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A BLAST OF ARTIFICIALLY COOLED AIR STRUCK NAOMI'S FACE AS SHE ENTERED THE EQUIPMENT STORE. The bell above her chimed loudly. As usual, the entire store was empty with the exception Ben himself sitting by the cash register watching whatever was showing on his small television. At the sight of him, Naomi immediately felt warmer. "Hey, Ben."
The older man looked up and peered past the few shoulder-high shelves to see her figure, standing by the door in a hoodie with her hands in her pockets. His face lit right up. "Hey, yellow."
Lodged between a restaurant and a spa, the equipment store had enough space for about eight people. But the room felt endless when Naomi was there with Ben. As if the both of them could fill the entire space together and there would still be untouched areas. "You don't have to call me that anymore." Naomi passed a few isles pointlessly before coming up to meet Ben at the register.
"What do you mean?" he defended. "I've been calling you that since the day I met you."
Naomi chuckled and sat her elbows on the counter, close enough to Ben now that she could see the grey prickling his chin. "I was seven."
"And I remember it like it was yesterday," he countered. He took a bag M&M's from under the counter— a stash he always kept for her— and held it up next to his face. "You were so shy. Just like the yellow M&M in the commercial, remember?"
"Yeah." Ben's smile grew.
"And Jessica was like the green one," he continued, "Bossy and loud." They laughed at that, it was hard not to. "I've never called either of you by your real names since." He bagged the M&M for her, the soft voices from his small T.V. accentuating their laughs. Then, Ben pointed a stern index finger at her, in spite of the wide-teethed smile still staining his face and said, "That's not about to change, got it?"
Naomi raised her palms innocently, a grin tickling her lips. The walls of the store expanded. "Got it."
"Good." He slid the bag across the counter to her.
Ben's Dance Equipment Store was definitely in an odd spot in Riverside. It was swamped by white-collar businesses, banks and one car wash nearby. In fact, it was quite far from any malls or commercial businesses, truly unorthodox, which would explain why the store was usually scanty, if not empty. But because of how close it was to The Fox Performing Arts Centre, almost everyone on the Riverside Dance Academy came here. In fact, Ben knew each dancer by name.
"How're you?" he asked cautiously. "Without Jessica and all."
She glanced at the lights on the television, buying herself enough time to come up with an answer. "I'm fine," she decided on.
