Scratching Her Vinyl

Chapter 10 - DominicI'm curious as I follow her back down the strip. My curiosity turns to bewilderment as we stand outside the record store again. She starts to dig in her purse for something. Is she going shopping? Should I inform her that the store is closed?

Suddenly she pulls out a set of keys and unlocks the front door of the shop. My mouth hangs open in shock. I definitely wasn't expecting this. She owns the record shop? You have got to be kidding me.

Well, now I feel like a massive dick and I kind of want to go crawl in a hole and die. I can't believe I just did that. No wonder she was so pissed she was willing to call the whole thing off. I insulted her whole fucking livelihood.

If I had been in the same situation I probably would have felt the exact same way. She probably thinks I'm an insensitive prick now, and I find that that bothers me more than I expected it to. I don’t know why I care so much what she thinks of me, but I’m eager to redeem myself.

"Come on in," She says in an inviting tone.

While I’m not exactly thrilled at the idea of delaying our evening even more, I want to make it up to her. So I smile politely and follow her into the store, locking the door behind us. She walks over and puts her purse down by the register. I look around the shop curiously. It's small, but immaculate and well kept.

She takes a lot of pride in this place, it's evident. It's fixed up in a cutesy, yet charming kind of way. I imagine it doesn't do much business, though. It can’t, right? Not with digital media so easy to come by.

I try not to dwell on that too much. I don't want to bring up our previous argument.

Juliette looks around and there’s something a little wistful in her gaze. But she shakes it off, then walks back over and stands in front of me. "Tell me about your taste in music," she says bluntly.

Something in her voice catches my attention. I turn to look at her and am surprised to see her face lit up with enthusiasm and excitement. So different from earlier. When we were at the auction she seemed bittersweet, almost out of place.

Then later when she was defending her store she seemed so fiery and passionate about everything she was saying and believed in. It's refreshing to meet someone like that. I was right to assume she was different from everyone else at the auction. It goes deeper than just her sense of style.

"Why don't I pick something?" She suggests with a little smile when I don't answer her.

She seemed excited about the prospect, and there’s a brightness to her that's a complete shock, vastly different from earlier tonight. I watch her walk behind the register. She picks up a record and removes it carefully from its slipcover.

I'm stunned that I got to see her smile. It was unexpected, yet beautiful at the same time. All night I had been watching her red lips and daydreaming about where I’d like her to put them.

But the sudden warmth and beauty of her smile has caught me off guard. I'm surprised by how much I liked seeing it. Maybe my emotions are getting the better of me tonight, as well.

She puts the record on and after a few seconds music starts to play. With another little smile she walks back over to me. "Trust me, you'll love this. And you'll be glad I showed it to you," she promises, looking up at me.

Her excitement is palpable. And I did promise her that I would keep an open mind, so I'm doing my best to do that.

We stand there and listen to the music. I'm finding it increasingly difficult to keep doing this, though. I start to get fidgety again. I can't just stand still and listen to music.

I think she notices this, though, because what she does next surprises me. She walks away and pushes one of the display tables out of the way. This opens a large amount of floor space.

I wonder what she has in mind until she walks forward and grabs my hand. I start to get uncomfortable when I realize she wants to dance. "I'm not much of a dancer," I say hastily.

She grabs my hand and plants it firmly on her waist. She grips the other and guides my feet back and forth.

Soon her head rests on my chest and we’re swaying gently back and forth to the music. Before I know it, I'm lost in the moment and the music. I can't believe I'm actually enjoying this. This is so unlike me.

It’s intimate in a way I’ve never experienced before. For me, intimacy has always directly correlated to sex, but this… it's just nice to be close to her and share in such an emotional and personal moment like this.