1

Daphnie

My best friend Amber and I made plans to go to an outdoor concert downtown to listen to some rising rock stars. We didn't usually go to amateur concerts, but we decided to start trying new things.

I looked in the mirror as I finished putting on my makeup and looked over my outfit one last time. I was dressed conservatively yet stylishly. My makeup was simple: medium-brown eye shadow, black mascara, and dark pink lip gloss. I wasn't a fan of dressing up fancy or wearing a lot of makeup. Also, I wouldn't say I liked exposing my body for everyone to see. That was something Amber never understood about me. Nobody did.

I heard my phone ring and took it out of my pocket. It was Amber.

"Hey."

"Hey, girl! I'm outside."

"Okay, I'm coming."

I hung up and headed towards the front door.

"Where are you going?" I heard my father say with an aggressive tone.

"Out," I said without looking at him or stopping. I wanted to leave the house as soon as possible before he could stop me; I practically ran to Amber's car.

"What's up?" Amber said as she hugged me.

"Nothing much. I've just been working. You?"

"School... Lots of studying."

"Ugh... I'm so glad I finished school."

"Enough of that, though. It's Saturday night; let's go have some fun!"

We both laughed as Amber drove off.

"What time does the concert start again?" I asked.

"Eight."

"It's six o clock right now. What are we going to do in the meantime?"

"Well, we could go shopping for a while and get something to eat since the food downtown is so expensive. What do you think?"

"Sounds like a plan. It's been a while since I've treated myself anyway."

"Great!"

Adam

I didn't want to go out that night. Heading to the mall always seemed stupid to me. Isn't that the purpose of online shopping? My best friend, Ben, kept annoying me, though. He said going to the mall would be the only way to find a woman. Honestly, there was no hope for me to find someone special. I was a man who would be forever alone. No one could ever love the cold and bitter monster I was.

As I was putting on my shoes, Ben barged into my room.

"Dude, come on. We need to get going!" He said impatiently.

"I'm sure all the girls won't go anywhere in the half-hour we're running behind schedule."

I was always early, but tonight was an exception; I wanted to delay Ben's plans as much as possible.

"Yes, but other guys will already be snatching them all up."

"Why do you even care? You have a girlfriend."

"I care because you're gonna need a wingman."

"Ben, I don't need a wingman," I said as I stood up.

"Adam," Ben put his hands on my shoulders.

"Don't touch me," I said aggressively.

"You're thirty-one years old and still single. You're doing something wrong."

"Or maybe I'm just meant to be forever alone. I have no interest in pursuing a woman, let alone a relationship."

"You might change your mind, and the only way to find out is if you go out and put effort into finding that special someone. Now, let me inspect your outfit."

I let out an aggravated sigh as Ben circled me like a shark. My hair faded, and I wore dark blue jeans, a black button-up shirt, and black loafers. I was also wearing a black leather belt and a silver watch as an "accessory. This idea was ridiculous; I'd rather be in my work clothes.

"I'm not a fan of all the black, but you look good. You need to roll your sleeves up."

Ben helped me roll up my sleeves and looked over me one last time.

"Damn, Dude! You're going to have all the ladies falling at your feet."

"I don't want a woman like that, Ben." I scoffed as I rolled my eyes.

"That's pathetic; a woman should let a man make the first move."

"You see, that's where all the ladies falling at your feet help you out. The women who don't fall at your feet but still notice you're handsome are the strong ones with dignity and are worth winning over."

"Winning over?" I was curious what Ben knew about winning a woman over.

"Yeah, women like that are high maintenance, hard to please, and don't give their hearts away easily." Ben sighed, "believe me, I tried."

"Let's get this night over with," I said as I grabbed my car keys and left my room.

"The point of tonight is to have fun, not get the night over with."

I remained silent as Ben sighed.

"Fine. Who's driving?"

"I am," I said firmly as we entered the elevator.

"Oh, alright!" Ben's attitude perked up. "I can get myself a ride home!"

"It's not like that. I don't want to wait for you to be ready to come home when I decide to leave early."

"Wow.... talk about a party pooper."

"Come on."

We walked into the garage, and I unlocked my Porsche. You might as well do "all or nothing."

Ben hopped into the back seat, and I got into the driver's seat. I decided to leave the radio off, so I could think about everything I had to do for my companies. The business had increased so much for my security company. I would need to hire more people; hurting security guards was always a long process. I had to look over their military background, check their ASVAB scores, run a criminal background check, and check their physical fitness. Not to mention, I had to put them through training. I would need Chad's help to get everything done promptly to meet the demand.

"Can we listen to music?" Ben asked.

"No."

"Please?"

"No. I like driving in silence."

"Oh, come on!"

"Hey! It's my car, and I will gladly drop you off on the expressway if you have a problem."

"Dude... That's cold."

"Did you expect my personality to change just because we're having a night out?"

"Yeah."

"Well, too bad."

I set my expectations low; I doubted I would enjoy this evening out, but part of me felt I would find something fulfilling tonight.

Maybe.

Forty-five agonizing minutes later, we finally arrived at the mall. When we walked in, there was a small crowd of people. There were many women, but they were too young, childish, or trampy looking.

What are they teaching girls nowadays?

Whatever happened to remaining conservative and modest? Why were all these girls so immature? Maybe it's just me. All these girls looked to be in their early twenties, and I was thirty-one.

God, I hope I wasn't this immature when I was twenty.

"Alright, let's take a look," Ben said. He was way too excited.

Just wait until his girlfriend finds out about his behavior.

"Seriously?"

"Yes."

"All these girls are either too young or too immature. Look at how some of them are dressed."

"What's your problem? They all look hot."

I shook my head. How on earth was this guy my best friend? I was about to turn around and walk out of the building when I felt something telling me to turn right and walk into one of the stores. I followed my instincts. Can I call it that? Whatever it was, I went along with it and walked towards the store. Ben called after me, but I ignored him, increasing my pace as I walked. As soon as I stepped into the store, I saw her.

She was the most beautiful woman I had ever seen. She was young, no older than twenty-five, but I could tell she was mature. Her hair was curled and had simple highlights that almost blended with her natural hair color. She dressed conservatively. She wore a leather jacket, skinny jeans that weren't tight, and black combat boots. Her makeup was simple as well. From what I could tell, she only wore a natural-looking eye shadow and substantial dark pink lip gloss. She had light freckles; I always found freckles to be cute.

"Adam! What the hell?" Ben caught up to me. "Oh... I see."

The look on my face must have made it visible what I was feeling as I was looking at her.

"She's perfect." I didn't mean to say that out loud.

"You're right about that. I don't get it, though. With a body like that, why-"

Before he could say more, I grabbed Ben's arm and punched him in the stomach. I covered his mouth so no one could hear his shout of pain. I looked at him dead and growled, "If you ever talk about her like that again, I will knock your teeth out. Do you understand me?"

Ben nodded his head. I let go of him as he hunched over to grab his stomach. He was obviously in pain.

"I'm sorry." Ben stopped to take a deep breath. "Are you gonna go talk to her?"

"No. Not yet."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I feel strange at the thought. I don't understand why I'm feeling this way."

"Adam, it's called 'nervousness.' It's quite common to feel that way when you're about to talk to a girl you like."

"I don't like feeling this way."

"Well, the only way to get rid of the feeling is if you go up to her and talk to her."

"Not yet. I want to know a little bit more about her."

"How will you do that if you don't talk to her?"

I looked at Ben and smiled.

"Follow her."