Gio stares. "You think I'm kidding?" Silence.
"Leave. Before I make sure you can't walk into another store without remembering me."
And he does. He leaves. Like a roach scurrying from light. I stand there, shaking, trying to pull air into my lungs. Gio finally turns to me. His jaw clenched.
"Don't let people talk to you like that."
"I didn't expect—"
"I never expect. That's why I'm always ready." He pauses. "You okay now?"
I nod slowly. "Yeah."
"Good." He looks away. "Idiot."
"Thanks," I say quietly. He doesn't say anything. Just keeps walking. So I follow, weirdly safe. We walk toward the line, the basket between us filled with tiny grapes, a bottle of water, and some random snacks Gio has aggressively tossed in without thinking, probably just to distract himself. Or me. Or both of us.
I shift on my feet, heart still thumping from the guy earlier. But that isn't what is killing me now. It’s him. Acting like nothing has happened. And I can't leave it like that. I take a breath, eyes fixed on the rows of gum and overpriced batteries.
"About earlier," I say quietly. "The call."
Gio doesn't look at me, just scratches the back of his neck. "You don't have to explain."
"No," I say quickly. "I do." He stays silent. I push on. "You called, and my dad was holding my phone, and I panicked. That's why I spoke to you like that. Like it was some…business thing."
Still nothing. My voice cracks.
"I hated how I sounded.I hated it. I swear I wasn't trying to push you away. I just—he was watching and I didn't know what else to do."
Finally, he turns his head. His eyes meet mine for a second, calm and unreadable. Then he shrugs softly. "It's fine."
I blink. "It's not fine."
"It is," he says, eyes already drifting back toward the fridge near the counter. "Seriously. I get it."
But I know that tone. Thatdon't poke ittone. He doesn't want to talk about it. Still, I'm not ready to let it go. My mouth opens again, and that’s when it happens.
Without warning, he leans in and kisses me.
It’s super quick. Nothing crazy. But it hits me like a freaking car crash in slow motion. By the time I process it, he’s alreadywalking away, grabbing a bottle of orange juice like nothing happened. Cool. I just stand there. Frozen. Mouth slightly parted. Staring at the back of his neck.
Holy. Shit. He kissed me. On the lips. In public.
And he's sober.
My knees go weird. Like I'm about to fold into myself and ascend to another dimension.
My brain:Saysomething.Dosomething. Breathe. I do none of the above. I just stand there, feeling like I'm fifteen and have just been kissed for the first time in my entire goddamn life.
I want to scream. I want to giggle. I want to kiss him back so hard until the homophobic grandmas nearby gasp. But all I can do is stare. And maybe smile like an idiot.
We walk back to the car in silence. Correction: He walks. I float. I follow him like a dog that has just been given its first-ever treat and doesn't know what to do with its body anymore. Gio looks completely unaffected. I, meanwhile, am having the most dramatic internal breakdown in the history of crushes.
I have officially entered the "Replay The Kiss Every 0.3 Seconds" mental loop. The pressure of his lips. The warmth. The way he didn't say a single word before or after. The softness of it. As we reach the car, I almost trip on my own feet trying to open the door. Noah notices immediately. "Jesus," he says, squinting at me. "You okay?"
"Yup," I say. "Great. Grapes acquired. Juice secured. Life's good." Daisy looks between me and Gio, suspicious as always.
"You two took a while. You got lost in the cracker aisle?"
