She Won't Be Lonely Long

Chapter 6: Blushing

                Sienna played with the fraying parts of her jean shorts as she caught up to him. Jaden was in a moss green tee, dark blue jeans, and the same classic black Vans as before. She felt underdressed, in her shorts, purple tee, and white Converse. Sienna had left her hair naturally wavy and down, and had done minimal makeup.

                They walked in silence for a bit, neither willing to be the first to speak. Sienna was unbothered by silence, she loved to window shop. They were at the other end of the mall now. Jaden c****d his head towards the music store, and Sienna led the way in.

                “What kind of music do you like?” He asked, flipping through one of the many racks of CDs.

                “I’m not very picky, anything but jazz.” She said, standing opposite him at a different rack.

                “Favorite artist?”

                “I’m not sure, probably Eminem.” She replied, he stared incredulously.

                “Miss Goody Two Shoes listens to Eminem.”

                “Never judge a book by its cover. Who’s your favorite artist?” Sienna asked, looking up at him.

                “I guess Five Finger Death Punch.”

                “They have a couple good songs. Do you listen to any other genres of music?”

                “Mainly just rock and rap.”

                “Interesting.”

                “What’s interesting?

                “Just interesting to learn more about you.”

                “I’m not sure I like the word interesting.” Jaden said, inspecting the back of a CD.

                “Would you prefer something like intriguing or thought-provoking instead?” Sienna mused.

                “I just feel like interesting can have such a negative connotation. Oftentimes, it’s used to describe things people don’t really like. For example, this pudding has an interesting texture. Not really a compliment.” He continued.

                “How fascinating.” Sienna responded, a gleam in her eye. Jaden shook his head looking entertained. “Are you saying you’d like to be complimented more?”

                “It definitely could not hurt.” He grinned at her.

                “Well, I think you may already be pretty full of yourself.” Sienna was putting the CDs she had been looking at back in alphabetical order. Neither found anything worth buying and left the store.

                The pair circled the mall a couple times, discussing favorite movies and TV shoes. Jaden kept ‘accidentally’ bumping into Sienna. At one point, Sienna thought he moved to hold her hand, but when she pulled her hand back, he reached to pick up a quarter off the floor. He grinned holding it up for her to see. Silly Sienna, he doesn’t like you like that she thought to herself.

                Jaden dragged her into a knockoff sunglasses store a while later. He was trying on different pairs and checking himself out in the mirror. Sienna merely browsed the shelves, looking at all the different shapes and colors of sunglasses.

                “You would look really good in this pair.” Jaden said, handing her a pair of hot pink aviators.

                “Pink is not really my color.” She hesitantly took them, examining the sunglasses.

                “Come on, just try them on.” He winked, before he reached for a lime green pair.

                Sienna put them on looking in the mirror. She thought she looked decent, she still would prefer a blue pair. Blue was her favorite color, more like an aquamarine. Turning towards Jaden, he peered over the tops of the lime green aviators he had picked up. Now he rocked those lime green sunglasses. He grinned at her, she felt her insides flutter.

                Looking away from him, she glanced at her phone almost two in the afternoon.

                “My mom works at three, I have to get the car home soon.” She said taking off the sunglasses and putting them back where Jaden found them.

                Straightening up, Jaden said, “Alright, I’ll walk you to the car.”

                Sienna had not really expected him to be so gentlemanly.

                “Did this go how you thought it would?” He asked as if realizing she was reflecting internally. He opened the door leading towards the parking lot for her.

                “Uhm, I didn’t really know what to expect. So, I guess it went better than I expected.”

                “Ah, low expectations. My favorite.” He joked.

                “I had fun though,” Sienna said as they approached her car. She leaned awkwardly against the door. Her hands suddenly becoming very captivating as she was unsure how to say goodbye.

                Jaden took another step, closing the distance between them until he was standing right in front of her. He lifted her chin with two fingers so she was looking up at him. His brown eyes locking onto her turquoise ones.

                “You have the prettiest eyes I’ve ever seen.”

                Sienna blushed, pulling away and letting her hair fall over her face. She turned away to open the door, and he opened it before she could.

                “Thanks,” she muttered before climbing in. Sienna started the car, rolling down the window to say goodbye. Jaden leaned down, peering in at her.

                “It is cute how much you suck at taking a compliment.” Jaden said smirking.

                Sienna flushed again. “I’m sorry.”

                Jaden ducked in the window, laying a peck on her cheek. “Bye Sienna,” he whispered, then retreated. He never looked back.

                “Bye,” she said, but by the point she said it, he was already long gone. She drove home in silence, without even realizing she did not have the radio on. She had a great day. Jaden was kind, easy to talk to, and very good looking. The warnings from her brother were not adding up to the guy she spent part of the day with. She wondered if it was all just an act. Was the act for his friends or for her? Regardless, she knew she would want to spend more time with Jaden, if he asked.