Because Of You

Chapter 1

Torian

"Yo, but I'm not lying though. Duke really be OD trippin." I giggled a little, shaking my head at my co-worker Dallas, as he talked about our supervisor.

"I know, he be like.. Torian! The shoe boxes ain't stacked right! Stack them again!" I mocked, laughing along with Dallas. "In my head I be thinking, this nigga really got me all the way fucked up but I do it anyways. He's lucky I need this job or I would've been quit." D laughed and shook his head at me.

I was serious though. I been working here at footlocker for a little over a year now and my boss still treats us like we're his kids. It takes so much for me not to curse his ass out everyday. The only reason I haven't yet is because one, I need this job. Two, I get first dibs on all the new shoe releases. Even though I'm not suppose to, I always put two pair to the side. A pair for me and a pair for my little sister Kailan.

Dallas and I continued chatting until a customer walked in.

He pointed to me, "You got that?" He asked looking over at me. I nodded and he made his way to the back.

"Welcome to Footlocker." I greeted with a smile. "Is there anything particular that you're looking for or.." I continued trailing off, waiting for him to answer.

"Uh yeah, actually I'm looking for those new 12's that just released. The Gym Reds? Y'all got those here?" He asked with a furrowed brow.

I nodded, "I think we might still have some left in the back. What size?" I asked walking backwards towards the shoe room in the back.

"Twelve." He smirked cutely. I nodded again and told him I'd be right back.

I walked to the back where the shoes were located and found the Jay's that he was looking for. I skimmed through the sizes until I landed on size twelve. He was lucky because it was our last size twelve. I tried to reach for the box but I was too short. I blew out a breath of air because I knew I had to call for help. I really hate being short.

"Dallas!" I shouted waiting for him to respond.

"What?!" He yelled back.

"I need your assistance sir!" He didn't say anything after that. After a couple of seconds, I heard footsteps behind me.

"What's up shorty?" He smiled goofily like he already knew what I was about to ask. I playfully rolled my eyes at the mention of him calling me shorty.

"Can you grab that size twelve for me right there, please." I pointed to the shoe box.

He nodded, "Move over shorty." He gently moved me to the side and grabbed the box, handing it over to me.

I smiled wide, "Thank you D. You the best." I kissed his cheek quickly and headed back towards the front of the store. When I got to the front, the guy was walking around the store looking at the shoes on display.

"You're a lucky guy." I announced, catching his attention. "This is the last size twelve." I giggled a little.

"I must be, I been looking for them shoes all day and you guys are the only shoe store that had any left." He chuckled.

"Did you want to try them on?" I asked.

He shook his head, "Na, just ring me up." He answered walking over to the register and pulling out his wallet.

I did as told and rung him up.

"You're total is $195.87." I said looking up at him. He pulled out two hundred dollar bills and handed them over to me.

"You know.." He started, smiling at me." When I first walked in this store. I was debating with myself on whether I wanted to ask you for your number or not." I blushed looking up at him after gathering his bag and putting it on the counter. I never really noticed how cute he was. His skin was a soft brown and looked so smooth and delicate. His hair was tapered on the sides and in the back. Cute curls were forming on the top of his head. When he smiled his dimples were deep and he had a nice set of pearly whites.