𝙍𝙚𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙𝙨 𝙄𝙣 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙩𝙩𝙡𝙚

The Mookie Blaylock boys

Lizzy : *stutters* " I- uh..." she tucked her chestnut hair behind her ear and flicked her eyes down, embarrassed, "my name is Elizabeth Green, but uh, everyone calls me Lizzy"

Eddie : "Its a pleasure to meet you Lizzy Green" his voice was soft and he gazed at her curiously.  She was short and energetic with sparkly green eyes that mimicked a green sea - she looked a bit like a pixie. Eddie had never seen anyone like her and as her eyes peered through fluttery eyelashes, he felt strongly compelled to take her hand and pull her close. 

The delivery man taps his wrinkled finger on the window. Eddie and Lizzy look . He taps his watch and mouths " hurry up!". 

Eddie : * moves to the door* " I'll get it " 

Lizzy : " Actually lets take it from the back, its this way" . she leads the way and they head through the dimly lit staff room and Lizzy opens the door, but this time she shoves a stopper underneath.  The delivery man is waiting impatiently by the van . 

" next time tell your boss to have someone ready for the deliveries" . He shakes his head disapprovingly, "a pretty gal such as yourself should not be doing it all on your lonesome"

Lizzy: *takes another crate*" now don't you worry sir, Billy B has hired a new guy" 

Eddie reaches for another crate and piles it over another then lifts it with a low grunt. Lizzy meets his eye and he grins at her , winking. She blushes.

Delivery man : " good . good . Is he strong?" 

Lizzy : " i sure hope so , in fact he oughtta be in today"

Eddie : * passes her by* "Oh I am"

Lizzy :" you're the mister who plays in Mookie  Blaylock?""

Eddie chuckled lightly , " yeh that's me" 

Delivery man: " well its a good thing you came when you did." * he paused but then said* "and what kind of stupid ass name is that?!" Eddie laughs and shifts his head to push the hair away from his face.

Lizzy : I think it's funny"

They carry the boxes into the store and the delivery man leaves, tipping his hat, he left Eddie and Lizzy standing alone. Lizzy peeked shyly at him. He seemed preoccupied in thought as he looked back at her , 

Eddie: *grins* " what is it?"

Lizzy : "Tell me about Mookie Blaylock"

They head inside.

Eddie: "well its a band"

she shuts the door.

Lizzy : " i know but what else?"

Eddie : " i'm the lead singer, and its the five of us"

the walk to the front counter.

Lizzy : "Who are the others?"

Eddie : " well we have Jeff , Stone , Mike , Dave - he's our drums - and me"

Lizzy : "are you performing anywhere?"

Eddie : " Mike is tryna get a hold on a couple of gigs"

Lizzy : "Billy B is trying to add a small stage in here" *she motions at the shop interior* " i'm sure he'll let you play!"

Eddie chuckled . She looked at him confusedly, " what's funny ?"

Eddie : " our band is a little crazier than you think."

 Lizzy had opened her mouth to respond, but then her eyes landed on something that made her heart sink . Eddie had shifted his hair back again but this time she noticed a leather bracelet with two sets of initials, separated by an engraved heart.

" So he's got someone" she thought . Lizzy shifted her body away from him, suddenly the day felt hollower. " of course he has someone. he's to handsome to be single" But oh how she wished he was with her. In an instant she became detached

Lizzy : " well then. Let's get to work " 

Eddie noticed the shift in her voice . He had caught her gaze on his wrist and immediately knew she saw the bracelet. " Fucking moron!" he thought, cursing at himself . He hurriedly pulled his sleeve down, but the damage was done. 

Eddie : "so what am i doing?"

Lizzy : *coolly* " my shift ends in 20 minutes and Billy will be back any moment now. He'll show you the ropes. For now why don't you just make sure the records are alphabetized? ". 

Eddie : *cheerily* " Sure thing darling" 

"did he just call me -? why did that sound so ...comforting ?" she thought.

 There was no way that she could look at him because Lizzy was sure her eyes would betray her. Betray the feelings that had suddenly risen, and , what good would it do when he couldn't be hers anyway? 

Yet she couldn't hide the thought that perhaps- just maybe - he may want to get to know her a little more . She hoped for that possibility. Images of them flashed in her mind: their hands intertwined ; their bodies pressed against one another; Eddie breathing softly in her hair and whispering her name.

 She blushed but thankfully he hadn't seen as he made his way to one of the furthest stacks .Five minutes later Billy walked in with his cheery deep voice that rung off the stores walls. Lizzy uttered a brief "Goodbye!" then scurried out of the store. 

Eddie: "see you later!-"

But the door slammed and his voice was drowned by the bell. He sighed and smiled wistfully. Once more arranging the records, he began to think up a plan.