“Sure does. It’s the blue box right here.” She reached up, standing on her tiptoes, and I admired her calf muscles. She handed me the box and I willingly took it.
“Thank you, kind stranger. I swear my sister does stuff to mess with me.” I set the box in the cart and she assessed me in disbelief.
“The ever-nagging sister, yes. I’ve heard ofherbefore.” She smiled, dimples popping out on either side.
“You don’t believe me, do you?”
“I’m not sure. You do seem rather uncomfortable in the girl aisle and you strike me as someone who doesn’t do something he doesn’t want.”
“Good assessment. However, I have another thing I have to get for her and I really don’t want to do that. Care to help a guy out?” I tried the line, knowing it sounded ridiculous. She waited three seconds too long before deciding to grab the list from my hand. I took that as a sign of agreement and cheered. “You rock.”
“I’m doing my kind deed for the day. The pay-it-forward type of thing. I expect good karma after this.” She hurried out of the scary lady aisle. She walked fast, her strong legs carrying her with grace. She had to be a runner and I suddenly wished she ran in front of me every mile I had to run. She ducked down another aisle and I quickened my pace to catch up with her.
“Where are we going?” I frowned at the hair products all around us. Colors were tough for me. Pinks and purples were a little too similar.
“This is the hair aisle. Do you not buy your own shampoo?” She tilted her head and I shrugged.
“Sure I do. But CVS is easier to navigate.”
She laughed and picked up two bottles of some purple stuff. “Here you are.”
I read the bottles and placed them in the cart. “Thank you. Seriously.”
“You’re welcome. I hope your sister enjoys it.” She said the wordsisterwith emphasis and wide eyes.
“You think I made up the sister line, didn’t you?” I cringed, imaging Zaria dying laughing about this.
She wet her bottom lip so quickly I almost didn’t see it. The motion made me want to beg on my knees to see it again. “I want to say yeah, but I don’t want to come across as a tool.”
“You’d be honest. But I assure you, my sister is very real and will laugh her ass off when I tell her a woman didn’t immediately trust me.”
“Hmm, now I’m curious. I’m inferring from that statement that you pick up women frequently.”
“As I said, I’m two for four in the Tinder department. As far as Target pickup lines, I’m currently zero for one.” I slid that in there, hoping to at least get a smile. It did.Bam.
“Cute.” She continued to eye me and I let her. She wasn’t blatant or intrusive. She weighed her options and I appreciated that in a woman. “Who said you struck out, though?”
My eyes widened at her insinuation. An unfamiliar sensation of joy spread through my chest. “When someone turns down a proposal, it’s hard on the ego.”
“Not yours. That I am positive of,” she teased, her tone matching mine.
“All right then, White Sox, the ball is as we say, on your field.” I paused, hoping she enjoyed my baseball banter.
“Grocery shop with me. It tells you a lot about a person. If you pass the test, then we can go to the ball park.” She paused and smiled. “Notice that I did not insinuate anything about getting to any bases?”
“Duly noted.” I indicated for her to walk down the aisle. I meant it to be the act of a gentleman, but it didn’t hurt to get another peek at her perfect ass. “I’ve never done a grocery shopping date before. How does it work?”
“No idea. Just thought of it.” She spun around and caught me staring. “Strike one, player.”
“I’m assuming I get three before I’m out?”
“Smart man.” She pulled a list out of her bag. “Game on. Now, if you’re hosting a party, what snack food do you go for?” she asked a few minutes later as we walked into the chip aisle. I’d passed the first two tests about how I drank my coffee and my favorite flavor of jelly. Strawberry, by the way.
“I feel like every question is a quiz of sorts. I didn’t study,” I admitted.
“You’ll do fine. Take a swing.” She reached for some pretzels and salted chips from the shelf and I thought about it. My mom tended to buy Doritos and chips and salsa. Always a safe choice.
“Chips and salsa.”
