Time

Chapter 3

There she stood in front of the cinema, her hands fiddling with the sleeves of her red shirt. She kept debating whether to enter and see Arlo or to walk away and go about her day. It had been about two weeks since they last saw one another and she thought she would make the effort to see him in person. They kept texting but it wasn't the same.

However, she froze. Fear held her in place. The fear that he would not be thrilled to see her at his work place, or that he had moved on and only wished to be her friend and nothing more. She kept thinking back to the words he spoke a few weeks ago, ' how could I avoid a beautiful girl such as yourself?'  She tried reassuring herself that she was merely overthinking the situation, however, the more she tried the more she overanalysed everything. 

A part of her hoped it was the case. She hoped that no advancement would ever take place and she could go on with her life for two reasons. The first; she did not want a repeat of her relationship with Ben. The second; her illness. 

Living with the knowledge that life would be cut short earlier than anticipated was one thing. Putting it all on another was dreadful. 

Looking up at the sign, she brought her mind back to the task at hand.

Taking a few breaths, she tried to calm herself down but it didn't work. Instead it only increased her fear. So, she decided to say a quick prayer to calm her nerves which fortunately worked. As she walked in she thought, its now or never.

Arriving at the snack bar, she spotted a girl behind the counter with no Arlo in sight. "Hi, what can I get you?" The girl asked in a cheery voice. 

"Hi, uhm I'm looking for someone by the name of Arlo Greenwood? I believe he works here." She asked in quiet voice.

"Oh yeah I know him." 

"Is he in?"

"Oh no he isn't but I do know where you can find him." She smiled mischievously. She went into the back and returned seconds later with a pen and paper in hand. Scribbling a few things onto the paper, she handed it to her. "Here is his address." 

She thanked her. Before she could head out, the girl spoke up. "So you're the girl he was talking about?" The playful smile returned. 

"He spoke of me?" Surprise was evident in her voice.

"So much he gave me a literal headache." She dramatically sighed. "Teegan right?"

"Yep."

"Jasmine. You truly are a beauty."

She blushed. 

She was at a loss for words.

Thanking her once again, she headed to the door. "Love your rosary by the way." The girl shouted behind her. She only smiled.

---- 

Standing in front of the door of his flat, she knocked. She heard some shuffling inside before hearing a loud "Who's there?"

"Uh, Teegan."

A second later, the door swung open at lightning speed, surprising Teegan. There he stood, shirtless and in black sweatpants.

"Sorry, did I wake you?" She looked at his appearance. Not only was his hair in his face, his eyes seemed to be fighting to stay open. Her eyes drifted to his chest. He truly was defined. A mole sat under his left man boob. 

"Yeah but this not so rude awakening was worth getting out of bed for." He smirked. He looked at her and noticed she wasn't staring at his face but his chest. "Should I put on a shirt?" Even though he knew the answer, he wanted to tease her a little.