Speeding down the street, all I can
think about is her. Everything I see and
everything I do reminds me of her. I
smile dreamily. Man, I must look like such a dork right now. Sitting at a stop light with an old, femme
moped and wearing a girly smile on my face.
So manly. A smirk from a man
in a pickup truck next to me confirms my fears.
As I wait for the stoplight to turn green, I try to avoid eye contact
with the man. I’m filled with relief
when the light finally turns green, and I’m able to buzz around the
corner.
As I drive past the beach, I lazily
scan my eyes through the crowd and do a double take when I notice a
brown-haired girl who looks like Melody.
I slow down and look more closely.
The girl shifts her feet back and forth restlessly and twirls her hair
around her finger. I then hear a laugh
like the tinkling of bells pass through the crowd. Sure
enough, it is her. I could recognize that sweet laugh
anywhere. By now, I’ve already passed
the beach, so I turn around. Since I’m
driving a moped, and therefore can’t go into reverse, this turn-around is a bit
awkwardly done. Well, I might as well just continue my awkwardness, I guess. I should just accept that I’m a dork and move
on.
So, I pull into the parking lot and
hesitantly begin to approach Melody. As
I get closer to her, I suddenly realize that she’s not alone; she’s talking to
another guy around my age. I scrunch up
my eyes in concentration and discover that I recognize him from school,
vaguely. I can’t help but feel a little
jealous of him and wonder what they’re talking about. I try to throw this feeling away. Be a man about it and all, you know, but
suddenly the boy Melody is with has gotten much closer to her and seems to have
touched her face. My heart sinks. I try not to jump to conclusions and reason
that perhaps there was a bug on her face or something, and that he was just
getting it off for her, but the less reasonable part of my mind is telling me
that that’s a bunch of crap. Regardless,
I try to put on as convincing of a smile as possible and, gathering up my
courage, I come up from behind Melody and tap on her shoulder. She starts in surprise and turns around. Her big brown eyes fill with light and her
lips turn up into a quirky smile as recognition seems to wash over her. With the sun shining down on her, she looks
like an angel, and I feel blessed to be in her presence. Very sentimental and romantic, I know, but
that’s me for you. Besides, chicks dig
that kind of thing, and this story probably has a mostly female audience, so it
works.
“Hello,” I say, looking from Melody
to Peter and back again. “I hope I
wasn’t, um, interrupting anything…”
“Oh, no, of course not!” Melody says. “I was just soaking up the sun, and Peter, my
friend from work here, happened to notice me while he was fishing.” She gestured to Peter. “Do you guys know each other at all? Peter goes to our school, too, but he’s a
couple grades ahead of us.”
“Yeah, I know him,” Peter says. “Micah, right?” We both study each other’s face. I find myself comparing him to me. He looks a lot more confident, which I definitely
envy, and he’s got the whole “dark rogue” thing going. Then there’s me in contrast: lanky, awkward,
and blonde. Yeah.
“Yep, that’s right. I
think I remember you, too,” I finally say, breaking out of my depressing self-
criticism. “You’re part of that band the
Turbo Toasters, right?”
Melody looks at me in confusion and
then sets her eyes on Peter. “You’re in
a band? You never told me that!
That’s so cool!”
Damn. She likes guys in bands. I need to learn how to play the guitar…
“Well, you never asked,” Peter
says. “It’s not that big of a deal. I mean, it’s not like we’re famous or
anything. It’s just for fun really.”
I decide to use this chance to
introduce my own untold secret: my moped.
Sure, it’s kind of girly, but all the better then, right? Melody will love it! Peter might tease me about it, but at least I
could grab the girl and get away. In the
end, that’s all that matters: who gets the girl.
“Speaking of things untold, I have
something to show you,” I say. “Follow
me.” Melody gives me a questioning look,
but I just beckon her to tag along.
Peter trails behind, looking unsure whether he should follow as well or
not. I
wish he wouldn’t. Man, that sounds
really selfish. I need to stop being so
jealous.
“So, what do you think?” I say,
once we’ve reached my moped.
Melody peers around me, surveying
my vehicle with a smile on her face.
“I love it!” she says.
I grin so huge my face hurts. Very attractive. Not.
Yet, she is somehow very pleased by my smile because she beams a huge
smile as well, though hers is much more attractive than mine, I’m sure. “Would you like to go for a ride?” I ask.
“That would be awesome!” she says.
“Great! Go ahead and hop on then,” I say.
Melody sidles onto the moped, and I
sit down in front of her, taking a hold of the handlebars.
“Hold on tight!” I say.
I’m overcome with pure joy, and
chills run down my spine, as I feel Melody wrap her arms around my body. I begin to think that life can’t get any
better than this, until she sighs and holds me tighter. About exploding with happiness, I rev up the
engine and speed away across the parking lot.
I disappointedly feel Melody release her hold of my body for a moment and,
sneaking a glance in my rearview mirror, I see her waving to Peter. He looks really lost and lonely. I feel guilty for a moment, but as we pull
out of the parking lot and speed down the street, all I can think about is her
again. This time, though, I don’t have to
imagine she’s here. Melody is right
behind me, holding me tight. Life is
good.
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