Queen of Hearts

Two

When I pull up into the parking lot at the place I work at, it's dead quiet except for my bosses car. I turn off the ignition and lock my car, then make my way into the store.

I work at "Gourmet Cheese Central", an expensive cheese store in the middle of my town. This area is surrounded by other boutique stores, but most of them don't hire teens. My job here was a snatch, but I would be lying if I said I got it by pure skill. Manipulating hearts comes in handy a lot of the time, especially when it comes to getting a job. 

My work in the store is minimal, but surprisingly, I get paid a lot working in a boutique cheese store. Most of the time, I stand behind the counter mindlessly scrolling through my phone when my boss, Xavier, isn't looking. Costumers usually stop coming around 7 or so, but my shift is until 9. Xavier is very strict about staying the entire time, just in case a rich person comes in at 9 wanting Winnimere and Pule to snack on in their mansion. 

I gaze out the window and notice mom Mom was right; it was starting to rain. I groaned, already exhausted from having to tweak old people's hearts to buy stuff. I mean, who comes into a cheese store to not buy cheese? PLUS it makes ME look super bad at my job. 

Xavier comes out of the back room where he does all of the packaging and prepping of various cheeses. He still wears his hairnet and gloves, but quickly discards them in the garbage can. He sighs, obviously exhausted. I've never worked in the back, but it must smell interesting back there. 

"Xavier," I chirp. I give him my winning smile, one I usually save for the very stubborn moms who annoy me, and say, "why don't you go home? I don't mind closing up, plus I doubt anyone else will come."

He smiles and accepts my offer. The thing about Xavier is that he hates speaking. That's why he always hires people to work the cashier while he stays in the back packaging the cheeses. He also makes me call in the new deliveries. Truth be told, I've only heard him speak like 4 times. His voice is perfectly normal, but he probably just has anxiety speaking out loud.

I look up at the clock after he leaves, and it reads 8:45. I smile; it's a perfect time to start to close up. Closing up includes putting away all of the samples, washing down the kitchen, making sure all of the fridges are closed, and sweeping the floor. I start by putting the samples in the kitchen.

Then, as I'm putting away cheese in the kitchen, I hear the front door open. I curse under my breath, hating the person who walks in 5 minutes before closing. I throw on a winning smile and stomp my way to the cashier.

"Well hello there! Welcome to Gourmet Cheese Central! What can I get for you today!?!" I ask, almost on the verge of screaming. Seriously, I'm mega pissed. All I want is to be sitting on my couch, eating Ben and Jerry's and watching HGTV.

But then I see who's standing in my store. Usually, we just get a bunch of moms and dads who are throwing parties for more moms and dads. But the person in front of me was definitely not your common cheese buyer. 

Firstly, we don't get boys in here, unless they're foodies, which my town most certainly does not have. Second, we don't get athletes. This boy was wearing Nike shoes, Adidas shorts, and a lacrosse shirt. 

The first thing I notice is the hair, curly, brown, but soaked from the rain. Then there are his eyes, a dark brown, round, and defined. And his skin, though drenched from the rain, is the soft mocha color that I found endearing as a 10-year-old. But it was the smile that really throws me. The vibrant, illuminating smile. I'd know that smile anywhere. I gasp, catching my breath in the back of my throat. It must be him, I think. It has to be. 

"Cole?"