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"Have a nice day ma'am." You said, handing the woman her bag full of beach scented perfumes and lotions. She smiled as she walked out of the store, tossing a polite wave over her shoulder. You waved back before resting your elbows on the counter with a sigh. You checked the time again. Still a three hours before you were off the clock. 

You did have a new snapchat from Noah though, and you opened it to see a picture of her sprawled out on the floor of her store, looking forlornly at the camera. You snapped a quick picture of the top half of your face back, captioning it with 'feel that' and sending it off. 

You set your phone down when a customer walked in - a boy with fluffy brown hair and an oversized jumper. You watched him wander between the shelves for a few moments, looking sort of lost, as most boyfriends and/or husbands did when they came looking for gifts. Shame too - he was cute. Still, you walked around the counter and over to him to offer your help.

You stepped up beside him next to the candles. "Hi, are you finding everything okay?" You asked. 

"Oh, uh." The boy jumped a little. "I'm just looking for some candles." He said. "Gonna be honest... I'm kind of lost, yeah."

You laughed a little. "Would you like some help?" 

"Yes, thank you." He sounded relieved. 

You grabbed one of the shopping bags from the nearby rack and handed it to him with a smile. "So are we looking for something for the girlfriend, or mom, maybe?"

"Oh, um no." He said, flushing slightly. "I just needed some candles for me, actually." 

Your smile widened. So no girlfriend... a interesting development. "Oh, okay!" You chirped, leading him over to the beginning of the candles section. No girlfriend meant that you were going to draw this out, maybe flirt a little bit. Why not? He was cute and you would rather flirt with him than actually work. 

Once you were at the beginning of the candles, you turned to him. "So what kind of candles are we looking for? Do you usually like something more fruity, or maybe warm scents, or..?" You let the end of the question hang in the air.

"Um... I usually like the ones that smell kind of clean." He said. "Like, linen and stuff."

You grinned. "Me too. I actually have a lavender linen one in my apartment right now, and it makes the whole place smell really good. Definitely my favorite scent here."

"That actually sounds really good." He said.

"We'll grab one of those then." You said, heading over to the display of lavender linen products and grabbing a candle for him. 

He dropped it into the bag with a smile. You fought down the little excited giggles. He was adorable, holy shit. His dimples when he smiled- you were going to explode. Just looking at him, he looked like a puppy. A fluffy brown hair adorable smile puppy.

"How many candles were you thinking?" You asked. 

"I actually need a bunch." He said. "Like, a lot."

"Gifts for people, or..?" You asked. 

He paused, and you could see the wheels turning in his head before he spoke again. "Yes."

You laughed. "Okay... we have some more linen-y smelling ones over, here, or we could try some of the kind of water-y ones and nature ones-"

"Do you have one that smells like the beach?" He interrupted excitedly, his eyes lighting up like a little kid on their birthday. 

You tired not to internally combust. How was this man real? Was it even legal to be this cute? 

"We do." You said with a smile, heading over to the large expanse of beach themed and scented products with the boy in tow. You pulled a few different beachy candles from the display and popped them open for him to smell.

He sniffed at each one before selecting the one in your right hand. "Delicious, thank you." He dropped it into the bag, his fingers hovering. "Actually..." He grabbed the other one as well and dropped it into the bag. 

You smiled. "If you like those, there's this one over here..." You trailed off, going to grab the candle you were thinking about. The boy followed you, and you handed him a blue candle that vaguely reminded you of a lake.

He smelled it, closing his eyes for a second. You took the opportunity to scan over his face when he wasn't looking, admiring his features. When his eyes opened, you looked away politely, not wanting to be caught.

"This might be my favorite one so far, with that first one you gave me." He said. "You're really good at this."

"Well, it's my job." You said. 

You moved to the next section of candles, selecting a few that you thought he would like - sticking to scents that reminded you of oceans and clean laundry. Oddly, it fit him. You passed him another candle and he popped it open, giving it a whiff. 

"You're actually amazing, I would have been so lost." He said, taking all the candles you had picked and dropping them into his bag.

You fought your smile. "How many did you want?"

"Um," He looked down into the bag. "This should be good for now." 

"Great." You said, guiding him over to the cash register. You slipped behind the counter and behind the register as he plopped the bag of candles onto the counter. You started pulling the candles out of the bag and scanning them through the system.

As the price skyrocketed, your mind began to turn. 

"Actually," You said. "We're having a sale on candles today."

"Oh." The boy perked up. "Really?"

You nodded, humming as you scanned the last candle. "Yeah, all candles are fifty percent off." A lie. But he was cute.

"That's great." He said, getting out his wallet.

You docked the price using your employee discount and bagged his candles for him, reaching below the desk for a coupon. As his receipt printed, you stapled the coupon to it and stuck it in his bag. "For next time." You slid the bag across to him. 

"Thank you again!" He said, taking his bag and heading out of the store. 

You watched him go, with a dreamy smile on his face. 


A LITTLE LESS SIXTEEN CANDLES; A LITTLE MORE TOUCH ME // Karl Jacobs X ReaderWhere stories live. Discover now