Smile For Me, Baby

Chapter 10

I rode down the park with my skateboard, hoping to see some of my friends there. I was glad that the park was nearly empty. A couple held hands as they strolled down the pavement. There were two kids and a parent that played on the playground. What really caught my attention was a girl sitting down on the bench, constantly glancing on her phone.

She wore faded skinny jeans and a blue sweater blouse with white sneakers. Her hair was down, showing her brown ombré highlights. She glanced down her phone every five seconds, maybe waiting for someone to text her back. She fidgeted with the end of her hair, looking a little bit agitated.

I smiled at her agitation. Without having second thoughts, I walked up to her. She was texting someone, her fingers moving fast on the keyboard. When she didn't notice, I slid to the seat next to her.

"Well someone looks annoyed." I said. She was so surprised that she jumped on her seat, her eyes going wide. Her chest were moving fast from the surprise. I chuckled at her reaction. "You look funny when you get scared." I smiled.

"You actually scared the hell out of me." She said. She steadied her breathing and sat up straighter.

"Sherlyn, right?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. She nodded nervously as I smiled. "Well, Sherlyn, whatcha doing here at the park alone?"

She blinked her eyes twice, maybe surprised at the sudden question. She must have been starstruck, the same reaction I get from one of my fans.

"W-well, I'm supposed to meet a friend here." She stuttered. She sighed and looked down at her phone again. "She's not replying to my messages." She added.

I was about to speak, until her phone buzzed again. She quickly looked at her phone. She groaned in frustration and shut her phone of, massaging her temples. I looked at her with a concerned expression.

"Are you okay?" I asked in a concerned voice.

"I'm fine." She answered. "It's just that my friend bailed on me." She sighed.

"Why?" I asked, my eyebrows furrowed.

"Her mom didn't want to come. There was a dinner she had to attend." She sighed again. "Well, it's time for me to go home." She said, standing up.

"Wait," I said, standing up next to her. "since you don't want to go home yet, I assume, maybe you would want to hang out with me for a little while." I asked shyly, scratching the back of my neck.

I took a peek of Sherlyn, who's face written with utter shock. Her eyes were as big as donuts and her mouth was slightly agape. She blinked twice before she realized what was happening.

"I mean, you don't-you don't have to, you know." I stuttered. I felt heat creeping up my neck and looked at the ground. I took one last look at Sherlyn, who was smiling.

"Sure." She answered.

I looked at Sherlyn with utter shock. For once, I felt my heart jumping out of my chest.

"R-really?" I smiled.

"Sure. I mean, I'm not sure if this is a joke or not." Sherlyn said, rubbing her elbow.

"No!" I said. "I mean, it's not a joke. I would like it if you spend time with me since my friends aren't coming, eventually." I said, heat creeping up me cheeks.

"Okay." She said, giving me a shy smile. I smiled as we both walked through the park.

As we strolled down the park, we watched the kids play on the playground as we both had a conversation. I had to admit, Sherlyn was a person you can talk about anything. When I talked about art, she immediately jumped in and told me how unique my art was when she saw it on Instagram. And when we talked about music, we found out the we both loved the same genre of music.

"Your life must be very exciting." Sherlyn said as we both sat on the park bench.

"Not really." I answered honestly. "Sometimes, some fans will want to invade your privacy and you don't have time for yourself." I said.

"It's still very exciting." Sherlyn said. "You know what I want to really be?" She asked me, raising an eyebrow. I looked at her curiously, actually inquiring myself at what she wants to be.

"I want to be a model." She smiled. I looked at her for a moment. I looked at her curves the actually made her look hot. I didn't even bother to look at her breasts, since I didn't want to be rude or anything. She looked pretty enough to be one, too. She had a model-like body and a model-like face. I smiled at her, showing her that I fully support her. "But I don't think I have a chance." She scoffed to herself.

I looked at her confusingly, my eyebrows furrowing. "Why would you think that?" I asked. She looked at me and looked back at the floor.

"Well, a model company asked me once but they didn't want me anymore because there was a different model that they wanted." She explained.

I was silent for a moment, processing her words in my mind. It didn't really make any sense. She had a hot body and a beautiful face, how can they not accept her?

At the same time, I knew what she felt, knowing about not achieving something that your desperately dreamed. I tried putting myself in her position, someone grabbing the opportunity of being something I really wanted to be.

"You shouldn't give up." I said. Sherlyn looked at me, both eyebrows raised. "I mean, there might be other opportunities that you can depend on. All you have to do is keep...believing." I smiled.

Sherlyn's laugh filled my ears. I smiled, hearing her angel-like voice. "Good one. You used one of your quotes." She smiled. "But thanks, you made me feel better." She said.

We both watched the sun go down, forgetting about the time that passed. The orange color of the sun made the clouds turn pink. The sky was turning darker as night was about to fall. Still, I was here with Sherlyn and her fascinating stories. We knew that it was getting dark, but neither of us wanted to break the moment.

After a few minutes, when the sun is finally down and the sky was shining with stars, Sherlyn had the courage to break the moment. "It's getting late." She said, disappointment in her voice. "I have to go before my mom gets mad at me." She smiled, getting up.

"Let me take you home." I said, immediately standing up. Sherlyn looked at me with a weird expression.

"Nah, it's okay." She said, waving her hand. "I just live a few blocks away." She told me.

"But it's dark." I said, looking at the sky. "You don't know, there might be many rapists and gangsters. There might also be many kidnappers." I warned.

The thought made Sherlyn cringe. "Okay, fine. But I don't want anybody touching my body." She said. I smiled, winning the small debate we just had.

As I walked her home, we both still had a steady conversation. We walked in a slow pace, not wanting to go to her house quickly to be with her more.

"Well, this is my stop." She smiled. I frowned a little bit, sighing that she already came home. "It's nice to spend time with you, Justin." She said. I nodded. Before she turned around, I grabbed her elbow and made her face me, our faces very close.

I took her phone from the back pocket and quickly typed in my number. I leaned closer and whispered on her ear. "It's nice to spend time with you, Sherlyn." The hot breath fanning her face. I put back her phone where it belonged. "Promise me you'll text me." I whispered, making my voice low and mysterious.

I hear her gulp as she nodded. I smirked and kissed her cheek, making her cheeks rosy red. "I'll see you later." I said in the same tone.

Before I turned around, I looked at her reaction. Her eyes were wide and her cheeks were bright red. Her lips were slightly agape, opened enough to know that she was clearly surprised by my action.

As I walked away, the smirk never removed from my lips.