The first time I set eyes on her I knew right away I was in love. My heart started working double-time and I thought I was going to faint, especially when she looked directly into my eyes and flashed a very charming smile at me. I heard the pounding thud of my racing pulse in my head, which seemed to increase and become much louder as she approached me, walking gracefully, practically gliding, the short distance between us.
"Hi," she said once she stood in front of me.
My heart fluttered. "Hi."
She ran the tip of her forefinger over her lip and tilted her head slightly to the side, her twin braids swaying with the movement. She frowned at something over my shoulder, looking deep in thought, and then the frown quickly transformed into a full-blown smile and she said, "Okay, I'm ready."
All I could do was stare at her stupidly. Ready? For what? I licked my dry lips and quickly looked down at my hands, which were gripping each other in a strong chokehold. I pried them apart, cleared my throat, licked my lips again, opened my mouth to speak, knowing I was supposed to say something but completely forgetting what. My mind was all fuzzy and I could barely think straight.
A squeaking sound managed to escape from my mouth, and immediately I felt my face flush with embarrassment. Her smile seemed to widen when she noticed me blushing, which only made me redden more. I stammered something unintelligible and then firmly closed my mouth. Then I remembered what I was supposed to say, and only when I was sure I wasn't going to make a fool of myself again did I speak.
"Uh… Hi, can I… help you?"
Ugh, how embarrassing is that? Here I am at the register, behind the counter, wearing my black McDonald's visor, my red work shirt with my black name tag spelling "Elsa" in white letters, and black pants. I was sure she thought I was a loser, because only losers worked at fast food restaurants.
Her bright blue-green eyes lit up. "Yes, actually. I would like a Southwest salad, please. And a cheeseburger with extra pickles." She put great emphasis on the word extra. "I love pickles," she explained.
I wanted to tell her I was quite fond of pickles myself, but knowing I'd likely end up stumbling over my words and stuttering suavely like the idiot I am, I refrained from doing so and clumsily punched in her order. I mumbled out her total and she placed her purse on the counter and searched for her wallet, hidden somewhere among a sea of old, crumpled receipts, makeup, and other unidentifiable junk. I watched her silently, studied her beautiful freckled face. I wanted to reach across and run the back of my hand over her cheek, and my hand involuntarily came up as if I were going to do just that. Quickly I disguised it by scratching the side of my nose.
Her forehead creased in concentration as she dug around for her wallet. She sighed in frustration and apologized sheepishly, "I know it's in here somewhere. Sorry!"
I pulled on the collar of my shirt, my eyes fixed on her delicate looking hands. Before she could dump the contents of her purse all over the counter I stopped her and said, with my voice wobbling, "Don't worry about it. It's on me."
She looked up, surprised. "Really?" I nodded. She beamed and I felt myself melting. "Hey, thanks." She lifted her hand and extended it out towards me. "My name's Anna."
I took it slowly. A tingling sensation surged through my body, starting from where her hand came into contact with mine and enveloping me entirely. I suppressed the shudder of excitement bursting to come out and said almost breathlessly, "Elsa." Her hand felt so soft and smooth, I didn't want to let go of it. Reluctantly, I did. I got her an empty cup and she thanked me before going off to fill it up with whatever drink it was she desired. I peeled my eyes off her long enough to get the rest of her order. I knew this might be the last time I would ever see her, so I had one chance to make a move and ask her out. But what if she rejected? What if she said no? I'd die.
Anna came back and I bagged her food. I held on to the bag and took in a deep breath, summoning all the courage I had in me to say the words to ask her out. But before I could say anything, a blond boy that had strolled in just seconds before walked up behind her, covering her eyes and telling her to "Guess who?" She laughed, knocked his hands away and elbowed him playfully in the stomach. He pretended to be in pain and doubled over, making retching sounds. Then he straightened up and planted a small peck on her cheek.
My heart sank. Anna met my eyes and I hurriedly handed her the bag containing her salad and burger with extra pickles. "Have a nice day," I mumbled. I wasn't sure, but it looked like for a split second a flicker of disappointment washed over her features.
"Okay. Thanks," she said cheerfully. "You, too." She hesitated and looked as if she wanted to say something else, but the guy, taking the McDonald's bag from her and tucking it under his arm, tugged her away.
Gloomily I continued working, feeling as if a huge weight was on my shoulders, bringing down my mood rapidly. I did a few more orders and then cleared some tables, and the whole time all I could think about was her— Anna, this girl with her dazzling smiles, her intense turquoise eyes, her long, radiant coppery hair. I just met this girl and knew nothing about her except her name and the undeniable fact that she was gorgeous. Oh how I wish I could get to know her better. Knowing that would never happen, I sulked like a baby and even almost cried at one point. The effect this girl had on me was phenomenal. It blew me away.
When my shift ended I fetched my jacket and walked out with my hands jammed deeply inside the pockets of my pants. I went straight to my car in the parking lot and unlocked the door to get in when a voice spoke my name. I recognized the voice instantly, the sound of it made me weak and my knees buckled. I would have collapsed if I hadn't been half leaning against my car. I turned my body to see her walking towards me briskly, a determined look on her face.
"What are you still doing here?" I inquired curiously, and a little bit too excitedly. She had gotten her food over an hour ago.
"I was waiting for you," she responded simply, like there was nothing else for her to be doing.
The throbbing, pulsing red thing in my chest flipped-flopped like a fish. I was glowing inside. "You... were? Really? Why?"
"Well, I saw the way you were looking at me. And you were blushing something fierce, which I thought was the cutest thing." My face burned automatically when she brought it up and, thanks to the light shining directly over my car, she noticed and said gleefully, "Like that! You blush easily, don't you?"
"Not really." I rarely blushed over anything, except of course when a girl I had feelings for was standing inches away from me. It didn't help that my complexion was naturally pale so any time I did blush it stood out prominently.
It seemed as if she could read my mind, because she stepped closer. Intoxicatingly close. My breathing became shallow and my eyes became glued to her lips.
"So Elsa," she said huskily. "You seem like a cool person. I was wondering if you would like to come see a play with me. You see, I have an extra ticket and no one wants to go with me, not even my brother," she added, raising an eyebrow, and I realized the guy I thought was her boyfriend was actually her sibling. I wanted to leap in the air with joy.
I managed to murmur a yes. "Good," she said, slinking even closer, lifting her head up so her lips were mere inches away from mine. My hands cupped her face instinctively and our lips met softly. Just a quick kiss that lasted about five seconds. But it was enough to cause my head to spin.
She stepped back, grinning, and handed me a slip of paper with her phone number on it. Then with a wink she walked off.