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Chapter Four
Nicole
Grocery Store Friend
“Vito, I’m in a relationship,” I reminded the sexy Italian who seemed to have memorized my shopping habits down to the letter.
The grocery store was one of the few places Desi let me go without a hassle. Vito came on to me the first day I met him. At first, I was afraid Desi would catch me talking to him and start some trouble. After a few conversations with Vito, I realized he didn’t care about me having a man, no matter how many times I told him so.
“You’re not wearing a ring,” he said when I reminded him I was taken. “So, you’re not exactly taken. Real men claim what they want. We stamp our names on every part of our woman.” He then allowed his eyes to roam over every part of me, giving me a visual of the parts he wanted to claim. What was I supposed to do with that information?
I rolled my eyes playfully and walked away from him. “You’re trying to get me in trouble, and I don’t have time for it,” I admonished as I left the frozen vegetable section and walked over to the ice cream.
Seeing him at my weekly shopping visits tugged at my heart and made me feel at home. I couldn’t explain what drew me to him.
I kept telling myself I wasn’t cheating on Desi. It was just that this handsome giant kept finding me and talking to me whenever I shopped. I grew to love conversations with Vito. Talking to him put a genuine smile on my face. Though I would never tell him, interacting with him was so different than what I got at home that I damn near craved it.
I was pushing my buggy through the frozen food section when he groaned, “I like chocolate ice cream too. It’s my favorite flavor.” He ran his tongue over his bottom lip to emphasize his love for chocolate ice cream.
See. This was the kind of mess that caused unnecessary drama. It could get people killed. My man was psycho, and I knew that. His wild and crazy side drew me to him before he started putting his hands on me.
Last week, I hauled ass from the grocery store after talking to my sexy grocery store friend for an hour. From that conversation, I learned Vito worked in construction. He had family all over the United States, but his immediate family was back in Italy.
At first glance, he looked like the kind of guy people knew not to mess with unless they wanted to have a very bad day. After talking to him, I realized he was indeed rough around the edges. He also was kind, attentive, and interesting. Those were all the traits of someone I would have loved to get to know better if I wasn’t already entangled with a nutcase.
This week, when I saw Vito walking down the canned good aisle, I did a U-turn and pushed my buggy toward the register. I had come a few minutes earlier than normal just to avoid running into him. Desi’s sister shopped at this market after her shifts at the hospital. I didn’t want to risk Desi or someone he knew seeing me chatting with Vito. That would only cause problems at home.
Remembering I had to get Desi’s ice cream landed me on the frozen food aisle, talking to Vito about my absent wedding band and his favorite kind of ice cream.
“Listen, I have to go,” I told him.
“Hold up, beautiful. I just want to talk to you.”
I didn’t say anything else as he followed me through the checkout and to my car.
“Can I at least help you load your groceries?”
“Please don’t. I don’t want any trouble.”
“Fine. I don’t want to cause any trouble for you.” He leaned against his black Jeep, arms crossed and staring at me. I got into my car and was about to pull off when he walked over and tapped the window.
Shit. I let out a nervous sigh and pasted on a smile. “I’m kind of in a hurry,” I relayed through the cracked window.
“This will only take a second. Do you have a second?” He looked so good that I wanted to say yes, but I just sat there frozen.
Taking my silence as an invitation, Vito tried to open my door.
I locked the doors. “What are you doing?”
“Let me in. I just want to talk to you.”
What to do. What to do…
I rolled my window down further. Thick, sunny, midday air hit my face. “We can talk like this. You don’t have to get in the car.”
“Open the door, Nicole.” His eyes went dark, but not like they did when Desi looked at me. His darkness was soothing and inviting, making me want to sit there, take all of his energy in, and keep it for myself.
I could have pulled out of the parking space but didn’t move an inch. Maybe the way he said my name suffocated my ability to think correctly. I didn’t understand my actions, but I reached down and hit the unlock button.
