Again for the First Time

by Raven St. Pierre

  As if enough hadn’t already gone wrong, I looked up and into the window of the shop only to find that almost all the lights were out and the sign on the front door read ‘closed’. Nice. This night just kept getting better.

  “Well, thanks for the ride,” I said, working hard to stifle the bitterness as I climbed from the backseat. It didn’t matter that the store wasn’t open. I wasn’t staying in that car.

  Gerard glanced back before I could shut the door. “But, Lissy, it’s closed. Don’t you want me to take you back home? It’s not an issue. Really.”

  I shot him a quick ‘hell no’ look while Robyn wasn’t paying attention and he lowered his head. There was no way I’d spend another second in there with him and his Barbie doll. Nope. No thanks. That drive was about all I could stand.

  “I’ll be fine. My sister was planning to meet me to help me shop anyway. She’ll be here any minute,” I lied. I quickly closed the door behind me and made my way over to the sidewalk. Gerard’s expression was tight as he pumped his fist on the horn twice, his eyes locking with mine before he pulled off.

  Once his car was out of sight, I finally stopped holding my breath, stopped hiding my emotions as I sat out in front of the store without so much as a plan for how I’d get back home. Still, though, this was better than subjecting myself to that torture again. I sat there, sobbing and thinking, trying to wrap my mind around what just happened.

  Apparently, I’d just met the soon-to-be Mrs. Gerard Knight.

  Mazel Tov…

  I wiped my face dry with the back of my hand, remembering how casually Gerard had referred to me.

  His neighbor. What a douchebag.

  Pulling myself together, I decided to head for the bus stop. I needed to get home and figure out how to make do without the beads; however, I paused instead. My fingers fumbled over the paper with the fortune written on it and, funny thing was, I didn’t even remember pulling it out. The air seemed to change direction all of a sudden, blowing stronger, colder despite it being the middle of summer, somehow making me more aware of my surroundings. More aware of everything.

  I read the words on the tiny slip of paper again, but then a figure in my peripheral stole my attention, freezing me in place right where I sat. It appeared out of nowhere, and when it did, the wind died down again. There was a tall frame coming my way. A guy. I couldn’t make out any features because the shadow of the building beside me kept him hidden, but that didn’t stop me from straining my eyes, trying in vain to see through the darkness. He could have been anyone, could have had ill intentions, but something in my gut told me that wasn’t the case. There was just, I don’t know… a feeling.

  Chapter Two

  Luke

  I still couldn’t believe I agreed to this, but I couldn’t turn down the kind of money Matt’s opportunity hinted toward—not right now I couldn’t.

  Matt was ecstatic. I watched as he snatched a sheet of paper from the printer. “Here. Sign this.”

  I looked at him and then at the paper he’d passed me. “Are you serious? A contract?”

  He shrugged and made no apologies. “Nothing personal. Brothers or not, this is business, man. Either you’re all the way in or you’re not.”

  I read over the terms. He wanted me to agree to let him choose the one hundred women that I’d randomly propose to and I was banned from explaining in advance what we were doing. Wanting the reaction from the ladies to be genuine, we couldn’t reveal anything to any of them until after the proposal was either turned down or accepted. The only thing I could say when I approached these women was “Marry me”. And if one of them did in fact accept my proposal, according to Matt’s contract, we’d have to walk down the aisle in no more than two weeks. Like… literally fourteen days. Well, twelve, seeing as how Nick’s wedding would be taking place in two Saturdays and his bachelor party was being held the night before. I honestly prayed this wouldn’t work—even though it could potentially fix my financial problems and be my brother’s breakout film. All I could think about was the fact that, if by some random, cosmic miracle it did work… I’d be a married man in the not so distant future.

  What the hell have I gotten myself into?

  “Look at it this way,” Matt reasoned with a mouthful of Oreos. “If you’re right, no one will say yes and you’re off the hook. Either way, the video footage I collect will be priceless. I can use it with a future project, or... I could just pull it up to get a good laugh at one hundred women rejecting you.” Matt smiled, but I didn’t. He rolled his eyes as he hoisted himself from the couch. After snatching the contract that I’d hesitantly signed, he unlatched our apartment door. “Let’s just go.”

  I lagged behind a little as we walked the semi-crowded streets of Lindmore. Every time we even came close to a woman I tensed up, thinking she’d be the first.

  “Ok, dude, look. We at least have to agree that this chick has to be hot.”

  Matt sighed. “Do you really think I’d settle for anything less than perfection?”

  “For laughs? Yes… yes, I do.”

  He chuckled. “Maybe under other circumstances, but this is business. I’m taking this 100% serious just like I want you and Nick to.”

  I was still skeptical, but I nodded.

  A few minutes into our walk, he spotted my first target. “Ok, ok!” he whispered. “Tan shirt. Eleven o’clock.”

  I found her. She was nice looking enough. Maybe not ‘wife’ material, but like I said, none of these girls were gonna say yes anyway.

  Here goes nothing.

  I watched for traffic and crossed when it was safe, approaching the woman while she admired a dress from the window of a shop. One deep breath later, I asked, “Marry me?”

  Victim number one turned around with a confused look on her face.

  “Excuse me?”

  According to the rules I couldn’t say anything else. “Marry me?” I repeated.

  The confused look was still present. “Very funny,” she said as she secured her purse tighter on her shoulder and left me behind on the sidewalk. The next thirteen proposals went the exact same way.

  “Ok, how about her? Wait, what am I doing? You don’t get any say in this,” Matt said smugly. “Run, Forest! Before she gets away!” he ordered as he pointed at the woman readying her belongings, preparing to step out of her car.

  “Marry me?” I huffed, slightly winded from chasing her down just as her hand touched the door of the tall office building we now stood in front of.

  She scowled at me with her vivid blue eyes. “Or not.”

  I couldn’t help but to laugh. “Right. Have a nice day.” When I shook my head and backed away, she stopped me. “Hold on a sec.”

  I turned to face the petite brunette.

  “What’s your deal?” She asked.

  When I sighed, she folded her arms over her chest. “Just trying to find my soul-mate,” I joked, remembering that I couldn’t give the real reason for my asking. “Someone suggested that I give this method a shot.”

  She smiled at that and eyed me from head to toe. “Well maybe if you bought a girl dinner first, you’d get better results.”

  I shrugged and tried not to check her out. “Maybe. But those aren’t the rules.”

  Nodding and smiling, she turned to walk back toward the door I’d stopped her in front of. Twice she glanced at me over her shoulder as I watched her step inside the building. When I returned to Matt, he lowered the lens of his camera.

  “What was the last thing she said? I didn’t catch that part.”

  “She told me that I should kill whoever put me up to this and I couldn’t agree with her more,” I replied jokingly.

  Matt chuckled and placed a heavy hand on my shoulder. “By the end of this thing, you may end up thanking me, bro.”

  He didn’t give me a chance to respond because he spotted another girl. However, that ‘proposal’ and the thirty-seven that followed all pretty much went the same.

  “That’s fifty-three
‘no’s’ in case you’re not counting.”

  Matt nodded, trying to hide how annoyed he was with my pessimism. “Yeah… I’m counting, but you know part of the problem is you, right?”

  I burst out laughing. “Are you kidding me? The problem isn’t me. The problem is this insane plan you thought up.”

  “Whatever, man. Two o’clock,” he said pointing in the direction of another random woman.

  His frustration amused me for some reason, but I waited to laugh until I was a good enough distance away. Although, he could probably still hear that through the small mic on my shirt.

  This was getting old. I decided to start spicing my proposals up. “Marrrrryyyyy meeeeeee!” I sang on bended knee to the elderly woman walking with my intended target. I could practically hear Matt getting angry from where he stood off in the distance.

  The old lady smiled from ear to ear and patted my hand in hers. “If I wasn’t already spoken for, I’d take you up on that offer, young man,” she replied.

  “Aww… well, your husband’s a lucky man,” I said as I got back to my feet. “How long you been married?”

  “Fifty-two beautiful years,” she beamed. The woman Matt meant for me to ask smiled as she helped who I assumed to be her grandmother to the car with her groceries. She caught me watching her and her cheeks tinted red. Maybe Matt was on to something.

  “Well, looks like you ladies have your hands full, so I’ll help you with your bags and then I’ll be on my way.”

  Both women thanked me and then inquired about my awkward greeting. I didn’t go into great detail, but told them briefly about the documentary; I figured it was okay to tell them what was up at this point. Intrigued, they asked a few questions, waved at Matt when I pointed him and his camera out across the street, and then I walked off like I’d promised. As I put distance between us, the young woman jogged to catch up.

  “Hey!” She called out. I stopped and waited for her. “Call me sometime,” she suggested, slipping her number into my hand as she revealed a deep set of dimples. When she was gone, I held up the small piece of paper and flashed the digits at Matt who wasn’t amused in the least.

  “Are you gonna take this seriously?”

  “What’re you talking about? I am! I just asked that perfectly nice woman to spend the rest of her life with me. Granted, that may only be another five or ten years, but she respectfully declined. Nothing I can do about that.”

  Matt didn’t respond, just pointed at the woman up ahead in the brown dress. She was model material. This time I didn’t fight him. In fact, I jogged a little to catch up with her. I decided to take a more ballsy approach and gently grabbed her hand to halt her. That could’ve gone really bad, but lucky for me she was in a good mood.

  My eyes locked with the beauty staring back with the glossed lips. I exhaled and poured on the charm. “Marry me.” This time, I didn’t pose it as a question as much as a very strong suggestion.

  She smiled and cocked her head to the side. Clearly she was confused, but intrigue kept her from snatching her hand away.

  “Does that usually work for you?” she asked.

  I shrugged. “No, but I’m hoping it does this time.”

  Her smile grew. “What’s your name?”

  “Luke. Yours?”

  There was a slight hesitation. “Olivia.”

  Awkward silence interrupted our flow. “Um… you never did answer my question,” I pressed.

  Her shoulders rose and fell when she took a breath. “Marriage? No, but if you asked me out on a date, I might say yes.”

  Works for me. “Sure. Give me your number. We can postpone the wedding until our second date.”

  She blushed and pulled my palm to her to write her number down. I stood there watching her for a while as she sauntered away.

  “Matt, I take back everything I said. I actually think this might be the best idea you’ve ever had.”

  He smiled sarcastically and adjusted his equipment bag over his shoulder. “Glad you’re enjoying yourself.”

  I patted him on the back. “Who’s next?”

  He looked around, not bothering to hide the fact that he was annoyed. He chose his next twenty picks haphazardly, one ugly duckling after another. After I called him out on it, his next twenty were a little better. We were down to six more proposals and it was already just a little past nine p.m.

  “You give up yet?” I asked.

  He didn’t answer.

  We rounded the corner of Rosemont and Wilshire and came up on my favorite coffee shop. “I tell you what. I’ll buy you a cup and we can call it a night.”

  “I’m cool. Let’s just head back.”

  I watched Matt speed up and lead the way down the street. I jogged to catch up. When I put my hand on his shoulder, he slowed. “Matty, look, I know you’ve really got your heart set on this film, but at the risk of sounding like Nick, I gotta level with you; I don’t think this one’s gonna happen. It’s just too… out there. I know you think it’s me, but seriously? You couldn’t have possibly thought this would work. There’ll be other ideas, and I’m sure Glastenburg will be more than willing to hear some of—”

  He shook his head at me before I finished and walked off again without saying anything back. I caught up to him again. “Alright, look. We’ll finish. And if this whole thing is meant to be, one of these last six girls will say ‘yes’,” I said half-heartedly. There was still no way this would work.

  Matt stared at me, frustrated. “Just forget it,” he replied. “You and Nick just think this whole thing’s a big joke anyway; I’ll find someone else to help.”

  That struck a chord I didn’t intend for it to, having him think I wasn’t supportive of his dream—especially seeing as how he’d been there for me through some pretty dark times. He walked away again. “How about this: I’ll even pick the next one myself and I promise I’ll be 100% serious.”

  He slowed, but didn’t stop.

  “What about her?” I blurted. “I’ll go ask her right now. I mean… she looks sad which probably isn’t the best set up in the world, but I’ll do it.”

  He stopped and followed my gaze to the girl sitting on the step of some craft store or something. She had to have on the ugliest skirt I’d ever seen—looked like patches of random material stitched together, but other than that, she seemed cute enough from what I could see of her face.

  When Matt didn’t respond, I took it upon myself to approach the girl, making my way down the shadowy sidewalk. A breeze that rivaled that of a cyclone picked up, blowing cold air against my legs where my khaki shorts stopped just below the knee. It almost stopped me dead in my tracks—a chill like that when it’d been so hot even as night fell. I continued on, though, making my way toward the girl.

  Her gaze shifted in my direction, although I knew she probably couldn’t see me just yet. Maybe it was the sound of my footsteps coming closer that alerted her. I wasn’t sure. As I moved in on her, I realized I’d been right; even with a fair amount of distance between us, I could tell she did have a pretty face. Very pretty actually. When I finally approached, I was met by a curious set of mahogany-colored eyes. Her stare, deep and intriguing, made me hesitate. Just slightly, but I did.

  Her flawless brown skin was the next thing that drew me in. I imagined it being warm to the touch. At the thought of it, an unfamiliar sensation pulsed through my fingertips, as if I’d felt her flesh against them before. Subconsciously, I balled my hands into fists until the feeling passed. I’d been standing there for a good fifteen to twenty seconds and hadn’t said a word yet. My gaze wandered from her naked shoulders, up the side of her neck where soft swirls of hair hung loose from the bun on top of her head. I had to stop myself from gawking. Her presence, something about her, made me almost forget why I walked over in the first place.

  I shoved my hands in the pockets of my shorts and it wasn’t until now that I noticed just how weary she looked. Yeah, I thought she seemed kind of sad from a distance, but now it looked like s
he’d been crying; that made me hesitate even more.

  Maybe I shouldn’t bother her.

  When I failed to speak first, she took the initiative.

  “Can I help you?”

  I was beginning to think I should just walk away, but then she laughed. It was soft and accompanied by a tear that slipped down her cheek, but still… she laughed, and the sound of it made me take another step closer.

  “If you’re thinking about robbing me, you might wanna reconsider,” she said coyly as she turned to watch the passing traffic instead of me. “You should find someone who actually has cash on them,” she added. “Or cash, period.”

  From somewhere behind me, Matt cleared his throat, prompting me to say the one and only thing I was allowed to say to the beautiful stranger.

  My hands were sweating like crazy when I somehow managed to ask, “Uh… Marry me?”

  She was silent. The wind blew between us, that same chilled air from before. The woman hugged her arms across her chest and inhaled a shallow breath. It was then that I noticed she’d been fidgeting with a tiny, white piece of paper between her fingers. Slowly, she grazed her thumb over the small writing on it. It almost looked like a fortune from a fortune cookie. Cocking my head to the side, I tried to read it, but I got caught in her stare when she finally looked up at me again, still sniffling a bit.

  This was a bad idea. I shouldn’t have bothered her. I should just—

  “Sure,” she answered. Just like that.

  I thought I misunderstood. “Excuse me?”

  She shrugged and glanced down at the paper once more, apparently re-reading whatever it said. Her doe-like eyes met mine again and she blinked away another tear. “You wanna take it back?” She asked flatly.

  I looked up at Matt for direction, feeling like I might have a heart attack right there where I stood.

  She said yes.

  Matt was grinning so hard it looked like it hurt. He approached me and the emotionally disturbed woman on the step. “Hi. Hello, Miss. May I ask your name?”