In A Perfect World

Chapter Five

I was back at work two days after the incident in the bar. I was glad - it seemed that there would be no more Adam Hawkins stalking me on the streets for a while. It also meant no more trips to bars and no more shouting at random strangers on the side of the road. Really, it was for the best. I didn't think my stress levels could take any more of it.

So there I was, back in my happy little record store watching a girl with bright red hair and a face full of metal searching through our very, very small country music section. I was tempted to take a picture to show Jack - we had a collection of hilarious stereotype-breakers we'd gradually accumulated over time - but I decided against it. I wanted to give the girl some kind of privacy but it'd also be difficult for me to explain why I was sneaking photographs like some kind of stalker if I was caught.

The girl sauntered over towards me and dumped a whole pile of country music albums onto the front desk. I lifted a single eyebrow, amused, and picked up the label scanner. "Guilty pleasure?" I asked, unable to mask the laughter in my voice.

The girl grinned back at me and tucked her fiery-coloured fringe behind her ear covered in a row of piercings. "I don't feel guilty over things that make me happy."

I shrugged; she had a valid point. As I began scanning the albums she tapped her manicured nails along the top of the bench to the song playing over our stereo. Tap. Tap. Tap-tap-tap. When I lifted my head for a short moment our eyes locked.

"I think I know you," the girl commented, scrunching her face into a frown. She then rested her hand on her cheek and tilted her head as if she was in a deep state of thought.

I noted her easily recognisable hair and the countless number of piercings on and around her face. "I'd remember you," I replied honestly. She nodded in understanding but then all of a sudden a light bulb lit up above her head.

"That's it, I remember now!" she exclaimed happily, practically leaping out of her skin. "You're the busker, the one who plays at the café sometimes. I see you around heaps."

"That'd be me," I said, blinking at this stranger in wonder. Why was she so damn excited about it?

"You're great," she added, as if she'd read my mind. "Like, X-Factor great."

I didn't take 'X-Factor great' as a compliment, but I knew she had good intentions so I let that one slide. It was actually really kind of her to compliment me that way; it wasn't every day some metal-head looking chick purchased ten country albums and praised my own talents. Just as I began to feel the blood rush to my cheeks in embarrassment I picked up the remainder of the discs and quickly continued scanning them.

After the girl paid and I handed her the bagged albums, I heard the ding of the door opening again. She took the bag, grinned at me, and turned around to face the door. I tried to catch a look at whoever had just walked in but the girl's body hid them from my view.

"Damn," she whispered, making my eyes squint in confusion. "Too bad I'm not single." Then she was gone without another word and I was left alone in a record store with two incredibly gorgeous men.

I praised the weather gods for making that day relatively cool and windy because if it was just a few degrees warmer I doubted these two guys would've decided to wear leather jackets. But today seemed to be my lucky day; clinging to each of their bodies were pairs of skinny jeans and two beaten-up looking leather jackets - one maroon and one black. My heart contracted as they moved closer, gazing around the store like they'd just arrived on another planet. Dear Lord, please give me strength and composure.

I was a tall girl, but I suspected those guys would still be a good head taller than me even in my highest platform heels. The one in the maroon jacket was even taller than his friend and had the most gorgeous chocolate-coloured skin I'd ever seen in my entire life. He also had the most chiselled jaw-line ever - it was like the gods themselves had shaped it with their glorious fingers. His eyes, darker than the night sky, caught my line of sight. He grinned and I felt my legs go to jelly.