Felix has always been the leader between the two of us. He stood up to anyone who gave me a hard time about always being anxious. He is the one who talks to women, always trying to get me to give one a chance. I never have before but he still tries. There is something so charismatic about him, they can never deny him when he turns it on.
“Sounds like a plan. I gotta think the record store would know of the band,” I mutter, hope heavy in my words.
Besides the band, I know nothing about Debi. Only that doesn’t feel right. I know how pretty she is when she comes. How sweet she sounds when she’s kissing me. I can remember how she smells, how soft her skin was, and how good her little hands felt wrapped around my hardness.
We were so close to taking the next step. I was right there, pressed against her wet heat, my cock aching to be buried to the hilt. I had her tit in my mouth as I started to thrust home. Then that damn ride started to work. They could not have waited a little longer, just long enough for me to get inside her. Only that does not feel right either, does it?
It was hot, it was raw, but it was more than two young kids not ready to be adults wanting to hook up. I told her why I want to teach. She told me how lost she is with her music. We shared parts of ourselves with each other. Just not helpful stuff like an address or phone numbers.
“Yeah they will. We will find her, dude,” Felix sobers, going serious for a moment as we stop outside a store. “If she got to you this bad, I swear we won’t stop till we find her. You’ll get the whole summer with her.”
Grinning at him, I nod. Yeah, I am going to find her. And I plan to spend this entire summer with her if she will let me. Rubbing at a sudden pain in my chest, I shake off the wave of panic. Just the summer? Will that be enough when I want to see her this bad after just one night?
Shaking off the panic before it can get its hands on me, I follow him inside the store. It’s a shoe store so we’re in and out fast. Felix does stop long enough to grab a new pair of Converse. We hit four more stores—Guess, Levi’s, Kay Bee Toys, and even Thingsville—with no luck. I am just about to give up on finding her here when I see Tape Deck.
“We have to go there. They must know about the band.”
Rushing inside, I blow past the wall of records and a big Janet Jackson display without slowing. My heart thumps in my chest as I spot the young girl behind the counter, her wild white-blonde hair crimped, head bopping to the sound of whatever record she has playing.
“Hello, miss, I was looking for something from a local band? Maybe you have heard of them? Purple Hearts?”
Slowly her dark rimmed eyes slowly glance over me, heavy with judgement. In my madras shirt and jeans, I seem not up to her standards. Frustrated, I start to ask again about the band before she finally speaks.
“Totally. They’re like, the biggest local band, dude. Who doesn’t know them?”
“Yeah? Do you have records or anything? I am…I am a new fan, I guess,” I offer sheepishly as my heart pumps faster. I have found a trail!
“Dude, no way. We sell out of their stuff the day we get it. They won’t have a new record out for a while, they just finished a tour. A fan would know that,” she says with a roll of her eyes, popping gum to accentuate her cutting words.
“As I said, I am a new fan. Just met Debi Hollis last night,” I start, cutting off when the young girl lunges forward with huge eyes.
“You met Debi? Is she like, the coolest chick ever? I would just die if I met her! They sometimes come to the store to sign the records but, like, the manager is friends with them or whatever so we’re never here. Was she so pretty? I bet she was.”
Smiling at her excitement, I nod. I need to let Debi know she has another fan here that she ought to talk to. “Yes, she was amazing. I was at the fair with friends, we rode the Ferris Wheel together. I thought I ought to brush up on their music since she was so cool,” I decide not to share what we did up on that Ferris Wheel, of course.
“Totally. Tina is like besties with their songwriter, Jenna. That’s cool people. She comes in all the time for records. Well actually, I guess Jenna and Tinacan’tbe besties since Jenna is Debi’s best friend. But, yeah, she comes in sometimes and is so wicked cool.”
Talking with the young girl a while longer gives me no more helpful information. I end up buying a few records, anyway, to thank her for her time. Back at the food court I find Felix with two cute girls, both of them hanging on his every word. I wish I could be that way with women. Well, at least I wish I could be that way with one woman in particular.
I go to join him, giving up for now since we’ve been through half of this mall by now. No luck. No Debi, not even one of her records. That swell of panic I felt earlier comes back. I need to find her. I cannot go this entire summer without seeing her again. I am sitting there sulking when I see what at first I think must be a mirage.
“Debi. It’s…it’s Debi. There she is,” I whisper shout when I spot the raven-haired beauty coming out of a store.
For a moment, I consider not going over to her. Yeah I came to try to find her. I went into dozens of stores hoping to see her again. Now, seeing her in the bright light of the sunny afternoon, I am nervous. A different kind of panic hits me when I think about going over to talk to her.
“Holy shit,” Felix calls beside me, pushing me to my feet. “That girl is a total babe. Good for you, dude. We found her, go talk to her.”
“I…I think maybe I shouldn’t. I mean, what if last night it was all in my head? I mean...she’s…fuck, she’s so fucking pretty. Look at her.”
Felix does and for a moment, I kind of want to punch him. He clearly agrees that she is fucking pretty. In a little plaid dress that fits her perfectly and a jean jacket, she is absolutely adorable. Her hair spills down her hair in big waves, a huge bow holding it back from her face.
“Yeah, she is. Now go talk to her. We came here for her, dude. Go.”
Swallowing hard, I nod. Yeah, I came here for her. I cannot believe I found her, but I did. I want to see her, to talk to her again. God, I want to kiss her pink lips and feel her soft body against mine. I cross the food court towards her, almost stopping more than once when my nerves get the better of me. I almost stop just a few feet from her before she sees me.
Half a dozen things happen in that moment. My heart swells in my chest when she smiles at me. Jealousy swells inside me as I see the two men with her, wondering who they are. My gut twists as I think she might pretend not to know me, that she doesn’t even recognize me. Until she moves first, just the way she did when we kissed on that ride.
“Hello, handsome,” she hums as she presses a hand to my chest. “Lucky seeing you here? You look good in sunlight too. I wondered after last night.”
