Coda 02 -A to Z

the attitude problem was afraid of little old ladies? It was too funny for words. It actually took him a minute to get himself back together. He straightened up and took a couple of deep breaths, then shook his head as he started to pick up the movies that had fallen off of the shelf. “Puking kids, a psychic lady, and a head shop. You’re surrounded by weirdoes, Zach.”
    Like I didn’t know that already.

…Angelo
    N OT exactly sure how I ended up workin’ at that video store, but I’m not complainin’. Funny, though, that it should happen now, when I’d finally given up on ever catchin’ that guy’s attention.
    Zach. His name is Zach.
    I find Zach intriguin’ for a number of reasons. First off, there’s the store, A to Z Video Rental. Somehow that place is still in business, even though every other independent store like it went under years ago. Don’t know if he’s got a brilliant head for business or if he’s just lucky. Even more surprisin’ is that he’s kept the place runnin’ when he knows zilch ’bout movies. Seriously the guy doesn’t know The Legend of Billie Jean from Legends of the Fall . I think it’s hysterical.
    Second, there’s the simple fact that Zach’s cute as hell. I mean, he’s not the type I usually go for. He’s so fuckin’ preppy, sometimes I’m surprised there’s no tennis sweater draped over his shoulders. His jeans never have holes. His hair’s cut just right. His shirts always have little horses embroidered on them. And he actually wears loafers. I’ve seriously never known a guy who wore loafers before. It works for him, though.
    Zach’s got dark brown hair and thick dark lashes, but the bluest eyes I ever saw. If he was ten years younger I’d call him a twink. Not sure what to call him now, since I’m pretty sure that term doesn’t apply to anybody over the age of thirty. Still, he’s not exactly hard on the eyes. In pretty good shape, too, for his age. Not big, like he wastes time liftin’ weights, but he must do somethin’, ’cause he doesn’t have any of that extra weight ’round the middle that so many guys his age have.
    More important than him bein’ cute, though, is the fact that he doesn’t seem to realize it. Never knows when guys are flirtin’ with him. I’ve seen several try. Tried it myself. He never noticed. First, I thought maybe I’d read him wrong and he was straight. Then I thought maybe he was in a relationship. But the day I saw that big jock ask him out, I realized the truth—Zach’s simply oblivious. He’s so sure he’s not interesting, it never occurs to him that somebody else might think otherwise. And am I wrong, or is that just unbelievably sexy?
    Anyway, too late now. That muscle-bound dickhead Tom got to him first. Tom succeeded where the rest of us failed ’cause he didn’t waste time bein’ subtle. Of course now that I’m workin’ with Zach, he’s off-limits anyway. I don’t do relationships. If I hooked up with him now, I’d have to quit the job and find a new store to rent from, and that would bum me out.
    Workin’ for Zach’s easy. I mean, I watched that ditz Tracy do it before she quit showin’ up. She just sat on her ass bein’ stoned and Zach paid her. I won’t take advantage of him like that. I can get that place sorted out, and the truth is, it’s fun. Zach’s got all kinds of weird shit lyin’ ’round that store—old movies and B-movies I never seen before. And he lets me rent for free now.
    I’m happy he never realized I was flirtin’ with him before, ’cause if he had, I probably wouldn’t be workin’ for him now.

Zach…
    I HAD a dinner date with Tom the next week. He was supposed to pick me up at the store at six. When he didn’t show up, I thought about calling, but then realized he had never even given me his number. It seemed ridiculous that I had never thought to ask for it. Even if he was nothing more than my landlord, it seemed like he should have at least left me a business card. I waited until seven before giving up and going home.
    Two days later, he showed up at the store just as Angelo and I were closing.
    “Hey baby,” he said, as if nothing had happened.
“You’re two days late,” I said accusingly.
“Baby, I’m so—”
    “My name is not ‘baby’,” I interrupted him. “It’s Zach.” I saw Angelo, who was just flipping the sign on the door to Closed, smile at that.
    Tom’s smile only faltered for a moment. “Zach. I’m sorry.