But what I wanted didn’t matter in the end.
The air shifted before me, a wave of her perfume drifting to my nose—something citrusy, maybe lemongrass mixed with some softer notes, like vanilla. She smelled nice. Really nice.
Fuck, there was no doubt about it, I seemed crazy.
I heard her sharp inhale of breath, before she squeaked out. “H-hi…”
My words lodged in my throat. What the hell did I say to her?“Hi, miss. I heard you singin’ so I followed the sound of your voice just to tell you that.”
Yeah, right. She’d definitely think I was crazy.
Her panicked, high pitched words hit me before I could respond, “Sorry about that. Have a nice day.”
The air moved once more, sending more of her perfume my way as the sound of her scuffling feet retreated down the aisle.
Well, what do you know, dickhead…you scared her away.
And I’d likely never see her—well, run into her again. I wouldn’t know what she looked like even if I did miraculously get my vision back right now.
Something panged in my chest. Regret.
It’d been a while since I’d felt so drawn to something. Most days were all about routine. Same shit. Different day. Wake up. Work. Eat. Sleep. Then start the whole monotonous process all over again. It was a fucking drag. All the days just bleeding into one.
But that was life now.
Then this mystery girl—woman—showed up and sparked something where there’d been nothing.
My feet began moving before I fully knew what I was doing, this sense of urgency, of desperation, rising in my chest.
Was it pathetic that I wanted to find her? That I had this crazy longing, thisneedto know who she was? I didn’t know my mystery girl from Eve. Didn’t know if she was married, or single, or nice, or anything like that. But I liked that, for one moment, in her presence, my life didn’t seem so dark.
I managed to get myself to the main aisleway, but with each step, my heart sank further and further. I was familiar with loss, and this sure as hell felt like a loss.
With a huff of disappointment, I made my way to my usual checkout stand. It was Saturday, so that meant… “Hi there, MissLaura,” I said, feeling around for the conveyor belt to put my basket on.
The older woman’s voice was raspy. “Well, if it isn’t my favorite, handsome cowboy. How are ya doin’, sweetie?”
I shrugged. “You know, same ol’ same ol’—”A thought came to mind, my words falling away for a moment. “Actually, have you seen someone runnin’ through the store? A woman… She sounded younger. Had a pretty voice. She smelled like lemongrass and vanilla.”
Frustration surged in me. How pathetic did I sound? Fuck, I hated this. I hated that I couldn’t see what she looked like. Or at least gotten her name. Why had she run away?
“Hmm… I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t. Did you need somethin’ from her?”
I blew out a sigh, reaching a hand into my back pocket to grab my wallet. “Nah, it’s not important. How much do I owe ya, today?”
For a minute, the only sound between us was that of her ringing up my few things. A six pack of beer off the third shelf, exactly fifteen steps into the beer aisle. A loaf of potato bread—hopefully. They’d gotten a new stocker, and sometimes they switched around the bread on me. And more peanut butter. About twenty steps down from the bread and on the second shelf down.
“That’ll be fifteen dollars and seventy-five cents—you sure you’re okay, sweetie?”
I forced a smile to my lips, wondering if it came off as more of a grimace than anything else. “All good, Miss Laura,” I replied, handing her my debit card.
Remnants of the girl’s warm, buttery voice echoed through my mind, my goddamn soul as the old woman bagged up my things and sent me on my way. I worked my way toward the left exit, closest to the grocery section, going slow enough tohear and gauge where others were at around me as I walked. I’d gotten pretty good at avoiding running into people. Either that, or something in my demeanor, or the expression on my face, kept people away.
Heat blasted into me and the darkness turned warmer as I was greeted by the scorching heat of the Texas sun. I whistled, and felt something brush against my right leg a moment later. Toenails clicked on the ground beside me. “Good boy, Rusty. See anythin’ interestin’?”
My Kelpie didn’t respond, but I didn’t expect him to. He set his pace to match mine as we walked the fifty three paces I’d counted out when I’d gotten out of my friend and fellow coworker, Travis’ truck. I reached out and found the corner of his tailgate and skirted around to the passenger side, feeling my way for the door. I blew out an annoyed groan when I found it locked. Damn, I should have waited inside.
“I’m here! I’m here!” Travis’ familiar voice cut through the parking lot over the sound of cars and trucks. “Sorry, man! I was talkin’ to this girl. Goddamn, was she hot.”
