The Beach, The Boardwalk, The Diner, The Summer Love (gxg)

6. Jaz

I'm walking to the bookstore, alone this time because Kai said he doesn't want to spend any more money here. He has gone more than me even though it's still the beginning of the summer and we usually go together.
I'm listening to enchanted and scream singing in my head as I open the door and hear the bell ding above me. The air conditioning hits me and makes my button up that is over my tank top, fling behind me. I'm wearing blue jean shorts. A cream tank top with a green button up overtop and a cream colored hat that says "Books." on it in green letters, I figured it would fit the occasion.
I walk in and the person behind the counter doesn't even look up; he is engrossed in a book behind the counter. Kai and I have both seen him everytime we go here. He looks like he is just barely older than us, has fluffy brown hair and wire glasses. The only parts of his outfit I can see is his plain white t-shirt. He looks fit and kind of like the popular guys you would see at school. Except for the glasses and the fact that I know he likes to read. He probably gets a lot of girls. Or guys for that matter. Especially because he reads. I know a lot of book girls that would just fall for any guy that reads a book. I'm pretty sure he has seen me before, or at least has seen Kai because he comes here a lot and Kai loves talking to strangers, which is strange because he is kind of introverted.
It's a really small bookstore but they still have so many books I haven't read yet. They're not in a specific order or genre even, they're just scattered but still looks organized. I browse around the first aisle pointing out books I've already read to myself and picking up ones that I haven't. I take out my headphones to listen to the calmer, more lowkey music they have playing. Here comes the sun is playing softly but it's quiet enough in the store that I can hear it. I see they got new books in and I love being able to notice that. I admire the covers as I pick one up. I've never heard of it, it has a pretty cover, in paperback, a romance, and now it's going home with me.
As I move along to the other isles I see a mom and a kid looking at the picture books. I move to the next aisle and hear the bell for the door swing.
I am in between two long aisles of books and can see the one in front of me through the gaps in the books. I duck down slightly to get a good look. There is a girl with a pastel pink, cropped, kind of flowy tank top and jean shorts with long blonde wavy hair. I do a double take. I still can't see her face but just like every other time i've seen her. I get more confident that it's her the more I look at the back of her head. I still dont have her name.
She is looking at the books and I remind myself that I shouldn't stare because people can see me.
I stand up straight and try to decide what to do. I could go over there and talk to her, I could go over there and act like I'm looking at the same books she is, I could stay here and wait for her to talk to me. No, I can't do that. What if I never find her again? What if I try to talk to her and she's rude? Well then I know that I don't want to talk to her.
I can hear her start browsing down the aisle father and I think that this is my last chance. I go over to the other end of the shelf she is looking at. I look up hoping that she sees me too. We make eye contact and smile at each other. It doesn't look like she recognizes me. Which is weird because I know she did when we saw each other on the boardwalk with our bikes. I walk down the aisle towards her, casually, as if I am looking at these books. I can feel her eyes on me and I think she recognizes me because she looks at me for a little longer than expected. Then she looks back at the books and starts to shift towards me.
I keep walking slowly down the aisle, pausing at the right times to act like I am looking for a book and she is also walking slowly towards me still keeping her eyes on the books in front of her. We keep getting closer.
What should I say? "Hey are you the girl that i saw biking yesterday, and the girl i saw at the diner, and the girl whose chair i almost ran into as i got tossed around by a wave?" That seems a little too long.
I realize I'm fidgeting with my hands as I walk closer. We can't get any closer without moving out of each other's way. I stop moving and she does too. I feel like we are in some secret dance to get near each other. She genuinely seems to be looking at the books and I don't want to disrupt her now. I can't help but hope that she also was holding her breath just a tiny bit the closer we got to each other.
She picks up one of my favorite romance books and looks at the back. This is my chance.
Scarlett
"That book is really good." Jaz says leaning in towards me slightly, pointing at the book I'm holding.
"She talks." I think sarcastically. If i'm being honest i thought that we would just keep up this weird standing next to each other for a while.
"Yeah?" I ask, flipping through the pages
"I read it last summer and now I reread it all the time. It's really cute." I turn towards her, my face blank "Yeah, i've read a book by this author" I look down at the book in my hands. "I didn't like it much but I want to give it a try because they seem good." I say.
"Yeah..." she trails off. I can tell she wants to say something else.
"Hey, um, are you the girl I saw yesterday?" She asks and now I look at her. We're getting somewhere.
"You were on the boardwalk while the sun was rising, I thought I recognized you." I want to say no just for the fun of it but then i would feel very guilty because i recognized her too. From everywhere.
"Yeah, I was," I say nodding. "I recognized you too. Were you also the girl at the diner? We kept making eye contact and then I saw you on the boardwalk and I thought it was you."
Jaz's face lights up just a tiny bit. "Yeah yeah, that was me." She nods and looks away. "Anyway you seem pretty cool, I mean it seems like we do the same things around here." she says with a slight forced laugh.
"Thank you, and you also seem cool." I say and she smiles to herself saying thank you. I think she is nervous. I put the book she likes in my bag to buy.
We both look over to the books and start minding our own business again. "Is that going to be it?" I wonder. I pick up some books, put back some books. I go over to the next aisle and I can see her through the gaps in the books, there is still a faint smile on her face that you can see when she turns to the side.
Minutes pass and I would usually stay for longer but I was only going to pick up something for the beach not really to browse. I gotta save that for days when I am bored in the house. I pick up two thrillers each from one of my favorite authors and make my way to the cashier.
Jaz is at the other end of the bookstore, still not far because this is a small store. I get to the cash register and I know Jaz notices, she walks towards my end of the store and starts looking at the books as if she meant to come there all along.
The boy scans the books and I pay with a gift card. As he is scanning the two thrillers and one romance that Jaz said I should get, I see Jaz at the nearest shelf and make eye contact with her.
She sees that I got the book she likes and says with a smile "You should text me when you finish it, tell me if it's as good as I say" as if we already are best friends who text each other about books.
"Mhm definitely." I say making her ask for my number.
"Wait but I don't have your number." she says "Oh yeah." I laughed lightly as if I didn't notice.
"Here" I take my receipt and a pen from my bag to write down my number. I hand it to her he''Text me so i know it's you.I '' I knowget my books and head out the door with Jaz looking at the receipt. It might be a little rude to just leave her hanging like that but I am excited and anxious. I don't get talk to people often and I am smiling because she seems like she actually wants to hangout with me or text me even.
I am looking at the sidewalk grinning ear to ear with hopefully nobody staring, I can't help thinking about us in the future. Maybe we will become really close. Maybe I am jumping to far on that but it could happen and I hope it does. At the end of the day when I do finish a good book or a book someone recommended to me I want to have someone to text about it.