He never bought anything.
Rey glanced up from the record stacks again, considering the tall man hunched over the tape player at the back of the music store. For a Saturday afternoon, her grandfather's store was almost eerily quiet, the rain tapping at the front picture window being the only sound besides the jazz that lazily drifted from the overhead speakers, and it was only her and this mysterious regular. He didn't look up from the meticulous stack of tapes besides the player, large hands tripping along over the cases.
There was something comforting about seeing his long fingers plucking out new tapes to add to his pile, but she wasn't sure why. He was quiet, yes, and would nod at her politely if they did make eye contact, but everything about him, from how his pale lips would fix themselves in a scowl when no one was looking, to his shaggy black hair and beat up leather jacket, screamed "punk rock" and "alternative music."
Rey quickly dropped her eyes to the records in front as the man glanced up and back at her, as if he could feel the weight of her gaze on him. She was still trying to figure him out, but still trying to keep her distance from him.
She did know that he came every day, her grandfather seeing him on her days off. She knew his name was Ben (like her grandfather), the name neatly written on a paper tag he wore into the store one day. He almost always wore black, though today he wore a dark gray turtleneck under his worn out jacket. If Rey remembered correctly, he was a student at the local university, where she also studied, seeing him in the library stacks.
Usually with a different girl every week, her brain reminded her snidely, but she pushed it aside, not sure why she cared. She knew she wasn't pretty, no matter how much her grandfather and her friends, Finn and Poe, insisted to the contrary. It didn't surprise her that Ben's eyes slid right past her every day, sizing up the stacks of records instead of her.
At this point, she was just grateful that she seemed to have an understanding between them, a routine that prevented her from entertaining her possible little crush, a routine that allowed him to be left alone.
She'd open the store at nine each weekend morning, and he'd come in at 11:30, picking out his stack for the day. At noon, he'd leave, and she'd take her lunch break and tidy up around the store, never touching or looking at his pile, no matter how her curiosity nagged her to. There would be other customers throughout the day, or Finn and Poe would stop by to visit her, but for the most part, it was fleeting moments of interactions, something to keep her eye off the clock as she waited for 5 o'clock. He'd always slink back in the store at that time, making a beeline to claim the tape player at the back of the store. He'd slip one of the chunky headsets on and listen to his tapes until 8 o'clock, when she'd brush past him to clean up. While she swept, he'd put his tapes back, nod at her, his dark eyes kind but distant, and she'd lock the door behind him.
It was a simple routine, and she wondered when he would stop coming to the store, but she doubted he ever would stop. Which was fine, she supposed, drifting to her perch at the register, pulling her gaze to the window, forcing her to look out at the rainfall.
"Excuse me… um, Rey?" Her eyes snapped to the voice instantly, widening as she realized it was him, fidgeting nervously before her.
"I didn't know you knew my name." Rey nearly slammed her head into the cash register, cheeks burning at her blurted statement, but thankfully, he didn't comment, his gaze anchored on the countertop.
"Would you mind if I unplug the headphones? I won't if you do mind, but I figured since it's really empty in here today, and since you work in a music store, you're okay with most genres and, um..." She could see his ears pinking as he babbled, and she absentmindedly reached out and patted his hand, silencing him.
"Of course. We can plug it into the store's sound system even, if you'd like." Rey wasn't a giant fan of possibly having screamo blaring in the store, but if it kept Ben talking to her, she would live. His blush darkened, but he nodded, quickly walking to the back of the store. His movements were jittery, and Rey was surprised that he hadn't dropped his pile by the time he made it back to the desk.
Ben wouldn't meet her eyes as he offered up a nondescript tape, and without a second thought, she moved to the store's stereo, ejecting the jazz tape and replacing it. For a moment, she heard nothing, and she fretted, wondering if she had put it in backwards, but then the speakers crackled and a song quietly started up.
"Wait, you don't have to…" Ben's warning was too late as he watched Rey crank up the volume, trying to make out the words, brow furrowed at the lack of loud instruments, hearing only finger snaps and…doowhop?
…. Dom dom dom dom dom
dom be dooby
dom dom dom dom dom
dom be dooby dom
whoa whoa whoa whoa…
Rey nearly snorted with laughter, surprise getting the best of her as she found herself doubled up, wheezing silently. Ben stood petrified as Rey laughed, nearly drowning out the Beach Boy's crooning rendition of "Come Go With Me."
"I'm sorry—it's not you." Rey laughed a bit harder now, fluttering a hand at him as the other clutched at her stomach, trying to control herself. "It's me. I was expecting something a bit…"
"Heavier?" There was a grin tugging at his mouth, and Ben felt the grin widen as Rey straightened up now, still giggling as she nodded. "You do look more like a heavy metal type." She shrugged helplessly, smiling despite herself, relieved that he was chuckling too.
"I've never been a fan of that. I guess I have my mom's taste in music." At her quirked eyebrow, he explained, "Lots of Beach Boys. Some Beatles. Little bit of ABBA, too."
"Well, aren't you full of surprises?" Rey picked up the case again, looking at it a bit closer. "Trying to find a good song for your girlfriend?" she mused, eyes flicking past the various love songs on the track list.
"I don't have a girlfriend. I mean, I spend my weekends in a music store, alone." He laughed at her confusion, shrugging at her. "I mean… a lot of girls bother me. But I'm not with anyone."
"…Okay." Rey could feel herself still gaping at him and he smiled at her still. They were oblivious to the song fading out, to the next song starting up, staring at each other, almost as if they were willing a kind of comfortable silence.
"Do you need some help cleaning up?" She snapped out of it, nodding at him as she realized that it was 8 pm already. As he took the broom from her now, she couldn't help but smile. Mysterious, brooding guy listens to The Beach Boys. Well, alright then.
She filed the fact away for now, glancing at him, already looking forward to her next shift, to the next tape he asked her to play on the sound system.