Breed Of Emotions

Shades Of Red

        When you see the color red, what does it mean to you? Sure it can mean violence, stand for lust, and just as well represent a state of emergency. But as I stand behind this counter, staring across the small candy store, my interpretation of the color red begins to obvert.

I tap my fingers along the counter slowly to my own miserable beat, the cash register a few inches to my left, a few small samples of butterscotch and peppermint to my right, and the rest of the restaurant in front of me. The walls are a soft pastel blue, the various wooden tables are colored like a fresh cherry, somewhere between a lusty red and a candy apple pink. White streaks run across the cherry table tops from the light outside those pastel blue window frames. With my face against my hand, I feel my eyes and nose drooping from boredom. My uniform was a tacky shamrock green color, completely clashing with the rest of this restaurant's color scheme. Throughout the place are various candies, ice creams, pastries, and fruits. The store is empty, no surprise there, I mean it is a summer Thursday after all. Everyone is either at that delicious ice cream parlor across the street, or chilling at the beach slurping on popsicles, no one wants any candies in this damn heat.

I feel a single drop of sweat run from my forehead and stop at the tip of my nose. Staring at it, my eyes go cross eyed, and my maroon hair is just above my vision. It's so hot, and the taste of melted chocolate is stained across my dried tongue. I start to wonder why I'm even working here, in fact I'm so lost in my own thoughts that I don't even hear the restaurant's doors open, or the footsteps approaching me at the counter. My eyes are still crossed, focused on the sweat droplet on my nose.

"How much are the watermelons?"

With a gasp, I jerk my hand out from my cheek and jump back, nearly slipping on the squeaky clean floors. Shiny, almost sparkling in the midday light even, that soft yellow hue was untainted, anyone could tell that there hadn't been any customers lately. I took a second to catch my breath, pressing my chest with my hand, much to the amusement of the customer, shown by their loud laughter.

"Sorry, didn't mean to freak ya out there."

Embarrassed, I'm embarrassed right now. My cheeks are ablaze, there's more sweat dripping down my forehead, and I can't help but squeeze my chest with my hand. This guy was tall, almost six feet towering over me, and he had this cute, somewhat styled curly auburn hair, and a boxed beard attached to it, the same red hue as the hair on his head. But even more miraculous, his soft baby blue eyes. Like a hot spring by a volcano, they eased my aching joints just by gazing at me, almost peering into me.

"You know, you look like a watermelon." Said the red head, chuckling at his corny observation.

I give an irritated look.

"And you look like a leprechaun."

He feigned a gasp, following it with another chuckle, placing his right hand behind his head. His fingers get lost in his blazing curls as I cross my arms, trying to hide my obvious crush for him. He reached out a fair white hand, finally ceasing his laughter. This guy was something else.

"But seriously, how much to take out a cute watermelon?"

Was he...asking me out?

"Eh, excuse me?"

His smile burned through my armor like a blowtorch, if I was a watermelon, then all my seeds were dried out and malnourished. I was not the kind of guy people just asked out, to say the least. He took a step back, and looked at the table to his right. He was staring right at the gummy bears. I could feel myself getting flustered, trying to make up an excuse, any excuse to reject him. While I wiped the rest of the sweat from my forehead, I could feel it drenched in my brown eyebrows. He then lifted up one of the red gummy bears and somehow made himself irresistible.