Author's Note: This story is part of the On The Job story event. There's probably a link on the front page or something, so go check them out.
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Still working in a clothing store was not what I envisioned for my early twenties. It had been fine in my teens, but I'd assumed I'd be somewhere more 'grown up' after that.
Which was not to say I hated it or anything. I liked it enough that I was still there, after all. It was a pretty chill place to work, in many ways, and I knew my shit well enough by now that I didn't have any worries of fucking up like I used to in my nervous early days of employment. Plus, my best friend Julie worked there too, which made a huge difference all on its own.
Julie and I working together made for the kind of employee duo that drove managers crazy. That had meant being separated many a time over the years. We'd gradually become two of the most senior workers, and at some point management had been forced to concede that in spite of our shenanigans and tendency to hang out together too much, we also got way more shit done than any of the newbies.
We were technically supervisors now, which didn't mean a hell of a lot. Mostly just that we were entrusted with opening or closing, when need be, and allowed to do our own thing most of the time. We also got stuck training the new hires and keeping an eye on them, which wasn't quite made up for by the pay bump, but we got to do some bossing around too, which evened things out.
Possibly my favourite part, in a weird sort of way, were the Saturday morning shifts. No one wanted them. They came too soon after a Friday night, and were dead as all hell for the first few hours. Julie and I had been saddled with them as a punishment of sorts after we'd flipped all the clothes on the mannequins inside out, which I thought was a little harsh at the time, but it turned out well for us. A few hours of ostensibly doing our job as normal, but actually just chilling together without any pesky customers, managers, or fellow employees to disturb us.
The lack of customers was not guaranteed, however.
This Saturday in particular we had a couple of them come in early. Early enough, as it happened, that Julie and I had only just settled in to our ritual lounging. She was perched rather unprofessionally atop the counter next to the registers staring at her phone, while I was making use of one the store's mirrors to fidget with my hair trying to get it sit just right.
I was the first to notice the two girls come in since Julie wasn't even making a pretense of watching the store. I sighed, left my hair the way it was, and stepped over to Julie to give her a nudge.
"Look alive," I said.
"Why?"
"Customers."
"Really?" Julie looked up, then nodded. "Huh, so there are. What the hell do they want?"
"You're asking me?"
She slipped off the counter, tucking her phone away in a smooth, practiced motion calculated not to draw any attention. She'd perfected it over the years.
"Damn inconsiderate of them," she grumbled.
"Tell me about it."
We stood behind the counter, casually keeping an eye on the girls and their progress. They were only browsing, not looking for anything specific yet. We still should have approached and offered assistance, but without any witnesses we were free to use our own judgement on these things. We knew when customers weren't ready for help yet.
"Still, at least one of them's cute," I said thoughtfully.
"Which one?" Julie asked.
"The cute one."
"Give me a hint."
"The one in the skirt."
"Ahhh," Julie said knowingly. "The shy, doe-eyed one."
I rolled my eyes. "How would you know if she's shy?"
"'Cause she's only following her friend around, and she keeps looking at us out of the corner of her eye to see if we're watching."
"Which means she's shy?"
"Probably. Maybe a shoplifter, but I don't get that vibe."
"You're so full of shit. One psychology course and--"
"Two and a half, thank you very much. Very nearly three."
"Yes, very nearly."
I accidentally caught the cute girl's eye. She looked away immediately, a slight flush rising on her cheek. Julie might actually be onto something, not that I'd willingly admit it.
"I guess one of us should meander over to the change rooms," I said. "Just in case."
"You go," Julie offered graciously. "It might give you a chance to flirt."
"You're such an ass."
"What? You said she was cute."
"She is. But what are the odds she's into girls? And if she is, what are the odds she and her friend aren't together?"
"I dunno. Fifty-fifty?"
I snorted. "Yeah, either she is or she isn't. Fantastic math there Jules."
"Thanks. I did it without a calculator even." She gave me a gentle push. "Just go, Bree. Give it a shot."
"Fine. Just to shut you up, though. And just for the record, even given your extremely suspect percentages, I'd have to win two coin flips, which only makes it one in four."
"Have fun," Julie called after me, ignoring my parting shot with ruthless cheerfulness.
I moseyed over to the changing room alcove, which someone was always supposed to be guarding, according to the rules. God forbid a customer might have to wait half a minute for someone to come over and help them.
Still, it gave me an excuse to pass nearer the two girls without actually having to disturb them or make it obvious I was getting a closer look. They both appeared to be around the same age as Julie and me, which was preferable if I was going to engage in even a fleeting crush on one of them. Not that I was planning on taking things even that far, but it was good to know all the same.
I caught the cute one watching me as I walked past. She didn't know the angles on the strategically placed mirrors like I did. I smiled to myself and put a little extra swing in my hips, feeling silly about it even as I did. I'd meant what I told Julie. The odds just weren't in my favour. Let alone the horrible logistics and potential consequences of actually flirting with a customer.
I pretended to tidy up around the area for a while, only watching the girls when they were busy looking at clothes. Julie sent me a couple texts in the interim, but I ignored them. I could make out her impish grin from where I was, and I was quite sure whatever she'd sent wasn't helpful.
The girls finally headed my way with a few selections each. I set myself in a professional stance with a customer service smile plastered on my face.
"Finding everything ok?" I asked cheerfully.
"Yes, thanks," said Cute Girl's Friend, a slightly slyer smile on her lips to mirror mine. "We'd just like a couple rooms to try things on."
"No problem at all."
I glanced at Cute Girl, but she wouldn't look directly at me.
I maintained my retail courtesy as I set them each up with a changing room, just a small room with some hooks, a full-length mirror, and a curtain drawn across the doorway. I tried asking Cute Girl directly if she needed anything else before I left her to her decisions, but I didn't get much out of her other than a faint blush when she finally met my gaze. It might have meant something, or it might not, but it was an adorable reaction either way.
Any lingering hopes I had, not that they'd been all that high at any point, were dashed when the friend snuck across to Cute Girl's room. I pretended not to notice, though in fact it was hard to slip much of anything by me. I knew the exact type of sneak too. It came up every now and again when two people wanted to occupy the same room for less than virtuous reasons.
Just to be sure, I padded silently next to the room once they were settled, and indeed there were soft whispers, giggles, and eventually some barely audible sounds of making out.
