Amaranth (5 page)

He shifted his body’s weight toward the end of the aisle
where I stood, peeking slyly off to the side. His wandering eyes told me I was
busted. Thinking,
Might as well ease the awkwardness,
I stepped out of hibernation. “Can I help you find anything, sir?”

He tilted his head toward me, looking surprised that I spoke
to him. “Do I look old enough to be called sir?”

“Um, guess not, sorry. Just figured I’d ask.”

“Just messing with you,” he said, relaxing his stance. “I
don’t need help. Thank you, though.” He lifted the paperback in his hand,
showing me his new find, but looked down as soon as our eyes made contact,
smirking as if he’d heard some funny inside joke. Apparently, I missed it.

“Okay, then,” I said. “If you need help with something, just
let me know.” I turned to walk away, but felt him lift his eyes to my back,
freezing me in place.

He was
too
familiar. It was
beginning to annoy me. I turned around and said, “Hey, do I know you?” at the
same instant he said, “Is there a reason you’ve been watching me?”

We both chuckled, my face flushing for sure now; I could
feel the pink spread to my ears. I managed to tuck my hair in front of my ears,
covering evidence of my embarrassment. “Excuse me?”

“I just noticed you’ve been watching me from over there, and
I have to say ... I’m impressed. You spoke to me when I caught you spying.” He
shrugged. “That’s brave. It sucks to be caught people watching. Especially in
close proximity like this.” He gestured between us with his hands.

My scrambled thoughts pushed their way from my mouth. I
shook my head. “No, not spying. I just feel like I know you from somewhere ...
your face ...”

“So you were spying on me.” He grinned but his eyes glared
at me, his posture a bit tenser now.

My face burned with humiliation but I squinted, determined
to study his face for anything I recognized, perhaps the shape of his eyes and
the line of his jaw, certain the answer was sitting right there in my memory
bank, just not visible yet. He continued to stare at me, his eyes drilling into
mine. My face felt as if it were on fire.

I straightened, focusing on my response on him instead of
his scorching brown eyes. “Okay ... whatever you
wanna
call it, fine. I just thought I recognized you.”

He laughed, looking apologetic. “Look, I don’t mean to
embarrass you. I’m only joking with you. Really.” He plopped the book in his
hands back on the shelf next to him. “You
have
seen me before, actually. Met me, in fact.” He pursed his lips, hesitating. “And
now I’m embarrassed that I embarrassed
you
.” He
shyly shifted his glance downward and placed his hands in his pockets.

“Really? I thought so. I just can’t place you. I’m sorry,
how do I know you?”

“Well, I believe we met in France a while back. I recognized
you, but I didn’t want to say anything.”

Do I look old enough to be called
sir?
The memory bank immediately broke, the recollection of our meeting
in Paris sliding out. “Oh, I remember now, of course! No, I’m glad you said
something. I felt like an idiot for staring at you, I just ...” Out of words, I
wrapped my arms around my body.

“Don’t. It’s been almost two years. I didn’t expect you to
even look twice at me.”

He didn’t expect me to
look
at him? This guy was oblivious to the effect he had on people.

He broke the silence for me. “So ... you live here? In
Lafayette? Small world.”

“Yeah. Well, in the Saint
Martinville
area. How about you?”

“Yeah, I live outside of town, too.”

I was enamored with him all over again, amazed I didn’t
recognize him the minute I laid eyes on him. I said, “Uh, just for the record,
I’ve had a lot on my mind lately. And on top of that, I’m really tired today.
My mind just had to catch up I guess. But believe me, I remember you.”

“Ah, don’t mention it. I mean, we only met once. I can’t
believe it’s been almost two years since that trip, though. Sometimes I feel
like it was just yesterday that I was there.”

“Yeah, I do too sometimes. Time really flies.”

His stance relaxed more, and he leaned on the bookshelf.
“You enjoy the rest of your visit there?”

I nodded. “The best time of my life, I can’t wait to go back
someday. I never did get around to calling you. I was sort of in my own world.”
My hands suddenly felt like extra appendages; I tucked them into my back
pockets. “The whole trip was really ... important. And meeting you? It was cool
talking to someone I could relate to while I was in another country.” I stared
past his shoulders, recalling our conversation outside on the terrace that
morning. If he only knew the mess I was in now.

“Something wrong?”

I returned my attention to him, letting go of the
distraction. “No. I’m just shocked you remember
me
,
let alone how strange it is, running into you again like this.”

He nodded, his eyes fixed on mine. “Like I said, small world.”

“Ahem.” Carol reared around the corner. “Is this a friend of
yours, Camille? Or one of our customers?” She asked sweetly, but glanced over
at the register where Gina stood, slumped over on the counter flipping through
a magazine, pretending she wasn’t watching us.

“Both.” He’d spoken for me, the same phony sweetness in his
tone. I fought back a grin.

“Ah, well, that’s great. We appreciate your business, dear.
But Camille,” she turned back toward me, “I think you should wrap it up, okay?
Mingle with the other customers.” She waddled off toward the stockroom. Our
eyes surveyed the empty store as she walked away.

“Other customers?” He smirked, amused.

“Yeah, that’s Carol for
ya
.”

“So I see. Well, I’ll let you get back to work. It was nice
seeing you again though.” He grabbed the book he’d temporarily rested on the
shelf. “I’ll probably see you around again. I just started coming to this
place. It’s not like the chain stores, I like it.”

I smiled up at him, secretly bummed he was leaving. “It was
nice seeing you too. I’ll see you around then.” I reluctantly turned to head
toward the register, but noticed that he stood still, a contemplative look on
his face. I stopped politely, waiting for whatever it was he had to say, hoping
it was more than just a question about the book he was holding.

He opened his mouth to speak, but hesitated. I stood there,
feeling stupid. “Would you ... want to go get coffee or see a movie sometime?”
He spit out the words, jumbling them up as if they were all one word. “If not I
understand--”

“That’d be great.”

“I can give you my number.... Are you free tonight by any
chance?”

I shut my gaping jaw, not realizing it had been hanging
open. Could I
do
this? While I still had Andrew
to deal with? I couldn’t even imagine what a normal date would
feel
like right now. My mind began to analyze all of
the what-if scenarios.

What the hell. “Sure. I get off around five. I have a friend
visiting though, would you mind coming to my place to pick me up? Maybe hang
out for a little bit before we go out? I feel rude leaving her there alone.”

“That’ll be fine. Here’s my number.” He spoke eagerly,
moving toward me to grasp my hand. My heartbeat accelerated. He pulled a pen
from his pocket and began writing on the inside of my wrist. “Give me a call
when you get off and give me directions to your place.” He let go of my wrist
and turned for the front door. “I’ll see you tonight then.” He hung his head,
smiling warmly as he strolled off.

I said “See
ya
,” but wasn’t
certain if I’d said it quickly enough for him to hear. I was too overwhelmed
pondering this beautiful contradiction that had crossed my path not once, but
twice in my lifetime. I wanted to know of this shy, yet overtly confident dark
cloud that illuminated everything around him.

A memory of the last image I remembered of him as he left me
in Paris flashed through my mind, and I realized Andrew would have to wait. I
had a life to move on with. It was clear that Paris not only changed my life
while I was there, but a small piece of it actually manifested itself right
here -- in Louisiana of all places -- for a reason. Gavin carried a
supernatural aura that exuded something genuine, and for all of this, I knew he
was worth the risk of Andrew’s wrath.

I looked down at my wrist to examine his phone number,
smiling when I read what he wrote underneath:
“Sir,”
aka Gavin.

I did not forget his name.

Audrey stood next to me at my vanity while I contemplated
which outfit to wear, her arms folded, tapping her foot. “Okay, Camille. I know
I’m supposed to play the role of super-supportive friend here, even though
you’ve gone crazy and all. But
this
? Going out
with this new guy in the midst of an end to an abusive relationship that you’ve
yet to really
deal
with? Have you even called
the beast to tell him about next weekend yet?”

“Audrey, you’re getting on my nerves. Will you chill out?
He’s a nice guy. And I met him before, I told you.”

“For like twenty minutes! Like two
years
ago!”

“So? Isn’t that better than a complete stranger?”

In the mirror, I saw her roll her eyes. I ran a brush
through my hair, reached for my makeup, then stopped. “Audrey, look. I meant
it: he’s a nice guy. And I can’t explain it to you, I just get a good vibe from
him. He’s different. Mysterious. In a
good
way.”

I began to put mascara on. “It’s not like I’m marrying the
guy. We’re just
gonna
hang out. Stop freaking out.” I
batted my eyelashes, moved on to the lipstick. “Speaking of hanging out, you
should go get ready. He’s bringing a friend of his.”

I waited for it.

“Unbelievable!”

Here we go....

“They’ll be here in thirty minutes. When did you plan on
telling me this? And where the hell are we going for this date? Details,
woman.”

“Audrey, seriously. You sure you
wanna
be a cook? I really think you should reconsider your career. What about acting?
Do you have any idea what a drama queen you are? You’d be amazing on Broadway,
seriously.”

Her nostrils flared, and I’d swear it looked like she might
pounce and kill me.

“Camille Elizabeth Hart!”

I was pretty sure only dogs could hear her.

“Why is it that I’m being called a drama queen, when I’m the
sensible
one here?” she said. “Why are you so
composed
? I’m more worried about you than you are!”

“Exactly.” I threw down my lipstick. I was about to spill
and let her know we might have a little magic on our side, but I didn’t. She’d
really
think I was crazy if I told her that. “That’s
my point. If I’m not freaking out, you shouldn’t either. It’s my problem, so
let me be the one to worry about it.” I tossed my makeup back into the drawer
and stood, placed my hands on her shoulders. “Everything’s going to be okay. I
don’t know how, I just know it is. This is why I’m here, remember? To start
over? So please, just be happy I have a nice guy to hang out with, and come
have fun with us tonight.”

She pouted and folded her arms like the child she was.

“Please, Audrey? Let’s just put aside this
Andrew-the-barbarian drama for a few days and have fun. I
need
this.” I stared at her, waiting for her to give
in.

“
Barbarian
. I like that.
Fitting. Fine. Where are we going, so I know what the hell to wear? And who is
his friend?”

I hugged her. “Yes! Okay, just wear something casual. But
not too casual. I think we’re going up the road to a little hole-in-the-wall
joint for some dinner, but
ya
never know. His friend’s
name is Gabe. He’s our age, but Gavin didn’t give me any other details.”

“He better be good-looking. And if he’s one of those cocky
jocks, I’m bailing, got it?”

“Don’t be so shallow,” I said. “I don’t think he’s like that
anyway. Not if he hangs out with Gavin. But whatever you say, drama queen. Now
go get ready,
please
? They’ll be here soon, get
a move on it!”

“Ugh, so bossy.”

She turned and moped toward the guestroom. Did I really just
deem her an angel last night? Because I was pretty sure she was actually a
constant thorn in my side, and that angel-thing was just blind admiration.

We stepped outside the house when we heard a car approach
the drive. When the car came into sight, Audrey’s jaw dropped. “Oh my ...” She
tried again. “Holy ...”

“Crap,” I finished for her.

“You didn’t mention this guy had money, Camille.” She nudged
my arm. “I suddenly feel a tad underdressed. You?”

I glanced down at my timeworn Converse sneakers. “I didn’t
know. And how are we
gonna
fit in that thing?” I
stared at the black
Maserati
as it pulled into park
in front of us, a car so flashy, I had a hard time picturing him in it.

And then he stepped out from the driver’s side wearing a
black button-up dress shirt, sleeves rolled to his elbows, and an
expensive-looking pair of dark jeans. Not the Gavin with the old band t-shirt
and combat boots, but wherever that Gavin was tonight, I wouldn’t complain
about his absence.

“Hey you,” he said, then, hands in pockets, he walked toward
us. The enthusiasm on his face lit me up.

“Hey,” I replied, sneaking a glance at Audrey to make sure
she’d shut her mouth. “Nice car. Didn’t picture you driving a
Maserati
.”

“Thanks. I love it. Wait until you see the inside, it’s just
as nice.” He looked back at the car, peering at the passenger door while he
laughed his nervous laugh again. “Too flashy for me?”