The Skate Shop

In retrospect, it really shouldn’t have happened.
You had thought about it, replayed the events leading up to what had happened, and came to the same conclusion again and again.
It just shouldn’t have happened. The chances of it all were way too slim.
It started when you got a call from your mom, who told you that extra orders had suddenly come in at work and she would be late picking you up. Okay, no problem; this didn’t bother you at the time. But now it seemed so unlikely that she would ever be late—or pick her work over you. Not wanting to be stuck at school for any longer, you decided to walk down to the shopping center close by. It was a nice plaza and one of the few nice parts of your town. You officially stepped into the outdoor mall, taking in the light aroma of coffee and the music drifting in from speakers you couldn’t quite pin-point the direction of. Walking around and heading for no place in particular, you soon decided to go into a Zuimez. You’d never been on a skateboard in your life, but over the recent years there had been an odd fascination with the sport. What about it exactly, you didn’t know. Maybe it was the skill involved, maybe it was the teen rebellion attached to it. Or maybe the fact that most guys you’d seen riding them were ridiculously hot.
Yeah, maybe that was it.
Whatever the reason, you decided to go in. The electronic two-toned bell sounded as you pushed open the door, greeted by the shop’s scent and skate-related products. The lines of skate decks on the back wall caught your eye and soon you made your way towards them. You stopped at the counter, staring at one on the very top row.
“Can I help you?”
The voice was silky and kind, but you hadn’t expected it; you jumped immediately, heartbeat pounding in your throat as you looked to see someone in front of you. Right away you considered him gorgeous. Straight, layered brown hair framed his face, streaks of blonde in the hair that went over his left ear. Two piercings were above both sides of his mouth, a thin horseshoe in his septum. And blue-grey eyes that were looking right at you.
You flushed, stare dropping to the floor as you stammered out something of a sentence. What is was exactly, you didn’t even know. Something about how you were just browsing.
He nodded like he understood exactly what had just come out of your mouth and then his lips curved in a small smile. “Alright. Just let me know if you need anything, okay?”
Nodding, you kept your lips together, not daring to part them and say anything back. You stood there, mouth in a line, staring at him with no thoughts running through your head except you couldn’t believe how good looking he is and how it was even possible you were even talking to him. Well, kind of talking; did this count as a conversation? You didn’t care. It was happening. Er, it had happened.
Still keeping that same smile on his face, he slipped away, knocking lightly on the glass countertop. This got your attention a little bit more, a grin on your face as you looked up to see him smiling wide also.
Deciding to go be a space cadet somewhere else, you did what you (thought) you had said and browsed the store. You’d never been into a Zuimez before, so you poked around at all the different accessories they had. Soon, however, you found your stare going back to the rows of skateboards along the back wall, studying the same deck from before. You wanted to ask him about it, but immediately backed out of the idea. It was silly; you probably weren’t even going to buy it. You didn’t skate. It was lame. Everything about this was lame. You felt like melting into a puddle of awkwardness right there, but then something in you shifted. Something just clicked into place, giving you enough confidence to make you walk up to the counter again. Granted, it wasn’t a whole lot of confidence; there was definitely an underlying fear that can only come from talking to someone you had a crush on. Wait, was this a crush? You liked him, sure, but was that still—
He walked towards you, head motioning upwards in a half-nod. “What’s up?”
You felt a small grin on your face at how casual he was, but you guess it was only something an employee of a skate shop could have. You looked to the skate deck again, awkwardly moving your fingers in a failed decision of whether or not to point at it. “I’m interested in one of the skateboards.”
“Oh, you lookin’ at a deck?” he asked, turning around to try and follow your stare. “Which one?”
“The one on the top. With the Zombie Panda.”
Turning back, you saw he was nodding, lower-lip jutted out in approval. “Nice choice. Lemme go get that down for ya.”
You nodded, watching as he disappeared for a moment, returning to place a tall ladder against the wall. The ladder reached past the top-most skate decks, and instantly the height made your heart drop towards your stomach. You brought your hands up towards your face, suddenly worried as he started to climb up.
“Isn’t that dangerous?” you asked.
He glanced back just far enough for you to catch the smile on his face. He continued climbing, shaking his head. “Nah, it’s fine; I do it all the time.”
You watched, thoughts frozen as he eventually became level with the board you wanted. When he leaned over to reach for it, your breath stopped, teeth biting into your lower lip. But then he got the deck and time began to go back to normal; it seemed that within moments he was stepping off the ladder and turning back to you.
As he set the deck flat on the counter, another employee walked behind him, taking the ladder off the wall.
“I got this for ya, Chase.” The employee said.
Chase looked over his shoulder. “Ah, thanks, man.”
The employee just nodded as he took the ladder away, your interest going back to Chase. He was examining your board, flipping it over and brushing off some dust that had gathered on the rough side of the deck.
“We’ve had this on display for a while. I was actually thinkin’ about buying it, but I’m glad you are.” He grinned, meeting your eyes with his beautiful blue ones.
You quickly snapped out of the trance. “Oh, uh, I’m not sure I’m gonna buy it. I’ve never really, um, skated or anything before…”
Chase didn’t seem surprised; he nodded kindly, setting the board back down. “It’s no problem; the basics are pretty easy to learn. I could give you a hand, if you want.”
“You—you mean like teach me?”
He shrugged, picking the board back up to examine one end. “It’s more of a part-time, request-only gig, but yeah.” A grin came to him. “If you’d like.”
You could only nod, smiling at him. A few minutes later, you had both moved over to the cash register, where he was ringing you up a complete skateboard—wheels, trunk, and all. Ha, look at you. Sounding like a pro!
“How much are your rates?” you asked, digging through your wallet to pay for the board.
“Oh, for the lessons?” Chase returned, taking your money while your receipt noisily printed out beside him.
You nodded, hand extending outward palm-up as he reached forward, fingertips lightly spreading outwards against your palm as change fell into it. Your eyes met; he winked, that small smile returning.
“Don’t know what you mean.”
Heat rushed to your face, light laughter escaping you. His smile only grew at this and before he handed you your receipt, he suddenly bent down towards it, a pen in his hand. “Oh, hold on; lemme write down my number. We can set up a time for the lessons.”
You nodded a little, butterflies swarming in your stomach. “Is texting okay?” you asked.
Shrugging with his lower lip out again, Chase handed you the receipt. “Text, call, pigeon messenger. It doesn’t matter to me.”
You laughed, agreeing as you took the skateboard and receipt. His eyes met yours again as the thin piece of paper slipped from his fingers, the two of your exchanging smiles once more.

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New message: How’s today sound?
You sat upright, a random playlist of Good Charlotte, early Green Day, and NoFX blaring from the speakers beside you. You looked down at your phone, reading the message again with a smile on your face. You had texted Chase last night, the same day you met him, just to say that you weren’t sure when your schedule would allow it but you definitely wanted to meet with him. It was a brief message that soon lead into a long texting conversation about the craziest of topics. Everything from wild cotton candy stories (his) to histories of falling/being pushed into swimming pools (yours) and of course, trying to invent the origin of pigeon messengers. The entire thing lasted for hours until you fell asleep, and it looked like your next conversation with him was about to pick up again.
You typed back: Yeah today sounds great. Sorry about last night lol accidentally fell asleep
You watched the bubble appear, the three dots letting you know that he was writing something back. You lifted your nails to your teeth, ready to start biting them when your phone buzzed again.
Guess I was just that boring! It takes talent, ____! Talent!
Another text came moments later, spaced perfectly after you had just finished laughing.
What time is best today?
You thought for a moment, considering the fact that it was a Saturday and you were doing everything you could to avoid the growing pile of homework on your desk in the corner of the room.
Whenever. You sent back.
His reply took a little bit longer to arrive; enough for you to switch apps and start browsing through Facebook. Before you even looked at the second post, however, he had replied.
I get off work at around 3. We need at least four hours to do this.
Four hours? You texted back.
Well, assuming you’d like to have dinner also.
Your heart skipped a beat. You couldn’t help but smile, teeth finding your bottom lip. Dang, he was smooth.
lol yeah of course :)
A few minutes later, you’d made plans on location and transportation (after you admitted rather reluctantly that you still didn’t have your license). He didn’t seem to mind, saying that he could drive fast enough for both of you.

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“Hey.” you greeted, sliding into the passenger’s side and shutting the door.
“Hey!” Chase returned, grinning. You noticed his cheeks were a little red; maybe he was just as nervous as you were. “How’re you doing?”
“I’m good.” you said, looking ahead of you as he started driving. “How’re you?”
“Good, good.” The car suddenly turned wide and slowed, making a U-turn as Chase let out a small sound.
“Wheeeeee…”
You laughed instantly, the car’s turning knocking the deck of your skateboard over to one side of your leg. He grinned at you and, after stopping at a stop sign, nodded to the car stereo.
“I’ve got a playlist going but feel free to hook up your phone or whatever.”
“Oh.” you said, a little surprised. Also excited; honestly, you loved sharing music with people. “Um, okay.”
After digging around in your phone for the right playlist, you gave up and settled for making a mix of two favorite bands. Grinning, you reached for the cord he had already unplugged from his phone.
“Hope you haven’t heard of these guys.” you said.
From the corner of your eye, you saw Chase raise an eyebrow from behind his sunglasses.
“Damn hipster music.” he mumbled, lightly teasing you.
You laughed. “They’re not hipster!” you exclaimed, shoving him lightly.
“Hey!” he said, playing along. “I’m driving. That’s dangerous, yo!” The lanes around his car were empty, giving him room to swerve a little. “I’m already a bad driver!”
Your quiet shout of surprise turned into more laughter as he drove straight again. When both of you had calmed down, he waved a hand at his stereo, grin still on his face. “But yeah, whatever you wanna play.”
“Hmm…” You scrolled through your collection of songs, pretending to look for one. “Even Norwegian folk rap?”
Chase laughed. “Hey, I could dig it.”
Smiling, you started to play the mix you made of your favorite bands. As the music began to drift in through the speakers, Chase raised an eyebrow.
“Is this Norwegian folk rap?” he asked.
“No,” you laughed. “It’s Bring Me The Horizon!”
“Why are they bringing me the horizon? I’m not that special!”
By the time you two had slowed to a stop beside a sidewalk, your stomach was hurting from all the laughter. The sides of your mouth hurt, too, from all the smiling, but as you looked out the window on Chase’s side, your smile faded.
“Where are we?” you asked.
Chase flashed you a smile, turning off the car and undoing his seatbelt. “Your new skating ground.” he said, getting out of the car.
Taking your skateboard in one hand, you followed him onto the sidewalk, realizing you were at a park. The drive here was so… great that you had totally forgotten the whole reason for it.
Oh, God I’m gonna fall on my face.
Chase looked over to you, one brow quirked as you realized you had said this out loud. Heat rushed to your cheeks but you just saw him smile. He took off his sunglasses, hanging them from the pocket of his jeans before shuffling a hand through his hair.
“Well, we should probably get going. Don’t wanna miss a second of you falling on your face.”
“Oh, shut up!” you said, trying to keep your smile down.
Chase laughed. “Hey, you’re the one that said it!”
A small giggle escaped you. Giving up, you shook your head, realizing you were blushing again. Ah, this might just be a long four hours…

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Despite the initial joking, you actually didn’t fall on your face. Chase showed you the very basics, demonstrating when he needed to. And really, he didn’t need to that often. It looked so daunting at first, but really the board was easy enough to control. Soon, you were gliding around from little pushes of your foot like a little toddler-pro.
Smiling, you made your way back to Chase. “I think I got it.”
“I think you got it, too.”
“Cool.” you said, your skateboard slowing to a stop a few feet in front of him. Afraid you would fall if you were completely still, you stepped off the board, watching it roll to him from your momentum. Chase lifted his foot, stepping on the board’s front and flipping it up to him. He bent over, picking it up.
“Okay, now let’s try a manual.”
“Wha…” you quietly whined.
Chase waved it away. “It’s super easy. You’ll get it in no time. Look.” He set the board down and effortlessly stepped onto it. Putting most of his weight on his back foot, he leaned back, balancing on the rear wheels. You watched, smiling a little in astonishment, as Chase held both arms up, continuing to balance. “No biggie. I could stay here all day.”
You giggled. “Well that’s ‘cause you’re actually good at this.”
“Nonsense.” He landed back on the ground, stepping off the board and rolling it to you. “Now step on that thang.”
You laughed, taking the skateboard from him again. Apprehension coiled around your chest, and as you set the board on the ground, the nervousness only increased. You miraculously hadn’t fallen yet, but what if the Universe was just winding up to really embarrass you in front of Chase, who was practically the greatest guy you’ve ever met. Ugh, this was gonna succkkk…
Hearing Chase say your name, you looked up. He was walking towards you, eyes soft and warm and welcoming. Stopping beside you, he took your hand in his. His fingers held yours, fitting through the spaces as that small smile slid onto his lips again.
“You can do this. I’m right here if anything goes wrong.”
Heat came to your face, but you didn’t look away. You looked into his eyes, thoughts and breath nearly leaving you. He squeezed your hand, the feeling bringing you back. You looked down at the board, hesitantly putting your left foot on it. You kept yourself from putting too much pressure down, but as time stretched on you knew you had to. And you wouldn’t fall; Chase was right here. Right beside you, holding your hand.
Your grip on him tightened as you stepped up with both feet and wobbled. He quickly returned the pressure, fingertips of his other hand lightly touching your shoulder in case you fell. But you regained your balance fairly quickly, and soon you stood completely still.
You looked towards him, mock irritation on your face.
“You’re still taller than me.”
Chase laughed, the smile and sound making you smile as well.
“What, did you think it’d add that much height?”
You grinned and after the joke between you had died down, looked back to the board. That nervousness in your stomach started back up again, but you took in a breath and pushed the anxiety out. Chase moved his thumb, gently brushing the side of your hand.
You can do this.
You leaned your weight back, the motion tender and very careful. After about a second, you saw the front of the board lift up, felt the wheels leave the ground. You kept leaning back, inching your weight to your back foot.
“Good, good…” Chase was saying in a whisper. “A little more… Don’t let the back of the board hit the ground.”
You kept going, the encouragement making you lose focus for a moment. But that split second was enough; you leaned back too far too fast and the board shot out from underneath you. The fall was short, gravity barely having the chance to press down on you before an arm slid behind your back. A hand held your shoulder, and in the next moment you were staring into Chase’s eyes again.
A moment passed between you two; mind’s catching up to what happened and the adrenaline beginning to wear down. Smiles came to you at the same time, relief fueling them. When Chase didn’t stand up and let go of you, when you found yourself wanting to look nowhere but his eyes, the air surrounding both of you changed. He leaned down further, you closing your eyes and meeting his lips halfway. They were light and soft; the kiss tender, delicate, loving. You kissed him again, adding only the slightest of pressure. Something to try and express all that you were feeling. The happiness, the pure contentment.
After what seemed like too short of a time, he pulled back, moving just enough to look into your eyes again. His mouth opened slightly, lips grazing against yours in the slightest of tingling touches. When he spoke, the realization finally clicked. It was a thought, a discovery, that you would keep for the remainder of your life.
You loved Chase. You loved him with a power that was so unlike anything you’d experienced before. After you had seen him standing at the counter, every moment was just re-affirming that simple, amazing statement. You loved him. You always would.
This happened in an instant, and in the next, he was speaking, lips lightly moving against yours.
“You still like me enough to go to dinner?”
Your laugh reverberated through your chest. Your hands found the back of his hair and you kissed him again, hoping that would be a good enough answer.