Come Get Me by Michael Hunter Page A

he
had come in for some purpose he smiled sheepishly and stepped to a
shelf and began looking. He stole a glimpse towards the register
and found she was still looking at him. Knowing that his ruse
hadn’t worked he decided to just go explain what he had been
doing.
     
    Walking towards her Jim couldn’t see too
much. She was sitting down with most of her body out of view but he
guessed her height to be about five two give or take a few inches.
Her long, dark brown hair was pulled back in a ponytail that gave
her a young look but not a childish one. Quite the opposite in
fact. It made her look like an adult who wasn’t afraid to show that
she liked to have a little fun now and then. Overall he had to say
he liked it. A lot. As he approached she suddenly looked up. He was
embarrassed to have been caught staring at her so openly but he
couldn’t make himself look away. As cliché as it sounded he was
trapped by her eyes. They were the clearest blue he’d ever seen.
Oceans couldn’t compare. Her gaze left him speechless. With a great
effort, but not really wanting too, he finally was able to look
away.
     
    When he finally reached her he bashfully
looked up and saw a wary look in her eye and a grim edge around her
eyes. From it he guessed she’d seen both good times and bad in her
life and didn’t know what category he might fit under. It was a
look he hoped he’d never see again after she got to know him. He
felt stupid standing there like an idiot but he couldn’t help it.
It wasn’t exactly the first impression but it would have to do. If
he’d known someone like her was going to be there he might’ve done
things differently but knowing him it probably would’ve happened
about the same. He’d never done well with women. He’d been ok when
he was younger, but something seemed to have happened when he
graduated high school and went out into the real world. He just had
no luck. He was trying to think of something clever to say so he
could end the problem of him looking like a fool when he realized
she’d already asked him something.
     
    "Huh?" he said dumbly, "I mean, could you
repeat that? I didn’t quite hear you."
     
    "I said, Hi! My name’s Jill and this is my
store,” she said still a little wary. “I also asked if I could help
you with anything." She still wasn’t looking too sure of how to
handle him. At least he was talking now and not just staring off
into space. That was good. He guessed if someone came into the
place he worked and just stood there staring at him he would
probably be acting the same way.
     
    "No, not really," he said leaning on the
counter trying to put her at ease. It didn’t seem to be working.
"I'm just kinda reminiscing about my childhood." Seeing his words
weren’t helping much he quickly added "I grew up around here. My
friends and I used to come here all the time when someone else was
behind the counter." As he finished he tried a tentative smile to
let her know he wasn’t some maniac but it probably just made things
worse. He wasn’t doing too well. The one time he actually wanted to
make a good impression and he was doing abysmally. She was still
looking at him like he belonged more in an insane asylum than a
store. He didn’t know what else to do. Maybe it would be better if
he just left and came back later when his feet weren’t in his
mouth.
     
    "When we were little we used to come here all
the time,” he said trying again and ignoring common sense. “A
little old lady everybody called Grandma would sell us penny candy
and let us read whatever the newest comics she had." He pointed
first at the candy that was still kept behind the counter and then
at the comic book rack over in the corner trying to illustrate his
point. All the while he was talking he kept throwing little smiles
into what he was saying. Thinking about how he probably looked he
could just imagine what was going through her head. She most likely
wanted to call the cops and tell them she needed