.
Just then, Nancy moves her whole body forward and places herself in front of me with her head resting on her hand. With a down-to-earth smile and a tiny sparkle in her eyes, she says to me, "If we were friends back then, I would've joined you and your cat for horror movies over frat parties any day."
And then, an idea came to mind:
"Maybe we could do it sometime then? Just watch movies and relax."
When I looked back to her face, her gaze softened and it didn't take long for me to fall back into that trance.
"I'd love that."
In an instant, I couldn't bear to look into her gaze any longer. I felt a few butterflies and a familiar uneasiness from when my body would stress out a bit. Instead, I focused on my hands but made a mental picture of her smile.
Then, a little giggle interrupted my thoughts, "Why are your ears so red?"
My eyes widen.
Damn, I'm too easy to read...
In order to defend myself, I just said, "Pffttt, it's nothing - let's head back upstairs or something," and quickly got up from the bed.
"Okeeyy, but can we get some food? I'm kinda hungry..."
"Oh, sure! What do you wanna get?"
"Maybe we can look around the snack aisle?"
I gave her a questioning look.
"I'll obviously pay for it! I'll leave a note and everything, I'm just really hungry," and with that, she flashes the cutest pout.
I couldn't help but smile, "Alright - but did you want me to order actual food too? Maybe a pizza or something?"
"Ouuuu, that would be great! I just don't have much cash on me right now, but I'll pay you back."
I dusted it off, "it's no worries - I'll just place an order. Any preferences on pizza?"
"Nah, I'll eat anything."
"Ohhh, I got a question- "
"Yes."
"..."
"..."
"You don't even know what the question is."
"Well, I can only guess - and it's a yes for me," she says with a cheeky grin.
"So, you like pineapple on pizza???"
She crosses her arms over her chest and laughs, "I knew you'd ask me that. Yes, I actually do."
"You're like the only person I know who does," I said to her while selecting pizza options from an app.
She just shrugs and asks me, "Do you?"
And I could only shrug back, "I would eat it, but I haven't had enough to really say if I love it on pizza, you know?"
She hummed in agreement.
After a few more clicks of a button, I placed the order of a large pizza and it says it'll come within 40 minutes. But while I was going through the app, I unconsciously followed Nancy's path through my peripheral vision on her quest to finding snacks.
"Are there any snacks you want, big shot?"
I chuckled at the name, "Big shot? Hmmm, maybe get those Celebration cookies over there."
(Celebration cookies are biscuits topped with milk chocolate - sooo good)
"Oh! You know what? Give me a sec." After saying this, she runs run the corner, leaving me with the cookies in my hand. But then the sound of a push cart gets louder and louder until I finally spot her surfing the aisle on the cart.
She is so freaking adorable, I just can't.
"I GOT A CART!"
I laughed at her unnecessary yelling, "I CAN SEE THAT!"
As she gets closer to me, the cart slows down and she stops just a few feet away from me.
"Should we get more snacks?" She asks.
"Hell Yeah, and drinks?"
Her smile grows wider, "You read my mind."
For a good half hour, we played in the aisles. I'd push the cart Nancy was in away and I'd deal with her calling my name to get her back. Since she sat in the cart, I threw snacks at her from left to right and I don't think I've ever laughed so much while throwing food at someone.
At one point, we even went to the prop section and I gave her a blonde wig while she gave me this vibrant red wig - and to top it off, we even got afros.
Suddenly, my phone rang and it signalled that our pizza was ready for pickup outside.
With Nancy still in the trolley, I pushed her in lightning speed towards the front of the Superstore.
Our pizza man looked very confused, but since it was almost midnight, he didn't really question anything.
While holding the pizza box, I dramatically strutted to Nancy and handed her the box with such grace and said, "For ma lady."
"Ohhh," she says adoringly, "my knight in red extensions and yellow afro. My hero."
"Ewww shut up and hang on, I'm super hungry." Immediately after saying that, I blasted with the cart to the back of the store.
Nancy wailed and laughed as she held onto her wig and it was the cutest thing ever; I couldn't help but wear a huge grin on my face.
...
Rounds of Mario Cart, Super Smash Bros, and a few movies later, we laid on the couch at the corner of the room and continued snacking on cookies and drinking juice boxes.
"What time is it?" Nancy questioned.
I looked at my phone, "it's already 4:30," I sighed.
"Should we at least check some of the security footage in the camera room?"
"Good call."
I stood up to help Nancy onto her feet and before we left the room, she waddled to my side with the box of cookies.
Her waddle was too adorable not to notice and I chuckled at the action.
The camera room was really cramped and it had a whole wall of monitors.
"Gheez, why is this room so small?"
"Cuz the neighbourhood is quiet and only one person really checks the monitor while the other is on the floor."
"Ahh, makes sense."
"Yup. Why don't you check those screens while I deal with this side. We can finish in double the time."
She decided to get comfy on the only chair in the room and says to me, "On it boss."
It only took us about 10 minutes to view 6 hours of footage for us to find nothing out of the ordinary.
"How exciting," I sarcastically say aloud.
"I know right? Soo much action," she replies, but then continues by asking, "you tired? Wanna take a seat?" As she stands and motions at the chair.
"Nah, I'm alright," I told her as I keep my eyes on the screens.
"Really?"
"Yup! Why don't we-" I spun around way too quickly and I ended up hitting my thigh on the chair's elbow rest.
My clumsy self lost balance and I ended up grabbing the first thing I could.
And that one thing was Nancy's arm.
The next thing I knew, my face was just inches from hers.
Her wide eyes, and pink blush on her cheeks probably reflected my own.
But I was so drawn to her adorable, soft lips.
I didn't really want to back away now.
Nancy's eyes flew down to my lips and if I didn't know any better, I would think she was thinking the same thing.
Everything was slow: looking into each other's eyes, leaning in closer and closer, her hand drawing up to my neck, and-
"YEONWOO? WHERE ARE YOU??"
Ughhhh, God, you've got to be kidding me.
"Who's that?" Nancy asks as our lips were just an inch apart.
I sighed deeply, "That was Nayun, and if I'm not mistaken, Taeha is working with her too."
Her little pout made my heart skip a beat.
"YEONWOO?!?" The yelling getting louder frequently.
Not wanting them to see us in this position, I knew we had to go now.
But I really wanted to kiss her.
Instead, I move my head and place a gentle, soundless kiss on her cheek.
To be honest with you, I kinda want our first kiss to actually last.
When I pulled back, she didn't look at me and began fidgeting with my hair.
As much as I wanted to be in this room, I smiled and pulled her hands, "Come on, I'll introduce you."
...
It was already 5:30 in the morning, the sun barely touched the horizon, but the sky was lighting up beautifully. The light breeze and fresh air was definitely better than being stuck in the store for so long, but being with Nancy made everything a lot better.
"Sooo, where did you park?" I quietly asked.
"I actually walked here... And if you're wondering why I'm late if I can walk from home, I just underestimated the time it would take," she shrugs off.
"Would you like a ride home?" I offered.
"You know, that would be great."
"Cool! My car is just over there."
We walked in a comfortable silence, but suddenly, she turns to me and asks, "Would you actually like to come over for coffee? I could even make breakfast?"
My stomach did flips and my heart was trampled by her cuteness, "I'd love that."
Nancy smiled and waddled by my side with her hands behind her back and I couldn't help but smile as she trotted ahead of me.
This shift definitely takes the spot of the most action that's happened yet.
...
Something about myself: most of these stories were actually written while I commuted to and from school!
I hoped this one was alright.
Til the next,
- S.A