“And if you promise me youwon’t, Chère,” Eli adds with a definitelookin his eyes, “I will…” He leans forward to whisper in her ear, and her eyes light up.
I roll my eyes in amusement.My cue to leave, I say.
They look up a little sheepishly. “Bye,” Em calls to me as I start to make tracks, and Eli grins and nods.
Yeah, from the way they’re looking each other and hurrying back to their apartment, I definitely made the right call turning them down for dinner. Wedding planning myass.
I always goto the same supermarket. It’s small, but it’s the closest one to home, and a lot of the staff recognize me by now and don’t expect me to make conversation with them at the checkout if the self-service tills are too busy.
I grab a basket and think about what I need. I can’t be bothered to cook anything too fancy tonight, so I grab a can of tomato soup, and some cheddar and a loaf of bread to make a grilled cheese to go with it. That, plus a few episodes ofParks and Recreation, and that’s my evening complete.
Then I’ll just have the night to get through, and I’ll be back to the parlor and the whole cycle can start again.
I pick up a few other staples I’m running low on, when I see a flash of pink at the end of the aisle. The same pink that’s been playing on my mind all afternoon.
You gotta be fucking kidding me. Twice in one day?
I stand stock still, not sure if I hope she sees me or pray she doesn’t. Still, my eyes are irresistibly drawn to her like a magnet.
Liaden’s basket is full to the brim with fresh vegetables. There’s also a gold bottle of chocolate Baileys and a tub of Ben and Jerry’s resting on top. I can’t make out the flavor at this distance. I squint. There’s a magazine poking out of the side, and I wish I could see what it was.
For a second - just a split second - I think about walking up to her…
…but what would be the point?
I don’t have my tablet with me, and we can’t hand spell an entire conversation. And besides, what the hell would I say?
I shake my head and walk away to a new aisle before she sees me. I don’t need anything else badly enough to stick around, so I’ll just head to the checkout, pay, and go home. And stop thinking about her beautiful smile.
Yeah, right. Snap out of it, shithead. You’re being ridiculous.
“You do this every time,” an unfortunately familiar voice says a few feet away from me.
I look up.Shit. Sadie and Peter are up ahead in the candy aisle, thankfully with their backs to me. I pause, unsure what to do. Of course, I’d be happy to say hi toSadie, but I just can’t stand the stuck up dickweed she calls a long term boyfriend. On the rare occasions we meet, he always treats me like I’m stupid, and shouts everything he says to me like I’m his deaf grandfather. If he even deigns to speak to me at all. I prefer it when he doesn’t.
“Aw, come on, they’re on offer. It’d be rude not to,” Sadie says airily, but with a razor sharp edge to her voice. She’s holding up two large bars of Toblerone, like the sort you get in for Christmas.
“And they were last week, as well. And you ate thembothin a couple of days.” He’s her boyfriend, not her dad. What’s with the shitty tone?
“Look,” she says firmly, “if I want to enjoy something, that’s exactly what I’m going to do, and I don’t give a flying fuck if you agree or not.” He gives her a disapproving look as she curses. “I’m not even using your money. I’m paying for them myself, and I’ll spendmy moneyon whatever the fuck I like.” I don’t blame her one bit for being pissed off.
He tuts irritably. “Fine. But your lack of self-control and propensity for over the top self-indulgence is something for you to think about, Sadie. Too many of those,” he taps the Toblerone, “and…well.” He looks her up and downspeculatively. “You can do better.” He walks ahead of her, and I glare at his back. ‘Propensity’? What a dick.
Sadie scowls, and, before I can decide whether to comfort her or leave her alone, she picks up another two Toblerones, placing a total of four in her basket, and strides off to the shortest checkout queue without bothering to look where Peter has gone.
That’s our girl.
I still don’t understand what the actual fuck she sees in him, though. I’m starting to hope that even Sadie’s getting sick of the douchebag now, and that maybe he can shortly vacate her life and leave a nice Leo-shaped space for my cousin to fill. It’s about time that happened.
“Dean?Hello!”
Oh, crap.Liaden.
I turn slowly, and there she is, beaming up at me with a smile that looks like it could power a city. Goddamn, if only she was just a bit less pretty, I might be able to be cool for real instead of just faking it.
Maybe I’m shallow as fuck, or maybe this is normal, but her face just makes me feel tingly on the inside.
I wave my hand in greeting, at a loss as to what else to do, and school my face into a casually friendly expression.
