My Summer of Firsts

Chapter 3 - Repeat Customer

For the next several days, Elian frequented the pharmacy. Each time, he only wanted one or two items.

The first day, Elian entered, giving me heart palpitations and sweaty palms. My face felt too hot, reminding of the first time I tried vodka. It felt like the beginnings of a heat stroke. My cheeks must have been cherry red. One annoying thing about being paler than milk was that my skin became flushed with only the slightest bit of provocation. I could never hide my crushes. Thankfully, I lived in a desert so I could often blame being overheated.

"Hey, Steven."

"Hi."

He walked up to the counter, drumming his fingers on the faux-wood laminate. "Bandaids?"

"Aisle one."

He turned and looked at the aisles, all clearly marked with huge numbers. There were even small signs on each that listed the most popular items. He looked back at me with puckered lips. "Can you show me?"

I bit my lip and nodded.

He folded his arms behind his back, standing by until I rounded the counter, leading the way.

"So, what do you do for fun around here?" Elian asked.

"Not much," I mumbled, scanning the shelves, although I knew exactly where everything was, since I put it there. Somehow, my only other coworker—besides Mr. Meeks—always found an excuse to be unavailable on the days we were due for new shipments. I didn't mind it, to be honest. Our low customer volume dragged minutes into hours some days. Doing inventory helped me ignore the monotony, making the time pass faster.

"Come on, Steven." He tapped the back of his hand against my chest. "There's nothing you like doing?" He sounded skeptical.

"Um, I, uh—" I paused, my eyes going unfocused on the first aid kits as I rummaged through my mind to remember what I enjoyed doing. I blinked a few times to refocus my sight. I looked at him with such sharp clarity. He had such long eyelashes and a cute freckle on his chin. It threw me off for a second. He was so close. And so attractive.

Something finally hit my mind. "The desert."

"What about it?" he asked.

"I go there."

"Why?"

"The stars." I gulped, trying to regain my composure. "If you go out far enough, where there's no light, it's like you can see the whole universe."

"Sounds beautiful." His hazel eyes peered right into mine, hypnotizing me.

I nodded.

"Maybe you could take me sometime. I'd love to see that."

I nodded again, apparently having lost the ability to form words.

He grinned, stepping much closer. I could smell him, his sweet woody cologne with a hint of fresh sweat. I almost had a heart attack when he leaned toward me. Was he going to kiss me?

Of course not, stupid. I really hated my inexperience. I could handle myself pretty well in every other area of my life, but with this, I was utterly incompetent.

Elian leaned past me, his chest brushing against mine as he grabbed something off the shelf. He backed away from me and held up the box of bandaids. "Thanks."

I nodded. My mouth had gone bone dry, all my saliva evaporated. I was glad he didn't try to kiss me. A dry mouth didn't seem like the ideal situation for a first kiss.

He remained silent as we headed back to the register. When I handed him his bag, he said, "Bye, Steven."

Having regained enough composure to speak, I simply said, "Bye."