An interesting customer (Darien pt 3)

[NOTE: This is part of a sequence of posts - start with this post!]

Andrew Matheson - ‘Andy’ to his friends, despite the fact he preferred to be called ‘Drew’ - was bored out of his mind. It had been a slow day. Scratch that, it had been a slow week. A slow month.

It was always slow, he thought to himself as he flicked a paperclip off the sales counter. The tiny metal projectile flew across the tiled store floor and landed in the empty cardboard box Andrew had set up for his ‘basket’.

So far his scoring ratio was 46 ‘baskets’ to 7 misses. He still had a couple of hours left in his shift to break his record, though. Things were clearly looking up.

He gave a long sigh and picked up another paperclip. Then he heard footsteps.

Turning his head, expecting to see another slouching octogenarian or harassed mother with child in tow, Andrew was pleasantly surprised to see a striking woman, maybe in her mid-30s. She walked with a poise that immediately caught Andrew’s eye; she seemed to know where she was going, not just ‘mall walking’ like so many others who seemed to drift past Andrew on a daily basis.

He quickly took her in from head to toe and found nothing remarkable in her clothing; cheap looking denim jacket, jeans, a white top and sneakers on her feet. Her face, though; that was what Andrew found himself looking at. First her blond hair fell about her shoulders in natural, appealing waves. Then there were her thin, slightly arched eyebrows, which gave her an inquisitive look. Finally Andrew couldn’t help notice her lips were lush and full. Although right then they lacked heavy lipstick, he immediately wondered what she’d look like in a different outfit and with better makeup.

Glancing again at her shoes, which looked cheap like the rest of her outfit, Andrew realized with a start she was looking at him. Even worse, she was coming toward him.

Before he could react, she was stood right in front of him, a playful smile on those luscious lips.

“Hi there,” she said, her voice a little deeper, a little huskier than Andrew expected, but somehow it suited her perfectly. “I was wondering if you might help me out.”

“Uh, sure,” Andrew said, wondering what exactly he could help her with. It was a pretty average store, without a complicated layout. All the clothes, shoes and other accessories they sold were on display.

“I always appreciate another set of eyes on anything I buy,” the woman was saying, “because after all, I’m not going to be the one looking at what I have on. At least, not after I leave the bedroom.”

Andrew’s attention had wandered for a second, fixating on her lips, on the way she spoke, on her throat and how it moved. She became more attractive the more he looked at her.

“So if you don’t mind; after I’ve picked out a few things and changed, would you mind dropping by and giving me your opinion?”

Andrew blinked. Was she really asking him what he thought she was asking him?

“Yes,” he said. “I mean no! I mean yes, I’d be happy to help. No I wouldn’t mind.” He felt his face flush, wishing he sounded cooler, looked cooler… was in any way cooler.

“Wonderful,” the woman said, and for the briefest of seconds she laid her hand on top of his. Andrew saw a brief glimpse at her painted nails, then she was gone, her scent the only proof she’d been there at all.