The sky hard turned a dark color as the time neared ten o'clock. In just ten minutes, I would have to close up the shop and get to go home and lie in bed. I stock up the fresh face masks in the fridge and lock it up for the night. I empty out all the bowls that were used for testing bath bombs and other things. The bell rings on the door and I come out from the back room.
"We're closing in ten... Oh. It's you." I stop in the doorway as I see Shawn had walked in the shop. He walks through the store before stopping at the register. There's about ten feet between us.
"Paige told me you would be closing tonight." Shawn speaks. "I watched the movie you talked about."
"Which one?" I reply.
"All of them. The original Halloween. Then Blue Velvet and then Dogfight. I couldn't find Cruel Intentions." He says. "Dogfight is a pretty fucked up movie, Jasmine. I've done some pretty fucked up things myself, but taking a girl out on a date for a bet because I think she's ugly? I could never do that."
"What do you want?"
"I came to apologize."
I sigh and look down at my watch on my wrist. "You have five minutes."
"I let a friend of mine borrow the car the other night. His car was out of gas and I let him use mine to take some chick out. I should have cleaned out the car thoroughly, I know. But I'm really sorry for what happened back there the other night." Shawn says to me. "So I, I can get if you don't ever want to see me again. But I don't know if it was just me or maybe you felt it too, but I felt a connection. I feel like Rhiannon is our song."
I try my hardest not to, but fail and crack a smile. I continued to stand in the doorway and Shawn taps his finger against the wooden register once before looking at me.
"I want to see you again, Jasmine. Can I?" He asks me.
"I get off tomorrow at four." I say.
"Tomorrow at four? That works perfectly for me."
I step out of the doorway and head to restock some shampoo bars. Shawn follows me around the store and I turn around to place a hand on my hip.
"Why are you still here?" I ask.
"You're a tiny woman locking up the shop late at night all by yourself. This just screams something bad." Shawn replies.
"Oh, so you're the knight in shining armor that poses as the bodyguard?"
"I guess you could say that. No ones gonna try to tackle someone my height."
I smile and shake my head. "I don't know if you're confident or cocky."
"Maybe I'm a bit of both." Shawn replied with a casual shrug. He places his hand against the counter and I take it in mine and inspect the little bruises and small cuts he had.
"What happened?" I ask him as I take his other hand and glance at him.
"Boxing." He says.
His hands, although they looked rough, they were surprisingly soft. They were big and his veins popped through his skin. His knuckles were red and slightly bruised. A few little cuts were scattered over his knuckles and I found myself getting lost in his hands. I bring my gaze up and find Shawn looking directly at me.
"You have really pretty eyes, Jasmine." Shawn says to me. Oh dear God please don't tell me he's going to lean in.
"Your hands are cold." I say.
"Yours, too." He replies.
I let go of his hands and begin to walk away, but Shawn grabs my arm and turns me back to face him. He's incredibly handsome and I'm taken aback at the fact that he's holding me.
