Prince Charming

His handsome smile warmed Anette’s soul, like a comforting fireplace in wintertime. It injected her with hope and a sense of purpose, and gave her something to look forward to. Of all the boys she found attractive, Roman was the most elegant and fashionable. He was pure royalty, in flesh. If only Anette wasn’t so shy.

She followed him on social media (Face, Insta, Snap, Twit), tailed him in public (from school to home, from home to the mall, from the mall back home) and often stared at him openly in the school cafeteria, inadvertently telegraphing her feelings to everyone present with her large brown eyes. Even her younger sister, Zoe, noticed her infatuation. The ensuing teasing initially drove Annette mad. But the elder sister ultimately used her earned wisdom to ignore such childish mocking. Eventually, this subdued her adolescent sibling into maturity.

“I heard he’s into The Black Keys,” Zoe told Annette in the kitchen. “You can ask him if he’s going to their concert on the twenty seventh.”

What a brilliant idea!

On Saturday, she spotted him at the mall’s food court, eating a slice of Sbarro pizza, grease dripping down his adorable cheeks. After his two friends left, Roman was alone, mindlessly checking his phone. That’s when Annette took a deep breath, sighed, and mustered up her courage.

“Excuse me”, she said, her cheeks blushing, her heart rate increasing. When he looked up at her, it nearly made her swoon. “I’m Annette.” He smiled and kindly shook her extended hand. And the following moment, this boy-God, this Adonis eternal, at long last, spoke.

“Hi.” His was a charismatic, seductive voice. “Wanna fuck?”