Substitute Love

“We’re out of milk too” I hear Abby say from the kitchen.

“We? More like I” I say & she walks out of the kitchen with an empty carton of milk.

“Just because I got married & moved doesn’t mean I stopped considering this place my home” She says, dropping the carton on the coffee table. I don’t bother looking at her. The show I’m watching is far more entertaining than her bitching about how I’m gonna die with no food in my fridge. “Are you even listening to me?” She asks & stands in front of the TV. I turn to look at her annoyed.

“Yes?”

“You need to do some shopping” She says & I just nod carelessly. “Now, Vicky” She says again & I sigh.

“Now? Like… right now?” I mutter & she nods. “But-” She cuts me.

“No buts, Vic. You’ve been procrastinating the whole weekend. What’s gonna happen when it’s Monday & you have nothing to eat for breakfast before going to work, uh?” She sounds like my mother. “You don’t even have coffee &-”

“Ok, ok” I cut her before she starts rambling about all the things that are missing in my kitchen… again. “I’ll go” I stand up & walk to my room to put some shoes on & grab my stuff. I look at myself in the mirror & think about changing to a pair of jeans but I’m way too lazy. Besides, the grocery store is just a couple of blocks away. I'll be back in less than 30 minutes. Hopefully Abby will be out of here. I would like to just do nothing with no one today. I grab my sunglasses & my bag & walk out of the room to find Abby lying on my couch, watching TV. She looks at me.

“You look like a whore” She says & I glare at her. "I think you should change"

“What are you doing here? Don’t you have a husband to attend?” I say annyed, putting my sunglasses on before walking out. Seriously, if she wasn’t my best friend since forever, I would’ve already slapped her.

*~*~*

Ok, let’s go through my mental list again. I’ve got the coffee, bread, Smackers P&J, grapes, microwave popcorn, tomato sauce, tampons, cuz I think I'm running out of those, & some pasta. I don’t need a lot to survive. I might as well grab something to drink. Oh yeah… milk! I can’t believe I forgot about the milk. Suddenly my phone starts buzzing, startling me. I sigh & balance the small basket on my hand while trying to search for my phone that’s in my bag when suddenly someone crashes with me, sending the basket flying. “Fuck” I curse. Yes, I curse like a sailor. Sue me. “Watch where you’re going, fucking asshole” I mutter under my breath, crouching down to pick up my stuff.

“I’m so sorry” I hear him say, while he’s picking up our stuff. I roll my eyes.

“Yeah, whatever. Like I need this shit right now” I say when I hear him chuckle. I look up at him & my eyes widened. Its Gavin’s uncle… Zack. I see him checking me out but I’m far too embarrassed to call him out for that.

“Zack” I say, blushing. Great, Victoria. “I, uh…” I mutter & let out a small laugh. Guess I should’ve listened to Abby & changed. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know it was you” I say, placing the last box in my basket.

“It’s ok. Don’t want you to curse on anyone else, though. I almost feel flattered. Never did my 2nd grade teacher called me a ‘fucking asshole’ before” He says, smirking at me. I let out a laugh before standing up, letting him have a better view at my legs. Guess that I should be more careful about my potty mouth. Now I’m a teacher. I can’t imagine if it had been a parent. Thank God it was Zack. “Motivated by hate, Inspired by love” He reads my tattoo out loud. I had it done when I turned 18 & has been my life motto since forever. Since then, I became addicted to tattoos. He looks up at me, before carelessly grabbing the last box that was lying on the floor. “Didn’t know teachers had tattoos” He say, glancing at me. I blush even harder. If only he knew.

“Well, we’re regular people too. We do crazy stuff from time to time” I say. I’m not the typical teacher. I’m the kinda girl that is nice & sweet, but really crazy. I just know when to unleash that craziness.

“Really?” He asks, intrigued. I nod. “I like the sound of that. I do crazy stuff too” He says, winking at me. I f I didn’t know better, I can swear that he’s flirting with me. Not that I mind. I roll my eyes at him with an amused smile plastered on my face, attempting to flirt back. Why? I don’t know.

“I’m sure you do. Can I have my tampons back?” I say, eyeing the box in his hand. He chuckles, nodding & placing it in my basket. “Thank you” I say. “It was nice to see you” I say, before walking past him, inhaling a bit of his cologne. He smells really good.

“Wait” He say, grabbing my arm, sending a shiver down my spine & making me turn. “Feel like doing something crazy?” He asks, not letting go of my arm. I narrow my eyes at him, pondering on what he’s suggesting. “I’m going over to this thing at my friend’s house, want to come?” He asks.

“And what’s crazy about that?” I smile & now I know that I’m flirting back.

“Well… we’re some crazy mother fuckers & you’ll be going with a relative of one of your students” He says & my smile grows. I look at him, my mind telling me that it’s not a good idea to go to a place full of people I don’t know & that my job might be at risk. “So, what’s it gonna be, Ms. Forbes? Feel like breaking the rules?” He says, letting my arms go. I look down to my basket & notice a box of condoms that definitely aren’t mine. That’s when my crazy side shuts down my conscience & I look back at him.

“With one condition” I say & he nods, suppressing a smile. I grab the small box from my basket & hand it to him & he just snickers. In a very sexy way, if I might add. “You leave this at home. You won’t need them tonight” I say, turning around to walk away, before turning to look at him. “Extra large? Nice” I says deciding to embarrass him a bit & I see him blush a little. “I’ll finish shopping for some more stuff & I’ll meet you at the entrance, ok?” I say, turning again & walking away, although I feel his stare on my ass for a bit. & I can’t help but smile a bit. This will be fun. Besides… technically… he isn’t a parent, so I’m not doing anything wrong, right?