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I shrugged casually. “Sure, why not?”
Her face lit up with a smile as she jumped down from the stool and ran to get her sneakers and coat.
________
Sipping on my iced coffee while Stevie chowed down on the last of her cake pop, it looked like our Target trip was starting off as a success. I grabbed one of the large red carts and she wordlessly grabbed onto it with her little hand like it was the most natural thing in the world.
“What do we need first?” she asked, licking her frosting covered lips.
“Uh… School stuff?” I asked her.
Her face crumpled in worry. “You’re askingmewhat we need?”
I paused, hating that I could actually feel her confidence in me slipping again. “Let’s just grab all the regular stuff that you use at school before we buy other stuff, yeah?”
She looked at me warily but gave a little nod, then jumped up on the back of the cart so I could push her. I smirked and obliged.
But as soon as we turned into the school aisle, my heart practically stopped. Standing there, looking like a beacon of help in the middle of all the gel pens and pads of sticky notes, was a short girl with dark hair tumbling down her back.Myshort girl.
It’d feel so natural to walk up behind her and pull her into me. And my chest tightened knowing that I couldn’t do that. I couldn’t touch her. Because I pushed her away despite her offering to wait for me.
She was clearly oblivious to me and Stevie standing at the top of the aisle. She had her glasses on today and an old hoodie that looked way too big for her. The caveman inside me wondered whose fucking hoodie it was, and I had to swallow down the urge to peel it off her and give her mine instead.
I cleared my throat loudly and she startled, dropping the sticky notes she was holding.
“Oh, hi!” Her eyes darted from me to Stevie, who was still standing on the front of the cart with her arms looped around the sides. The corner of Josie’s lips quirked up and she eyed me shyly, tentatively, and my mind screamed at me that I was a fucking idiot. I hated the distance between us, and that I was the one who put it there.
“This is my friend, Josie,” I told Stevie, trying to break the ice. “She’s a teacher at the school you’re gonna go to.”
“Oh cool! Are you gonna be my teacher?” she asked.
Josie smiled. “No, I’m actually a ninth grade teacher, but sometimes I sub in the lower elementary grades, so maybe I’ll be your substitute teacher sometime.”
“No shit.” How had I not known that? I’d dated her for… I guess only a couple days. But I’d assumed she was a second grade teacher from our first meeting.
Both girls were now looking at me like I needed to wash my mouth out with soap.
I rubbed a hand over my jaw to cover a smile. “Sorry. Tough habit to break,” I said sheepishly.
“Wanna help us pick stuff out?” Stevie asked with hopefulness in her voice. I guess she’d decided shopping with only me was a lost cause, which was probably true.
Josie bit her lip and her cheeks pinked up as she waited for me to answer.
I hated how stilted and unsure everything was between us now. The night we said our goodbyes to each other, I regretted it as soon as she walked away. Everything had been so murky and unclear that night, and I still didn’t have any solutions… And why the fuck had I pushed her away in the first place? I had no fucking clue what I was doing, and Stevie could tell. Josie was a teacher and a girl. She was way more equipped to handle this kind of situation than I gave her credit for.
I mouthed, “please” at her.
Her face broke into a warm smile aimed at Stevie. “Sure.”
I followed the two of them as they rapidly chatted about school together. In all of two minutes, Josie had more information spilling out of Stevie than I had all morning, and walking through the clothing aisle, Stevie had even grabbed Josie’s hand. How was it so natural for her to connect with Stevie where I felt like I was tiptoeing with her.
Every time Stevie or Josie cooed about something being cute, I grabbed it and threw it in the cart.
After a few minutes of doing this, Stevie eyed the cart warily. “You sure we can afford all of this?” she asked doubtfully.
“Yes,” I answered firmly. Before Case made it to the NHL, we were just scrapping by with his paycheck from working at the rink. Both of us had a healthy dose of anxiety every time we went to buy groceries, afraid we’d have to run and put stuff back. I think being able to go shopping with no worries in mind was our “we made it” moment.
“Actually?” she asked skeptically.
