But You Loved Me

I never expected to see him again. I'd hoped. But honestly, I thought the first two occasions had been purely chance and there was no way I was going to be lucky a third. But this proved otherwise.

I knew it was him. I had done from the moment he cleared his throat as he entered the store.

After a while of shuffling books and soft thuds he rounded the corner, three books stacked in his arms. He frowned for a moment when he saw me, but quickly brushed it off and approached the counter, my breath caught in my throat. This was it.

"It's you," he stated with a smile as he slid his books into across the counter to me. I swallowed.

"Hi," I replied, almost unsurely.

"He speaks," I felt myself blushing slightly and dipped my head as I began punching numbers into the register. "I'm Frank," he introduced, almost eagerly. I refrained from frowning, I was well aware of that. But what I couldn't work out was what game he was playing, but I figured my best bet was to play along. And it wasn't as though I had a game plan of my own.

"Gerard," I told him, as he handed over his cash. He smiled.

"I know," my hand paused over the register and I looked up, praying my face didn't show the hope that had suddenly filled me. "You're wearing a name tag," he pointed out, gesturing to the small badge on my shirt. The hope slowly drained away as I nodded slightly, forcing a smile onto my face. I pushed the cash into the register just as Brian appeared from his tiny office in the back of the store, he glanced around with a sigh before turning to me.

"You can get off when you're done here," he told me, sending a brief smile to Frank - the fake kind you're required to give all your customers, even if your day has been complete shit. - "I'm gonna close up early," he added, I nodded and he disappeared again. I turned back to Frank, reluctantly pushing the books back to him. I didn't want him to leave. I didn't want to face the possibility of never seeing him again.

He smiled up at me with a smile I knew all too well, the one that always had me convinced - and usually quite rightly too - that he was up to something. And with that, he turned and left, the bell above the door dinging behind him. I sighed, slumping over the counter with a groan as I desperately tried to cling onto that smile, onto a tiny glimmer of hope that it wasn't all over.

I slowly pushed myself back upright and headed to the back of the store to grab my jacket and bid my goodbyes to Brian before heading out of the back door, making contact with the cool air, the blissful kind you only ever feel when the sun is setting after a warm day. And for a brief moment, I felt calm and peaceful.
And then reality hit me with a sigh and I headed to my usual parking spot, where my battered old car waited.

I almost didn't see him, but when I did, my feet automatically slowed to an abrupt stop. He looked up with a smile, his books tucked under his arm and for a split second, it reminded me of finding him waiting outside my classes during school.

"I'm not some crazy stalker person, I swear," he promised, I bit my lip, unsure of what to say. "Back to the silent treatment?" he raised an eyebrow. "Alright, at least now you can't refuse," he shrugged, I frowned curiously which he took as a sign to continue. "Look, this might sound kinda strange, and if it creeps you out then please, just tell me to fuck off but... well I'm new in town, kinda. And, well, I don't really know many people, and you seem cool - when you talk - so I was wondering if you wanted to grab a coffee or something?" he asked, fidgeting nervously with his fingers, despite his calm disposition, and before I could even comprehend my confusion, I found myself nodding in response. He smiled widely. "Great! I'll uhm... I'll stop by the store tomorrow?" he suggested. Another nod. And then he was gone.