Boy Story: The Road Taken - 4. Him

Him

One day I decided to head off campus a little early so I could get a slice or two of pizza at the mall before going to work. The pizza at the dining halls on campus always seemed to be lacking and the closest off-campus place was Dominos. Remember how their pizza used to taste? Blah. The fact that there was a great pizza place at the mall was cause for an occasional visit.

As I finished my pizza and was throwing out my trash, I spotted Barbara standing out in the mall talking to someone. The area where I was standing was obscured by the artificial mall landscaping, so I angled myself to see who she was talking to. It was there, with my face buried in a bunch of plastic plants, that I saw the most beautiful creature I had ever seen—a boy no less! I literally could not take my eyes off of him. I stood there transfixed behind those plants just staring at this boy. He brought to mind a teenage Leonardo DiCaprio—similar, yet different. He was breathtaking.

The boy was in his mid-to-late teens, thin, cute, wearing clothes that hung on him like a clothes horse. Most notably he was wearing a green army coat with patches and a name I couldn’t make out above the front pocket—definitely an Army/Navy surplus purchase. The coat was a bit too big for him, but it complemented his outfit. Either he spent a lot of time putting his outfit together or he was just naturally gifted with young men’s fashion.

He towered over Barbara, but then again everyone towered over Barbara. His hair was dirty blond with blond highlights and lightly moussed longer spikes in the front. His cheeks had little natural rosy patches and his lips were impossibly red without the need for lipstick. It was all topped off with those big, blue/grey eyes and flashes of his white teeth. I kept blinking to make sure I was seeing it right. I felt something foreign stir within me at that moment. I could have stood there in voyeur mode forever, but I had to tear myself away and get to the store for the start of my shift. But now I had a mission: Find out from Barbara who that boy was.

Flash Forward...Barbara eventually graced me with her usual visit later that week. I didn’t want to seem too eager, so I chatted her up a bit first. When there was a break in the conversation, I went for it.

“Oh Barbara, by the way I saw you in the mall Tuesday night. I waved but you didn’t see me. You were talking to some guy. Is that your new boyfriend?” I asked.

“Boyfriend? Who? What? What did he look like?” she asked excitedly unable to recall.

“I don’t know...he had dirty blond hair, was about your age, thin, and was wearing an army jacket,” I said.

“OH! That’s Parker. I only wish he was my boyfriend,” she replied.

“What, is he already taken?”

“Well yeah kinda, but that’s not it. You see, he’s gay.”

“Gay? Gay?” I asked twice to make sure I heard right as she shook her head in the affirmative. “How old is he?” I continued.

“He’s 17.”

“He knows for sure at 17 that he’s gay?” I quizzed her.

“Well, he has a 24-year-old boyfriend…or had. I think they broke up, but I’d say that’s pretty sure,” she reasoned.

“Gee, he moves pretty fast!” I reasoned.

“You saw him, right?” she asked.

“Yeah, briefly.”

“When you look like that, you can move as fast as you want. Enough said?”

She continued, “He buys a lot of records at the store. Most of what he wants, we don't carry, so he has me special order them. I’ll order one for him, and I’ll get one for the store, too. It makes me look in-tune with new artists before they hit. Actually, you two have similar musical tastes. I should bring him by next time he’s around, so you two can compare notes.”

“Sure, you know me. I could talk music all day,” I assured her.

“Well, I don’t want you to get in trouble for chatting too much while you're working, so I’ll head out. So see ya,” she added with a half wave.

“OK, later!”

Well, now I had something to look forward to if Barbara was true to her word. When it comes to boys, she had a one-track mind. So I’ll quite possibly get to meet the boy who had already invaded my daydreams. And now I learned his name was Parker.

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