A Loving Tragedy

The Man in the Window

"Okay Jade, go ahead and stand in front of the camera on the desk. I'll tell you when to smile, okay?"

I nodded at the lady sitting behind the desk preparing the camera to take my picture. Leave it to my mother to decide that on all days to go to our new rec center and get our rec passes, it would be the day after a 2 hour physics final.

"Ready? Smile!" the lady behind the desk said cheerfully. I looked at the little black camera stationed at the desk and gave my best smile. Or at least, the best smile you can give when you're tired and annoyed. After my test today, I just wanted to go home and sleep my first day of summer away. However, my mother had other plans. She wanted to visit the new house we were renovating and swing over to the local recreation center to get a membership and tour the facilities.

The camera made a little clicking noise which I assume means that it took my picture. The lady and my mom chatted away while the computer processed my picture and placed it on my new membership pass. I wish my mother gave me a warning we were going to get our passes today because I would have tried to look decent. My hair was in a messy braid that I slept on, I had a wrinkled t shirt on, and yoga pants which I'm pretty sure were covered in dog hair. I looked like a slob, and this was the picture that would forever be on my rec membership card. Great.

While they talked I looked around the building we were in. It was huge. It was shaped like a doughnut because in the middle of the circular building was an atrium surrounded by glass windows that had plants and a little courtyard. It was so cool to look at from inside the building. You can be working out on the second floor of the building and look outside through the windows and see what was going on in the courtyard. Looking away from the center of the building, I looked at what was going on inside the rec. On the first level were ping pong and pool tables with some chairs and tables for people to sit at. Beyond the tables is a big gym for basketball and volleyball. Looking to my right was the giant indoor pool and hot tub. I was basically in heaven!

I was in awe being in the rec because Strongsville, the city we lived in before, had nothing close to a rec center like this. It was amazing here.

As I brought my attention back to the front desk where we were getting our passes, I looked past the receptionist and out the window which looked out to the parking lot. I was just looking at how you can see the city baseball fields beyond the parking lot when a guy in a golf cart parked right next to the window blocking my view. The guy took his keys from the golf cart and looked right at me, and I swear my heart stopped for a moment.

He had dark hair, maybe black or dark brown. He was tanned, and had a scruff going on his face. From the shirt he was wearing, I could tell that he worked at the city because the city logo was embroidered into his shirt. When he stood from the golf cart to walk into the rec center, he looked pretty tall. He probably towered over me, but in all honesty, it's not that hard to do with me standing at 5'4''.

He walked through the doors of the building which were right next to the desk we were standing at. As he was passing, he looked at me, and I swear he was checking me out. I know he was because I was checking him out too. As he walked away towards the gym, I turned back to my mom and the receptionist talking. My mind going wild. Who was this hot employee and can I get a personal tour of the building with him? I shook my head a little. I was honestly acting ridiculous because A) he probably had a girlfriend and B) even if he didn't, he wouldn't be into someone like me.

I'm not saying that I am ugly. I think I am okay looking. But I'm not one of those drop dead gorgeous girls who gets over 300 likes on their Instagram photo with thirty people commenting how gorgeous I am. I have black curly hair, caramel colored skin, eyes so dark brown that I sometimes wonder if they could just be black. When looking at the rest of my body, I don't have much going for me. Like I said before, I am on the short side, barely able to reach the top shelf of our pantry. The one good thing about my body would be my ass honestly. I don't know how that happened, but in the words of Sir Mix A Lot, "baby got back." But even with this one good aspect of my physique, I wouldn't say I am gorgeous. So for me to think that this tall, dark and handsome stranger would ever go for someone like me was absolutely bonkers. A thought that I needed to crush and push aside because it wasn't possible.

So for the rest of our time at that desk with the receptionist, I just kept my eyes focused on the desk so that I wouldn't meet eyes with that guy again because I know that would allow my mind to wonder again.

My mom and the lady continued to chat about how we decided to buy a house in Avon because Strongsville just wasn't safe anymore for us to live in. My mom told her about how we had to fix everything in the house and how beautiful it will look when the carpeting is pulled out and the walls are painted. They continued to drone on about houses and remodels and I felt my need for a nap grow. I was basically falling asleep standing there. I honestly don't know how I managed to stay awake for my final that morning. That test was the only thing standing not only between me and summer, but me and senior year. I was officially a senior in high school and it was a bittersweet feeling. While I was excited to go to open a new chapter in my life with college, I was sad that my time with my friends was ending.

I decided that it was too early in the summer to start thinking about college and separating from my friends. So I pushed the thought from my head and looked around the building again which was a mistake. Because as I turned my head to look, I locked eyes with the hot rec guy. He kept my gaze for a few seconds before he looked away and walked through the doors of the building and to his golf cart. Just before he drove off to wherever he was going, he looked through the window again and looked at me. I think I saw the corners of his mouth twitch into an almost smile before he turned his golf cart around and drove off.

All I could think was "holy shit" as I just replayed the image of him looking at me through the window. I couldn't believe that he checked me out and almost smiled at me. Like I looked like shit with my hair in a braid and an old t shirt that was wrinkled. Not even a drop of makeup on my face, and he still checked me out. I still doubted that he would ever go for someone like me, but I was starting to think that this rec center might just be one of my new favorite places to hang out.