Speak to Me

It was just another ordinary day in sunny California, people were making there way to work and school, some just randomly hanging around the nearest coffee shop just to waste time. It get’s tiring seeing the same thing everyday, but maybe that’s just how I think. Maybe I was the only one who wanted to stay in bed all day just to avoid the typical Monday through Friday routine. It’s not like my life was interesting anyways. I worked a 9-5 job at a bookstore, I’m a big nerd when it comes to books. It paid good but money isn’t exactly what I crave. I looked down at my watch, noticing that I had 10 minutes left of my break before I had to head back to work. Of course I let my eyes wander to the name tattooed on my wrist, just under my watch. Just the sight of the tattoo makes me miserable all over again. I hurry back into the bookstore, taking my position before glancing at the tattoo again. The story is, when a person turns sixteen, they are assigned a person that they are destined to be with forever. The tattoo given to everyone, is their future partners name. We also have these ‘life coaches’ that help us out when things get confusing. They are the only ones who know who our other halves are, but they aren’t allowed to tell us. The only thing they can tell us is if we have the wrong person. A lot of similar names can cause an issue, so that’s where they come to help.

“Excuse me, I’d like to buy this book.” A soft voice spoke, snapping me out of my thoughts. I looked down at the girl digging through her bag to find some cash.

“Sure that’d be $9.82.” I told her, placing her book in a small bag so it wouldn’t mess up.

“Here, I only have a 20. Keep the change.” She told me before grabbing her bag and heading out. I smiled, taking the extra money and placing it in my pocket. Today was pretty empty, more than usual, but I wasn’t complaining. My eyes roamed around the cream walls to the wooden bookshelves that held my imagination. Ever since I was little I loved reading. I loved to put myself into the characters shoes, I loved the rise and fall of the plot and the way I got lost into oblivion when I would read. It was like my own escape, aside from music that is. Seeing that business was slow today, I decided to pull out my phone and text my friend Jaime.

'Hey Himes, you busy?' I sent to him, getting an immediate response.

'Nope, why?' He asked,

‘Come to the bookstore, it’s slow today and I’m kind of bored.’ I texted back. Jaime didn’t live too far from here so it wouldn’t take him that long to get here. This is actually the place we met at. He was trying to find a book for his girlfriend Jessica but he couldn’t find it. After I helped him find it, we got to talking and now we’re good friends. I remember asking him how long it took him to find Jessica, considering that’s a pretty common name.

--
“It took awhile but I found her in my senior year of high school. We were paired up for this stupid History project. At the time, everyone called her Jess so I knew it couldn’t be her but after that project, we talked more and I found out her name was Jessica. She was pretty cool, never clingy and she always made me laugh. It wasn’t till a month later that I realized I was in love with her. She always read her tattoo as ‘Jamie’ instead of ‘Jaime’ so at first she didn’t know what to say when I confessed my love for her. She showed me her arm and said that I wasn’t her ‘Jamie’. I laughed at that, I told her she read the name but she didn’t believe me. The next day, I took her to my life coach and he told us that we were each others soulmates.” He laughed, smiling at the memory. “It was complicated, but it was worth it because I couldn’t be happier.” Jaime said.

“But how will I know who’s my soulmate and what if the person is a girl? I’m gay Jaime.” I confessed my worries to him. He didn’t seem phased by the fact that I was gay, which was a good thing.

“The coaches know what they are doing. If they know you’re gay, which they probably do, then your partner will also be a male.” He reassured me before giving me his number, and leaving the bookstore.
--

I was snapped out of my thoughts again by a light slap in the face. I was about to smack the person back until I realized it was Jaime.

“You dick.” I muttered, glaring at him.

“Shut up, now how can I come to your assistance?” He asked in a british tone, making me laugh.

“I don’t know man, just talk to me or something. Tell me a joke.” I told him.

“Knock, knock.” He started.

“Who’s there.” I responded.

“Oh cute guy, 3 o’clock.” He said, confusing me.

“What? That’s not how it goes.” I laughed, but he just shook his head.

“No you idiot. I’m talking about that guy that just walked in, he’s pretty attractive.” Jaime said.

“Are you sure you aren’t gay, Jaime?” I joked, earning a disapproving glare from the spiky haired mexican.

“Just look idiot.” He gritted through his teeth. I obeyed, letting my eyes roam around to where the couches where guy was sitting. There was no doubt that he was attractive. He had silky black hair, a pale skin tone and blue eyes that reminded me of the ocean. His style was amazing also. He wore a grey beanie, black skinny jeans, a red and black flannel with black TOMS. He must’ve felt my eyes on him because a couple seconds later, he looked up at me. We shared about a minute of eye contact before he went back to reading his book.

“You’re right, he is attractive.” I told Jaime. He turned around, nodding his head in the direction of the guy. “What?” I asked, confused by his actions.

“Go talk to him.” Jaime whispered, not wanting the guy to hear us. My eyes widened at his suggestion.

“What? No! He probably already thinks I’m weird for staring at him like some kind of creep.” I whispered back, my eyes lingering to the guy for a quick minute before turning my attention back to Jaime.

“Go talk to him. I have to leave anyways, maybe he’ll keep you company.” Jaime smirked.

“I’m not going to do it.” I spoke sternly. Both Jaime and I knew that I wanted to go over there and talk to the guy, I just didn’t have the guts to do so.

“You never know, maybe he could be the one.” Jaime winked at me before exiting the shop. I shook my head, letting Jaime’s words sink in. I’ve come across a couple of guys that I thought could be the ‘one’, but they weren’t. It’s honestly embarrassing to catch feelings for the wrong person. I decided to push my thoughts out of my mind and talk to the guy. Even if I make a fool out of myself or not, at least I can tell Jaime I did it. I casually make my way over to him, making sure I don’t seem to creepy or eager. When I get to the sitting area, I sit beside him which immediately catches his attention. Fuck, he’s more attractive up close. He stares at me, his eyes wide with either surprise or fear. I hope it’s the first one, I wouldn’t want him to be scared of me.

“Hi.” I choke out, giving him a small smile. He doesn’t say anything, he just continues to stare at me. “My name is Vic. What’s yours?” I ask him politely. He rolls his eyes and shakes his head, turning his attention back to his book. Okay? That was rude as hell.

“Alright then, I’ll just leave you alone now.” I said quietly but loud enough for him to hear. His face dropped for a minute, but then his jaw clenched. I don’t see what he was getting so upset about, all I did was introduce myself. I shrugged, heading back to the register where I belong. I pulled out my phone and texted Jaime, letting him know about the situation that just happened.

‘Major douche. Good setup skills Himes.’ I sent to him, putting my phone away when I saw a few customers approaching me. I checked out their books and thanked them for coming. Typical sayings at any store, but politeness always brought back customers so I couldn’t complain.

“Sorry man, maybe he was in a bad mood?” Jaime answered back a few minutes later, but I didn’t reply. I hated the feeling of rejection, but it’s part of life, what can you do about it? After an hour or two, the nameless guy left the store without even a look at me. Fucking douche. I clocked out a few minutes before closing the store for the night. Due to the fact that my car was being used by my younger brother this week, I had to walk home. Along the way to my house, I saw couples at almost every corner. It’s like someone was purposely taunt me for not finding my significant other. When I got home, I went straight to sleep with hopes of a better day tomorrow.

My name is Vic Fuentes, the forever alone 23 year old.