When Fingers Fail

"Hey." I read aloud and almost drop my phone. I fumble my fingers around the screen trying desperately to unlock it. I sit upright, frustrated, my head bubbling with excitement. Deep breath, I tell myself. I'm crazy. Crazy, crazy. Stupid! Why did I give him my number?

Okay, okay! I slide my finger carefully across the screen and hear a satisfied click before it reveals a small grey message on the top left-hand corner and I almost faint. It's him.

I click the empty message bar at the bottom of the screen and start to type. "Hey" I text, but without the full-stop at the end so he knows I didn't just copy and paste his message. I press send and quickly throw my phone across the room and fling my blanket over my head. I just can't watch.

My breathing quickens under my blankets as I start to run out of air. I'm going to have to come out sometime. My phone vibrates on the floor and despite my efforts of restraining myself from coming across as "too desperate" I scramble across the floor for the phone.

Idiot. I imagine the smirk on his face as I numbly type my reply. "Okay see you then :)" I think I just got myself a date on Friday. I collapse onto my bed and muffle and ecstatic scream into my pillow. Smooth, Beatrice.

"Where have you been all my life?" He asked that morning as I gradually stacked all of his groceries in a shopping bag. Without even looking up, I knew that comment wasn't for me. I tugged on my tatty old Kwik Mart t-shirt. It belonged to my mother, after she died I decided I would fill her place here. Here was where she spent all of her time, and this was the t-shirt she would always wear, one she wanted me to own someday... Someday came too soon. I never wanted this job, but she loved this place, and it was a part of her that I wasn't ready to let go of just yet.

I looked up, out of pure curiosity as to who this deep, bold voice belonged to. And as I shifted my gaze from the expired sausages I held in my hand to the most beautiful sky blue eyes I'd ever seen; I was lost for words, as those eyes were staring directly into mine.

"Hmm?" I hummed, a bit too cheerfully. And when I didn't get a reply I dropped my eyes and continued scanning the expired goods.

"I said. Where have you been all my life?" The stranger said with a smirk.

I looked up again.

"Me?" I croaked. He had no shame as he stared directly into my eyes and answered. "Yes."

I'm not gonna lie. He was gorgeous.

"Who are you?" I asked with a small smile to the muscles I swore I could see peeking out of his tank top.

"My name's Mark" he replied, glad to see I had left my awkward dream state.

"And you're... Beatrice?" He said, staring inquisitively at my Kwik Mart name tag.

"Uh yeah.." I replied, blushing slightly.

"Just call me Bea." I shrugged, forcing my eyes back to the groceries I was supposed to be scanning.

"Can you hurry this up?" An impatient old lady yells down the line.

"Look, let's just skip the small talk. Here's my number. Text me" he said with a smile, and then he left. I watched him stride past the other checkouts and out the door without looking back. Confident, strong, incredibly handsome. Why would he be interested in a girl like me?