This pawn shop is nice. They have a decent record collection. I liked to stop in here when I was in downtown L.A. Every now and then I could find the perfect gem to add to my collection, or I'd come across something I knew Vernon was looking for. The best part about this shop was there always seemed to be someone playing one of the instruments. This place was a nice way to pass some time.
I walked in and made a beeline for the albums, as usual. I passed by a girl that made me do a double take. She was pretty, gorgeous even. She had curly hair much like my own, and dark chocolate eyes that seemed to sparkle. She was a bit on the thicker side, but more like curvy in all the right places. She had to be at least five-foot-seven, maybe five-foot-eight. She gazed up at a section of acoustic guitars, seemingly unaware of the world around her. As I glanced over my shoulder at her, someone approached her and her laugh rang through the air. He was just as tall as she was with curly hair that was more so wavy and much shorter. Unlike her brown eyes, his were a greenish color. Aside from the hair, they clearly weren't related. He grabbed an acoustic that had Fender written on the headstock and handed it to her. She handled it delicately as she perched on a nearby stool and quietly plucked at the strings as she tuned it to her liking. I shook my head as I found myself watching her more than I was looking at albums. A warmth crept in my cheeks that touched the tips of my ears and I flipped through the albums in the crate in front of me.
After a few minutes of flipping through album covers, the warm tone of the guitar began to fill the shop. Then there was singing, and a shiver made it's way down my spine. I stared blankly at the album in my hand as I listened to her melody. Singing some tune about chocolate. And that's exactly what her voice sounded like; chocolate. Like hot chocolate that warms your core on a cold winter day. I turned my full attention to her now, setting the album down and leaning against the table. I admired the way her fingers moved with ease along the strings, softly plucking out the notes. Admired the way she smiled when she sang certain lines like she was in her own world where the words meant something to her that no one else understood. And I especially admired the way she never faltered even though shock crossed her face when she noticed she had begun to draw a bit of a crowd.
"And that was, um, 'Chocolate' by The 1975." A light shade of pink dusted her cheeks and I was glad that I had an excuse to look at her without seeming like a creep. She began to strum another tune but stopped to tighten a string. "This is, um, this is 'Sex.'"
I noticed Arin poke his head in, glancing around the room. His sights stopped on the girl playing for a moment before his eyes focused on me. He made his way over and I smiled at him before returning my attention to the pretty girl with the guitar. We watched her play through a couple more songs before she announced that she had to be going. The guy she spoke to before threw his arm around her, keeping her in place.
"SO. Anna, where are you playing tonight?" He had a knowing smirk on his face as she rolled her eyes at him.
"I didn't come here to do a promo, Andrew." Andrew poked his lip out and she chuckled, shaking her head. "We're playing at the new venue that's opening up a few blocks from here. It's called The Queen. Tonight's the grand opening, so the show is free. If y'all would like, stop on by." Anna gave a sweet smile before wiggling out of Andrew's grip. As she carried the guitar over to the counter, I turned to Arin.
"Sorry for making you wait man." I tugged my fingers through my hair.
"Nah, don't worry about it. She was good." We began walking toward the door. "We should stop by, what was it, The Queen? If she's this good by herself, she's probably awesome with a band."
"Yeah, I'd like that. I wanted to check that place out anyway." We chatted on, deciding on a time and place to meet. I held the door open for Arin, I looked back to see Anna making her way out as well, a guitar case slung over her shoulder. She kept her eyes on her shoes as she walked, glancing up for a second and noticed I was holding the door for her. She put some pep in her step to catch up.
"Thank you!" She looked up at me and froze for a second. The moment was brief but it wasn't lost on me. That's the kind of look to give when you recognize someone you weren't expecting to see. Did she know who I was? Someone called her from a Jeep that was parked in front of the shop and her attention was diverted. "Coming!" She glanced back at me as she hopped into the driver's' side, only after putting her newly purchased guitar in the back seat.
Arin cocked an eyebrow at me as I caught up with him. I shook my head, not quite understanding the moment myself. "Sushi?"
"Fuck yeah." I clapped a hand on Arin's shoulder as we started walking down the block.
- - -
"You guys totally had a moment," Arin said between bites of his roll. "I also saw her do a double-take. I think she knows who you are." He wiggled his eyebrows which made me snort.
"Even if she does.." I couldn't help but trail off as I gazed out the window. Arin followed my gaze and there she was. She seemed to be belting out some tune as she and her friend hopped out of her Jeep. They fell into a fit of giggles as they stumbled into the restaurant.
"Picking up, it's under Rose." The girl, who I assumed was Rose, was shorter than Anna, only rising to her shoulders. She had wavy bronze hair that fell past her shoulders and green eyes just like that guy Andrew. They were obviously siblings. Anna threw her arm around her shoulders and Rose struggled to get away, which prompted Anna to hold tighter. They broke out into another fit of giggles.
"You're staring dude." I shook my head and looked over at Arin, who now had a sly smile dancing on his lips.
"I was." I stole another glance at the girls and was met by a glance from Rose. Her eyes widened and she immediately turned to whisper something to Anna. Anna just shook her head and pulled out her wallet to pay for their food.
"Holy fuck that's a lot of sushi." Now Arin was watching them too.
"Probably for bandmates," I said as I stuffed a piece of a roll in my mouth. As Anna and Rose turned to leave, Anna met my gaze full on. A smile crept across her face and she waved in my direction. I swallowed hard and waved back.
"Two times in one day? I think it's destiny man." Arin talked through his bites. I rolled my eyes.
"Sure man, whatever you say."
