Love Spiral (Trent Lane x Male Reader)

Chapter 3: Muse

I let the sound of his name sink in for brief moment. Trent. Trent. I look at Trent and repeat his name in my mind once more. Now I'm staring again. I snap out of it when  I feel my coworker suddenly tap my shoulder. Jesus. I was so out of it that I forgot he's just been standing there next to me this whole time. Even worse, its not unlikely that he saw me gawking at our customer.

"Y/n, I'm gonna call a plumber. Be right back." He gives a small wave goodbye before walking out from behind the counter and making his way outside the store. 

"Ummm. What's the plumber fo-" 

"Okay, Trent. You want the big ones? The loud ones? They're over there. Look around and let me know if you need anything." I swiftly cut him off and point to the other side of the store where the 3-piece stereos and boomboxes are. He doesn't need to know why the hell our toilet keeps choking up. 

"Oh. Woooaaah." Trent's eyes widen with awe at the sight of the shiny equipment and walks over to the area I pointed to get a closer look. I watch how he excitedly browses the displayed items like a kid in a candy store. Occasionally, he'll stop at a particular one and bend down to look at the details before saying "hmm" to himself and moving on to the next. 

"Find everything okay back there, Trent?" I stand on my tippy toes to get a glimpse of where Trent is before walking out from behind the counter and making my way over to where he is. I find him pointing at a large stereo with a shiny label that says 'Pasonic'.

"Uhh...how 'bout this one?" He asks curiously. Trent turns his head to face me.

"Hmmm let's see. This could work out for you considering the size and it also has alotta other cool features. If you look right there, it has a 5 CD disc charger, double tape deck right there and, of course, the radio. It's pretty much the standard 3-piece stereo system. And it has extra bass." Trent's eyes are glued to me while I explain the little details, but I pretend not to notice how hard he's staring. My heart is beating so hard just from locking eyes with him. He's nodding his head like he's soaking up every word I say.

"Oh wooow. Cool." Trent smiles and raises his eyebrows at the mention of bass. He steps closer to the product and takes the price tag in his hand to look at it, but he sighs heavily when he sees the overwhelming price. 

"Oh wooow. Not cool." He says before shaking his head and letting go of the price tag. He steps back to admire the stereo system again. Trent looks pretty bummed now, and his shoulders drop with disappointment. 

"You know...we do take layaway payment. I can–I mean–we can hold on to that for you until you pay it off. " I tell him with a warm smile, hoping that sweet smile would appear on his face again. It was enough to make the world feel brighter. Or least the part I just so happen to be at with Trent.

"Really? Ok sure." Trent says as he reaches into his pocket for his wallet. A smile grows on his face as he opens it and hands a 20$ bill to me. I reach out and take the money from him before leading him back over to the front desk. I walk back behind the front desk, and here we are, facing each other on either side of the checkout counter again. I take out a notepad from one of the drawers under the desk and a pen from the cup in front of me.

"Here. Just put your name here and we can start tracking your payments." I smile as I hand the pen to him and flip to an empty page in the notepad for him. Trent's smile widens even more as he takes the pen and uncaps it.

"Thanks." He scribbles his name at the very top of the page. It's a bit messy and smudged from his hand brushing against the wet ink so I squint my eyes to read the whole thing. Trent Lane. It's a charming name. Not too fancy, just short but sweet. After that, he hands the pen to me  and pushes the notebook toward me.

"Nice. When do you plan on finishing your payment, Trent?" I look up at him as I take the pen from his hand and hold the notebook. Then Trent frowns slightly and shakes his head like I just said the dumbest thing ever.

"I don't believe in deadlines." He furrows his eyebrows and crosses his arms. What? Looks like the universe is feeling generous because today just keeps bringing me wonderful surprises.

"Well...better start believing because we need a time frame for this sort of payment. You're not gonna be only the customer wanting to get their hands on that stereo." I tilt my head as I speak to him, giving him an 'are you serious?' kinda look.

"Damn. Okay. Give me...a week." He's got his hand under his chin in that thinking pose again and he hums as he ruminates. As I write his answer down, he continues humming the same tune again. He pauses at the same note, gets stumped, and hums from the top again.

"What song is that?" I ask. My question interrupts him in the middle of humming the melody of what sounds like a very loose verse.

"It's a song I'm working on. I wrote it with my band, Mystik Spiral. Might change the name though." He goes right back to humming that same tune, trying to get the flow right.

"I like it. Do you...play gigs?" I ask in an effort to keep the conversation flowing. I'm not the smoothest talker, but maybe it's worth a shot. It's been so long since I've been so drawn to someone, let alone at first sight. It's killing me inside yet I'm holding on so tight to the feeling. 

"Thanks. Were gonna be playing at that The Zon. It's on Dega Street, just a couple blocks down from here." His voice is so sedative, like a drug putting me at ease. My eyes keep drifting to his lips as he speaks, but they snap right back up so he doesn't catch me. He didn't catch me staring at his lips did he?

"Cool. Um, when?" My heart is beating crazy fast right now. With the way he's looking at me and that alluring voice, I could go insane. I wont though...not just yet. 

"Friday night. You coming, y/n?" He raises an eyebrow and smirks at me.

"Yeah." I say with no hesitation, almost cutting him off. He nods before leaning in closer to me. Then he looks left and right like he's got a big secret.

"...If you like it, can I get a discount?" He whispers mischievously, cupping his mouth with his right hand.

"Nice try." I say with a laugh. I'll admit that made me heat up a bit. And based on the way he's staring, he probably knows that. Trent laughs along.

"Damn. What if you love it?" He asks eagerly. 

"We'll see. Is that all for today, Trent?" I ask eagerly.

"That's all for now, y/n." He waved goodbye before walking toward the door. Just before stepping out of the store, he took one last look at me and smiled.