Status: Active
When You're Around
Anger
“Milk, bread, eggs, butter,” I recited as I walked away from the dairy aisle. I had just picked up several out of a million items the fridge lacked, yet I wasn’t smart enough to get a buggy as I walked into the automatic doors of the small grocery store. Instead, I carried the small red basket on my arm as I browsed through the narrow aisles containing every food product imaginable. “What else do I need?” I mused, while walking toward the meat department.
My heels clonked loudly against the tiled floors and my hangover was starting kick in as I quickly passed unwanted food items. I was ready to just leave the store and go pass out in my room like I should have been doing earlier.
“What else do I need?” I was starting to get irritated at sudden loss of a mental grocery list and I could almost feel my light breakfast rising from my stomach. After grabbing over a dozen more items to last for a couple of days, I rushed to the check-out lane and stood in the shortest line I could find.
Lucky me, it held a mom of two toddlers, an old lady with a lot of pocket change, and a teenage boy that stood gawking at me like he’d never seen a woman before. I was not in the mood for any of that.
The line moved slowly, and after seven minutes it was finally my turn. I smiled as pleasantly as I could at the petite goth girl who would be ringing me up and unloaded the contents of my basket with shaking hands. The cashier popped her gum loudly –causing me to flinch- as she totaled my amount due and it took all I had not to snap at the poor thing.
“That’ll be $25.79,” she signed in a tone I knew all too well. Lou had used it every time she was either bored or in the middle of a sudden writing surge. I reached into my wallet and pulled out my wallet, just to find that I only had a twenty on me and no credit card in sight. Angry, I threw my wallet onto the conveyer belt and rested my aching temples on my palms.
I was just three seconds away from saying ‘fuck it’ and walking out without the food.
A chuckle was heard just behind me and I snapped my head up to see what the person found so amusing. It wasn’t a surprise when I found him looking right at me. The man wasn’t that tall -just barely an inch taller than me in heels-, he wore his dark hair in a tight pony-tail, and his bright green eyes flashed noticeable from his barely tanned face.
“What the fuck is so funny?” I snapped with narrowed eyes. Even if the man was attractive and I was taking my anger out on him, he had no damn business laughing at a poor girl like me in a situation like that.
He held up his hands as if saying he didn’t want trouble and pulled out his wallet, “I’ll handle it, don’t worry.”
I was at a complete loss for words as I watched him pay for my groceries. The bagger handed me several bags, and I hesitated slightly when I grabbed them. I looked toward the stranger and shook away the shock and anger I felt from before, “You really didn’t have to do that, you know?”
He looked at me and smiled, causing my head to spin just a bit.
“I’m serious.”
“Well, it’s not often that I get to help a beautiful lady in her time of need,” he explained as he grabbed his bags and we started walking out the door. Once we fully stepped from the cool building, flashing lights were the only things I saw.
“Sorry,” I whispered as we tried our best to get past them, “they tend to follow me everywhere.”
The stranger blew out a false breath of relief and laughed, “Oh good, I was just thinking my celebrity status had been booted up a notch.”
I laughed and bit my bottom lip in embarrassment. After we successfully got past the large crowd that still tailed us, the stranger had decided to go the full yard and walk me all the way to my car. I didn’t think he understood how charming he was getting with each action he had acted out ever since our meeting just five minutes before. When we finally reached my car, I put my things away and turned to him with a small smile playing on my lips as well as his. “I owe you for what you did in there.”
He nodded his head and his smile widened, “I was just thinking that,” he stated in a flirty voice that caused his feint accent to be heard –and my heart to pick up in its pace-, “how about dinner with me tonight? My treat?”
“Dinner, yes,” I smiled, “but you have to let me pay.”
“Then what kind of a man would I be?” he asked, while cocking his eyebrow. I bit my bottom lip once again and we stood there in silence; a silence soon killed by the question that I had been dying to hear him ask. “Would it be alright if I asked you for your number?”
I nodded my head and got a pen out of my car just so I could write my number on the smooth, light skin of his palm. Deciding to do a little flirting as well, I looked up from my position and into his eyes, “Don’t make me wait to long.” Winking, I got into my car and started it up. With one last look at the stranger I slowly pulled out of the parking space, but stopped once I realized I didn’t ask him his name.
“I’m Jackson,” he answered my unasked question and smiled at me before walking in the direction of his car.
The rest of the way to the apartment I was smiling.
My heels clonked loudly against the tiled floors and my hangover was starting kick in as I quickly passed unwanted food items. I was ready to just leave the store and go pass out in my room like I should have been doing earlier.
“What else do I need?” I was starting to get irritated at sudden loss of a mental grocery list and I could almost feel my light breakfast rising from my stomach. After grabbing over a dozen more items to last for a couple of days, I rushed to the check-out lane and stood in the shortest line I could find.
Lucky me, it held a mom of two toddlers, an old lady with a lot of pocket change, and a teenage boy that stood gawking at me like he’d never seen a woman before. I was not in the mood for any of that.
The line moved slowly, and after seven minutes it was finally my turn. I smiled as pleasantly as I could at the petite goth girl who would be ringing me up and unloaded the contents of my basket with shaking hands. The cashier popped her gum loudly –causing me to flinch- as she totaled my amount due and it took all I had not to snap at the poor thing.
“That’ll be $25.79,” she signed in a tone I knew all too well. Lou had used it every time she was either bored or in the middle of a sudden writing surge. I reached into my wallet and pulled out my wallet, just to find that I only had a twenty on me and no credit card in sight. Angry, I threw my wallet onto the conveyer belt and rested my aching temples on my palms.
I was just three seconds away from saying ‘fuck it’ and walking out without the food.
A chuckle was heard just behind me and I snapped my head up to see what the person found so amusing. It wasn’t a surprise when I found him looking right at me. The man wasn’t that tall -just barely an inch taller than me in heels-, he wore his dark hair in a tight pony-tail, and his bright green eyes flashed noticeable from his barely tanned face.
“What the fuck is so funny?” I snapped with narrowed eyes. Even if the man was attractive and I was taking my anger out on him, he had no damn business laughing at a poor girl like me in a situation like that.
He held up his hands as if saying he didn’t want trouble and pulled out his wallet, “I’ll handle it, don’t worry.”
I was at a complete loss for words as I watched him pay for my groceries. The bagger handed me several bags, and I hesitated slightly when I grabbed them. I looked toward the stranger and shook away the shock and anger I felt from before, “You really didn’t have to do that, you know?”
He looked at me and smiled, causing my head to spin just a bit.
“I’m serious.”
“Well, it’s not often that I get to help a beautiful lady in her time of need,” he explained as he grabbed his bags and we started walking out the door. Once we fully stepped from the cool building, flashing lights were the only things I saw.
“Sorry,” I whispered as we tried our best to get past them, “they tend to follow me everywhere.”
The stranger blew out a false breath of relief and laughed, “Oh good, I was just thinking my celebrity status had been booted up a notch.”
I laughed and bit my bottom lip in embarrassment. After we successfully got past the large crowd that still tailed us, the stranger had decided to go the full yard and walk me all the way to my car. I didn’t think he understood how charming he was getting with each action he had acted out ever since our meeting just five minutes before. When we finally reached my car, I put my things away and turned to him with a small smile playing on my lips as well as his. “I owe you for what you did in there.”
He nodded his head and his smile widened, “I was just thinking that,” he stated in a flirty voice that caused his feint accent to be heard –and my heart to pick up in its pace-, “how about dinner with me tonight? My treat?”
“Dinner, yes,” I smiled, “but you have to let me pay.”
“Then what kind of a man would I be?” he asked, while cocking his eyebrow. I bit my bottom lip once again and we stood there in silence; a silence soon killed by the question that I had been dying to hear him ask. “Would it be alright if I asked you for your number?”
I nodded my head and got a pen out of my car just so I could write my number on the smooth, light skin of his palm. Deciding to do a little flirting as well, I looked up from my position and into his eyes, “Don’t make me wait to long.” Winking, I got into my car and started it up. With one last look at the stranger I slowly pulled out of the parking space, but stopped once I realized I didn’t ask him his name.
“I’m Jackson,” he answered my unasked question and smiled at me before walking in the direction of his car.
The rest of the way to the apartment I was smiling.
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Arabelle's Outfit