I drive toward the house, looking for a store on my way where I can grab everything I need. I luck out and find a supermarket halfway between the gym and home.
I’m still in my leotard so I pull on a pair of shorts and a baggy sweatshirt. My hair is sweaty, and my cheeks are still flushed from a day full of working out. I groan at my reflection in the sliding doors before they open and I step inside. Oh well. I just need a few things, and it isn’t like I’m going to run into anyone I know on this side of town.
One of the oddly satisfying things about moving away from where you grew up is that you no longer fear running into someone you went to high school with while looking like shit.
After grabbing a cart, I start in the produce section. Bananas and blackberries make it into the cart, followed by a wide range of vegetables I can eat raw like carrots and cauliflower. No matter how much I force myself to eat them, I’m never going to be a fan. But I can practically hear my grandmother’s voice in my head telling me I need to get at least two veggies a day. She is hardcore in her daily nutrition requirements, but she turns eighty this year and still gets around like she’s thirty years youngers so she must know something.
I offset the healthy stuff with three different kinds of pretzels, muffins from the bakery, and white chocolate chips, which I typically eat by the handful while deciding what to eat for dinner.
I’m going down the last aisle, looking for any final items I can’t live without when a tall, athletic guy comes around the corner on the opposite side. His walk is familiar even before I place my handsome neighbor.
I seriously consider hiding but before I can figure out how to best crawl into the ice cream freezer, Travis sees me. A smile instantly lifts the corners of his mouth, and despite my best efforts, my stomach does a somersault.
Traitorous body.
He’s good-looking and somehow seeing him amidst the other grocery shoppers, it’s all the more obvious. Not only how attractive he is but how attractiveIfind him. Usually, flirty guys aren’t my type. I guess he’s hot enough that even that can’t fully take away from his looks.
His leisurely steps pick up pace as he navigates his shopping cart right at me. How is it possible he even looks good pushing a bright red cart with a wobbly wheel?
“Must be my lucky day,” he says with a cockiness that should be studied. No man with five boxes of Cocoa Pebbles in their shopping cart should look this confident.
I resist the urge to roll my eyes. “Do you really use lines like that?”
“Uhh…” His brows lift but his smile remains.
That’s a yes.
A surprised laugh escapes my lips. “Let me guess, we just happen to be going to the same place at the same time?”
“Looks like it.”
“Is this your current shopping window?”
He arches a brow. “Trying to avoid me?”
“Oh no. Definitely not.” Of course that’s what I’m trying to do. I can’t keep running into this guy everywhere I go. He has my nervous system all out of whack. And I’m still pissed at him. Kind of.
“Don’t worry. I typically use their online ordering and delivery service, but I couldn’t get through the night without a few essentials.”
“Cocoa Pebbles?”
He doesn’t look even the slightest bit embarrassed. “Absolutely.”
“Definitely essential.”
He eyes my cart with the same interest I did his. “You should swap out those blueberry muffins for the huckleberry.”
“I like blueberry.”
“Have you ever had huckleberry?”
“No,” I admit.
“Moon Cafe makes them fresh while the berries are in season.” He groans, a deep rough sound that makes my stomach dip. “I think I need to make one more stop before I head home.”
I take that as my cue to go. “Well…happy shopping.”
He huffs a short laugh as one side of his full lips pulls up. “Happy shopping, Hannah.”
