Crashed Into You

“And don’t forget the milk!” my mum shrieked down the phone, being so kind as to remind me for the fifth time. I rolled my eyes as I held the phone in one hand and tried to manoeuvre the shopping trolley with the other. So far it wasn’t working as well as I’d hoped, the trolley wobbling dangerously in every direction, almost hitting everybody else in the supermarket but I managed to pull it back in at the last minute. Surely I couldn’t keep this up. It didn’t help I was in a rush, I hated food shopping and I had a ton of work to complete when I got home, which obviously I wasn’t looking forward to, but it had to be better than this. With a sigh, I listened to my mum prattle on about something to do with work but I wasn’t really listening; just making agreeing noises when appropriate, a skill I’d picked up a long time ago.
“Yeah... Mhmm, okay,” I mumbled, lazily reading the packet instructions of something I’d picked up off the shelf, elbows resting on the handlebar as I paid little attention to where I was going. That is, until I collided with someone else’s trolley as I came round the corner, creating a loud metallic crash, people around me giving me evils as they turned their attention to the sudden noise.
“Holy shit!” I hissed, my cheeks burning furiously as I scrambled to pull back my trolley.
“Sophie, what’s going on?” I heard a familiar voice, but it sounded distant. Suddenly I remembered your phone in my hand, my mum still on the other line.
“Oh god, sorry mum I’m going to have to call you back, I’ll see you later,” I hung up hurriedly, shoving my phone into my pocket as I snapped back up to apologise to the stranger I’d just rammed my trolley into.
“Oh my Christ I am so sorry, I didn’t mean it on purpose!” I babbled, but my breath hitched at the end of my sentence as I took a proper look at the stranger in front of me. He was absolutely gorgeous. He had dark sweeping hair with warm brown eyes to match, and I couldn’t help but giggle slightly at the llama hat on his head. I started to feel warm again and this time it wasn’t due to being embarrassed. Shaking myself of my brief stupor I tried my best to smile as normally as I could but knowing me it would probably make me look like I was crazy. However, the boy in front of me didn’t seem to mind as he grinned back, making my legs feel weak.
“No worries, it was an accident, these things happen,” he waved it off with a sense of ease and chuckled slightly, still beaming at me. I laughed nervously, mentally cursing myself as I realised how bad my laugh really was. I looked down instantly, but could feel a pair of eyes still watching me. Looking back up, the boy was still staring at me, his smile imprinted on his lips. As I caught his gaze he looked away sheepishly, stuttering as he waved quickly, before disappearing down an aisle. Sure that he was gone, I let out a breath I didn’t realise I’d been holding in, grinning like a fool as I bit my lip, heading off in the opposite direction to continue shopping.

Finally I’d finished my shopping, and was heading outside towards the car park, having almost completely forgotten the encounter with the mystery boy. Let’s face it, it was highly unlikely I’d see him again, and there’s no way someone like that would be interested in me, he was way out of my league. In a daze, I pushed my cart in the vague direction of my car, only to crash it again into the very person I’d just been thinking about.
“Jesus, you nearly gave me a heart attack! I thought I’d hit someone’s car!” I chuckled, clamping a hand to my chest. The boy laughed before replying.
“I blame you, you’re the one who keeps running into me!” he joked, still laughing through his sentence. I couldn’t help a smile creep onto my face as I heard him speak; something about it was unbelievably appealing.
“Well I blame the shopping trolley, I reckon it’s magnetically attracted to you or something,” I hoped my eyes hadn’t gone as wide as I thought as I stood in shock at how assertive I was being. I was never usually like this.
“Alright fine, we’ll apply mutual blame to the trolley,”
“Sounds like a plan,” I beamed, nodding slightly. A moment of silence passed as neither of us could think of anything to say.
“I um, should probably get to my car, get rid of this trolley as quickly as I can before it causes any more accidents,” I mumbled nervously, chewing on my bottom lip. The boy’s head shot up.
“Do you mind if I walk with you? You know, just to make sure it doesn’t try to find me again,” he chuckled, hands in his pockets, looking almost... timid.
“Yeah sure, go ahead,” I nodded, praying I wasn’t looking too eager. The boy’s face lit up all of a sudden, releasing a flurry of butterflies into my stomach. He moved over so he was by my side and we began walking towards my car.
“So, seeing as we’ve encountered each other twice today I feel obliged to ask your name?” he asked, the corners of his mouth tugging upwards, making mine do the same.
“My name’s Sophie,” I smiled.
“Well hi Sophie I’m Dan, nice to meet you,” he smiled back, holding out a hand for me to shake. Dan it was then; it suited him. We made more small talk before finally reaching my car.
“Here, let me help you with that,” Dan offered, grabbing shopping bags as I opened the boot.
“Oh no, you really don’t have to do that,” I protested, but Dan carried on.
“No it’s fine really, I want to,” he assured me.
“Seriously, I’ve already rammed a trolley into you twice today, it should be me helping you out if anything,” having said that, Dan stopped. A nervous half-smile appeared on his face as he became quiet for a moment. I raised an eyebrow quizzically in his direction. After a few more moments he spoke again.
“Well in that case, get a coffee with me?” my cheeks flushed with a bloom of red as I bit my lip.
“Sure,” I beamed, not remembering the last time I smiled so much.