"I honestly think your mother dropped you on your head when you were a small child." I murmured, blind underneath Annabel's hand.
"R&R" she growled playfully.
"Fine." I grumbled. "Annabel. Sweetie. What I meant was, will you please tell me where you're taking me?" I said, in my good-little-boy voice.
"No." she said simply. I could practically hear the smile in her words.
I bit down on my lip, mad at her sudden lack of confidence. She giggled at something, before finally removing her hands from my eyes. I stumbled forward, unable to stand straight after having to bend to her height for so long.
The gentle light obscured my vision, until I focused on the shelves. The rows and rows of shelves, covering every inch of the floor space of this tiny room. On the shelves were records.
Row and rows, neatly organized into bins. The colorful array of records sent my mind into an overload. Tour posters and stickers acted like a neat collage of wallpaper on the thin walls of the store.
"Wow." I breathed, gazing at the sight.
"You like it?" Annabel smiled. I looked down at her, squeezing my fingers around hers.
"What's not to like?" I demanded. "It's like heaven."
"I thought you would say that." Her answering smile distracted me.
"Where are we?" I asked.
"This is Ballad." She said significantly. To my surprise, she just strolled around the counter with the cash register, sitting on a stool behind it.
"What is Ballad?" I said slowly.
"It's a record store. My dad went to college with the owner, Jerry. He's like a member of the family. Any who, he is going outta town for a few days, and wanted to know if I could watch the shop for him. I figured you would want to help me."
"You figured right." I breathed.
"And I have another surprise." She beamed.
"What is that?" I asked, tugging out a record from a shelf. It was from a band I never heard of, which was shocking in itself.
"I don't know what you'll think of this, but it's just an idea." She warned.
"Belle, what did you do?" I asked with a devilish grin, walking forward to stand at the counter in front of her. The golden sun from the afternoon filtered in through the window, bringing a magic glow to her blond hair, like it brought it too life.
"Well, I was talking to Jerry. He said he would pay me to stay here for the week he's in Chicago . And I told him that I have a friend who is really into music. I showed him the playlists you made me and a copy of your radio show. And he said that he can give you a job here if you want. I put in a good word for you."
If it was possible for someone to fall in love with someone all over again, it would have just happened to me. Annabel's hair was curled around the shelve of her tie-dye t-shirt. I grabbed a lock, twisting it in my fingers.
"A job." I said quietly.
"A job. I figured it was better then delivering pizzas." She teased, poking my cheek with her index finger.
"It sure as hell is." I nodded towards the rows of records.
"Good." She smiled.
"I have two questions though." I admitted, twisting her fingers with mine. She probably assumed I was asking about hours or pay.
"Shoot."
"Well. In your story, you told him your 'friend' was really into music." I reminded her, putting quotes in the air around friend.
"Yeah, well. If I had said boyfriend, it might have sounded a tad biased." She admitted with a grin.
"A tad."
"Yeah. I couldn't tell him I'm dating his employee." She giggled.
"Okay. That makes sense. But I have one more question." I told her. She hesitated, waiting for me to continue. "Well it's more of a request."
"A request?"
"Yeah, well. I don't really know how to run this place. Like the requirements or the system it upholds. I'm sure there is a system."
"There is a system." She nodded seriously.
"Well, I don't know the standards of the system. It seems like you do. So I was thinking that you could stay with me, the first couple days on the job. Showing me the ropes. And what I was thinking was that, maybe, you know, you just never left."
"You want me to work here too?" she smiled.
"Yeah. I do." I admitted, looking down at our interlocked fingers.
"Well. For you, I guess I could pull a few strings." She said quietly. When I looked up, her beautiful face was twisted up with amusement.
"Good." I whispered, tucking a finger under her chin to bring her lips to mine again. She giggled quietly a moment later.
"Can I ask you a question?"
"You just did." She reminded me.
"Can I ask you two questions?" I insisted.
"You just did!" she shot back forcefully.
"Smartass." I breathed quietly and she laughed gently to herself.
"Ask away." She motioned with her hands for me to carry on.
"Why are you doing all of this for me?" I demanded, my voice suddenly soft. There was no music playing in the record store, which just seemed odd to me. But for some reason, whenever I was with Annabel, the silence didn't seem so freaking loud. It wasn't like a fight when I needed something to shut them up. With Annabel, it was comforting. Like it brought hope.
"To thank you." I looked up at her quizzically and she continued. "I mean, to thank you for being so good to me Owen. I don't know how I would have gotten through the last couple weeks with you." She murmured, ducking her head with emotion.
My finger brought her chin back up to look at me.
"Don't you dare thank me."