After Hours

2 - I wish that I could understand love

On Sunday I had hoped I'd be able to stop by Swindon Books to see if my newest crush was there, but I had already signed my soul away to go Christmas shopping with Harbor and Bailey. I knew I wouldn't be able to go, so I put the thought out of my head. But I knew that come Monday afternoon, I'd be right back at that coffee shop.

"So where are we going?" I asked Harbor and Bailey once I'd picked them both up. "Or actually, who am I kidding? You're both gonna say Target." I said, answering my own question, and then started to our closest Target.

"Yeah, like, c'mon Mel. You know us." Harbor feigned disappointment. To be honest, I don't think any of us actually knew what we were looking for at Target, but we wanted the excuse to hang out and go shopping together.

Once we pulled into the parking lot and exited my car, Harbor went to grab a cart.

"Oh my god, you should totally push me around in the shopping cart," Bailey said enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling with excitement. "You know how they do in the movies?"

Harbor watched her with a smile. "So you wanna get in the shopping cart like you're five..." They said, and Bailey nodded, "And you want me to wheel you around the parking lot?" Bailey nodded again. Harbor chuckled and shook their head. "Okay, get in loser."

I took on the role of filming their silliness as Harbor did as Bailey requested, and pushed her through the parking lot and towards the doors of the store. We got a few judgmental looks from strangers, but none of us cared.

Once we actually entered the store, Bailey exited with the cart with much-needed help from Harbor and me. I held onto the cart to keep it steady as Harbor offered their shoulders for support, and Bailey almost ended up falling into them, but she got out eventually.

"So are we looking for anything in particular or are we gonna spend the whole time ogling at clothes that we won't buy?" I asked.

"Probably the latter," Bailey answered.

"Figured as much." I chuckled.

And we actually did spend the beginning of the day doing that; Bailey was hooked on a cute sweater that she wanted to buy but knew she shouldn't, and we had to tear her away from it. She ended up picking up a scarf instead, but it was within budget so we allowed it.

"You know Carmel, I'd be so happy for you if this cute barista actually ended up being the one." Bailey said as she picked up a bag of marshmallows and threw it into the cart after we somehow ended up in the snacks section. Harbor eyed the bag for a while, and I could tell they were going to put them back when Bailey wasn't looking. The two of them were perfect for each other in that way; Bailey being an impulse buyer, and Harbor knowing what she did and didn't need. But Bailey was there to get Harbor to try new things, to push them out of their comfort zone, and I've always found that dynamic of their friendship adorable.

"You say that pretty much every time, Bay." I chuckled.

"Well, that's because it's true!" She exclaimed and put a box of fruit snacks in the cart. This Harbor immediately took out and put back on the shelf, as Bailey didn't even like fruit snacks. This suggested she put them there just for Harbor to take out, and I chuckled at that.

"You go on about romance all the time, and you're like the only one in the friend group who's never been in a relationship." Bailey went on. Harbor coughed, and Bailey added, "Okay, well, besides Harbor."

"Thank you." They nodded.

"Honestly it doesn't make any sense to me..." Bailey shook her head. "Cause you're freakin gorgeous, Mel. What are you doing?"

"She has a point." Harbor nodded their head as my two friends stared at me in wonder.

"Aaaah, don't analyze me like that." I covered my face with my hands. Sure, I'd been told that was attractive by people before. I had pretty flawless skin, thanks to my parents and Constance Wu's skincare routine, and I had my hairstylist to thank for my soft waves. The only thing I wouldn't thank my parents for is my "cute" height of five foot two, which they often spend a lot of time blaming my Filipino ancestors for.