"Alyssa, where do picture frames go?" The deep, sleepy voice behind me shouted as I attempted to heave a bookcase onto a flatbed.
I stopped to collect my breath before shouting back, "They go up by the registers."
I turned back to what I was doing before he shouted again, "No, I mean here in the back room."
"Upstairs and to the right."
I head footsteps coming closer and then I felt breath on my arm, "Do you need any help?"
"If you don't mind."
Those words had no sooner left my mouth when I felt the bookcase resting on my right arm leave. I tried not notice the warmth and electric sparks surging as our bodies touched. I finally successfully finished my task and made my way outside to the customers car. Upon returning into the building, I began stocking the shampoo while lips syncing to the '80's soundtrack that our store played regularly.
"I was told to come help you." The same voice from earlier suddenly informed me.
I regained my composer from almost being scared to death, "If it doesn't go out yet it goes in this cart. If it does go out but there is no room on the shelf then it belongs in this cart."
We did our job in silence for the next five minutes until he broke the it again, "You know what's weird?"
"No, what's that?"
"I don't like to talk to people yet I work retail."
"That is weird."
"I also don't like to shop. Actually I hate having to shop."
"And yet here you are working retail. Crazy things, man, crazy things."
"Yeah, my mom bought me these shoes in Seattle about two years ago."
I arched an eyebrow at him, "Really?"
"Well, I picked them out because my mom just doesn't really know." He stated.
I wasn't sure how to reply to that so all I said was, "Oh." All I heard was a big sigh so I added, "I've never been to Seattle. The farthest I've ever been is Ritzville. Everyone in my family who lives past that comes east for stuff."
"Really?"
"Yep, I'm the only one from Idaho. Well, on my dad's side anyway. My mom's family is from here, Oregon, and Texas."
"Oh, cool." He licked his lips before he continued. "My family's blood makes me German, Canadian-Irish, Russian, and I have a little Native American too. Although, it's not enough to matter unlike you."
I decided to see if he could handle my sarcasm, "Unlike me? So you automatically assume stuff about me because of my dark skin?" He looked ashamed so I let out a giggle. "It's okay. I am a lot of Native American. Actually I'm half Native, a quarter Mexican, and a quarter white."
"What's that quarter white consist of?"
"Scottish, French-Canadian, and German."
"I've been taking German for the last for three years. I couldn't do Spanish."
I did my signature eyebrow arch, "Why not Spanish?"
"I can't roll my r's." He simply reported.
I just smiled and shook my head at him as we moved to the next aisle of hair ties, dryers, curlers, and straighteners. Soon the announcement came over the loudspeaker that or department had a phone call. Without hesitation, he handed me his cordless phone but it was a lost cause because we heard our other coworker walk past us with the other phone to her ear.
"I don't like answering the phone."
"I don't either but your the one with the phone." I patted his shoulder. "Sorry, buddy."
We wrapped up this aisle and met our two other coworkers to wrap up restocking our entire department. However there wasn't much left so I went for my break and he went for his lunch. We met again at the top of the break room stairs.
"Where should I go for lunch?"
"Where do you usually go?"
"Across the street to Panda Express but I don't know if I want to go there."
"Go somewhere that you can get me a milkshake." I joked with him.
He played with his keys for a minute, "Nah, I'll just go to Panda."
I waved him off, "Okay, have a good lunch."
As breaks are only fifteen minutes and lunches are a half an hour, I was back downstairs and filling our back room with the overstock that wouldn't fit on our shelves. He rejoined my right side ten minutes later since our department was resetting, I explained our routine for the next few weeks.
"If it's regular back stock, it goes on the shelves back here. If it's from the cart that doesn't go out yet, then it goes in the corresponding tote."
He licked his lips then we continued with our back stocking until he got called to help set the clearance merchandise. I was glad for that particularly watching him walk away. I had a feeling that if we continued talking, I'd blurt out my crush on him. That boy is seriously going to cause me major headaches.
