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A silence stretched between them, and Walker reveled in the awkwardness that settled on her face.
Louise cleared her throat. “Well, how’s she doin’?”
“She’s healin’ up well.”
She released an exasperated breath that briefly lifted her bangs away from her face. “How long are you in town for again?”
She was fishing for information. He didn’t know if it was for gossip or her own curiosity, but he didn’t plan on giving her shit.
“Until I decide to leave.” He slid exact change across the counter and picked up the containers. “You have a nice day, ma’am.”
He kept his head held high as he walked out, but he couldn’t keep the satisfied smirk off his face. He hadn’t given her the dressing down he’d wanted to, but he sure as hell hadn’t given her what she wanted either. That was enough for now.
The plan was to take both pieces of cobbler to Gram’s place and eat one in front of the TV. He’d save the other for later—for when he really needed some peace. With the level of simmering tension that he’d been feeling since he’d been back, that time was coming sooner than later.
The early June sun had moved higher in the ten minutes he’d been in Minnie’s and beat down on his arms, making the short hairs stand on end. He took a pause right there in the middle of the parking lot, closing his eyes and tilting his face up towards the sky to feel the heat more intimately. Once he was sufficiently warmed, he opened his eyes. And he saw her.
He’d parked his black pickup near the back of the parking lot where there were very few cars. There was still an open spot on either side, but in one space over to the left was a little lime-green sedan. And leaning against the closed trunk was Aja Owens.
Walker had never been good at remembering names. He often had the same trouble with dates and appointments. They all took a little extra work to lock down. Normally that meant he had to catalog things in his phone the second they became set in stone. Names were a different matter. He had to employ a specific amount of brain power to keep them in his head. He usually tried to turn them into a song or make them rhyme with something. It was a lot of work—work that he didn’t have the energy to do with most people he met.
The second he met Aja he’d made an effort to remember her name. He’d repeated it in his head six different times. He would have written it down, but he had no idea how she spelled it. So he turned it into a little tune instead.
Aja. Aja. Aja Ow-ens.
Aja. Aja. Aja Ow-ens.
It was catchy. So much so, it had gotten stuck in his head. He’d found himself singing it while showering and while eating his late-night apples and peanut butter. The tune had run its course when he’d gotten up the next morning, but the name had remained. Seared so deeply into his memory that he wasn’t sure it was even possible to forget.
Her face was there too, sweet and round. All dark hooded eyes and lips so full he could have shed a tear over them. Her eyes were glued to her phone, and as far as he knew, she hadn’t noticed him, so he took the opportunity to stare a little longer.
He hadn’t been paying much attention to her looks during their first not-quite-meeting at the Piggly Wiggly. He’d heard her breathing an aisle away, and while he hadn’t been able to see her face, he’d felt pretty certain that she was having a panic attack. They could be like snowflakes, each one different and more complex than the last, but he’d had enough to recognize the signs. And then he had been too focused on preparing himself to help her if things escalated to gauge whether he found her attractive. But when Gram had introduced them at bingo, he knew immediately he definitely did.
Now she wore a black maxi dress that was a bit tight around her upper body and had spaghetti straps. He could see the fullness of her upper arms and the lush way her breasts pressed out of the top. Her skin was a dark golden brown that caught the sun just right, making his breath hitch.
As discreet as he tried to be, Aja must have felt his eyes on her. After a few sweeps of his gaze, she looked up from her phone and stared ahead—right at him. He saw her eyes widen from across the parking lot and a stricken look flash across her face. She looked like she wanted to run. When she didn’t, Walker approached.
“Hey,” he drawled, flashing her a slow, easy smile.
“Uhm, hi.” It was clear that she was unsure what to say. The last thing Walker wanted was to make her uncomfortable. He contemplated walking away with only a greeting, but her mouth was faster than his feet.
“Got some pie?” she asked, gesturing to his takeout containers.
“Cobbler actually. Were you headin’ into Minnie’s too?”
Aja shook her head. “No, I have a hair appointment. I’m getting braids for the summer.” She pointed to the salon two doors over from Minnie’s in the strip mall. “But I’m here early so…”
Her hair looked thick, full of tightly coiled curls that fell a little above her shoulders. He wondered briefly what she was getting done. They were quiet for a few seconds, a slight awkwardness building in the space between them. Walker could end it by bidding her good-bye and leaving, but he didn’t want to. He knew next to nothing about the woman, but he was intrigued by her.
Gram had started mentioning her new bingo buddy on their weekly phone calls months ago. Bingo talk always made him zone out, but from what he’d picked up, Gram considered her sweet but quiet. Meeting Aja in person hadn’t disproven those things, but he’d caught wind of something more. She’d joked with him and Gram on Wednesday night, even giving him a wink after being generous enough to help him as he fumbled through his first game. Plus, there was something a little mischievous behind her eyes.
He’d always been drawn to women who were less than forthcoming with their entire personalities. He liked to be the one to draw hidden shit out of people, loved it when they trusted him enough to open up and let him see everything they kept shut away. His therapist said it probably had something to do with elevated empathy in response to his childhood trauma. Part of him thought it was just him being fake deep in an effort to connect with people, another thing that was rarely easy for him. Either way, it was there, and it refused to let him walk away from Aja.
“You ever had Minnie’s cobbler before?” he asked.
“Nope.” She shook her head, tucking her hair behind her ear. “I’ve actually never eaten there before.”
Walker’s eyes widened almost comically. “Seriously?”
