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“Fucking right I will.” I nod. “What, are you one of those people who parks right up front?” I raise my eyebrows at her. “Bet you have dings and paint missing too.”
“Cade, I’ll parknextto a cart return. I don’t care.” She shrugs.
I stop, my mouth hanging open. “The fucking cart return? Really? That’s like asking to have your shit run into.” I shake my head. “I was disturbed that your brother said you wear socks while you sleep. But this? This shit is worse.”
“My feet get cold,” she says, laughing. “Why do people get so weirded out about socks at bedtime?! I don’t get it.”
“I was with a chick once, and she had wool fucking socks on, and I didn’t realize it until we were … you know.” I stop, clearing my throat. “Do you know how quickly it can soften a chub to feel a fucking nanny-knitted sock run up your leg?” I grimace. “I went from steel to cooked spaghetti in seconds.”
“Eww!” She swats me. “You’re so gross. And, FYI, it’s not like I bring a dude to bed and leave my big, fluffy socks on while we get it on!” She shakes her head. “Geesh.”
Something about what she said throws me off. I don’t want to hear about her talking about fucking another man. I know I was telling her my story about thewool sockschick, but I can’t even remember what that girl looked like. Just that her socks were fucking gross. But Haley’s words make me realize she can sleep with whoever she wants. I don’t like that. Not one bit.
Just because I can’t be with her doesn’t mean I want anyone else to either. Because I sure as hell don’t.
As we make our way to the motion-detecting doors, a big-ass dude exits through the entrance, smashing his ginormous, Sasquatch-sized shoulder right into Haley’s tiny one. She almost falls over, but I quickly catch her before she does.
“Watch it,” I growl at him, standing her up straight. He continues walking, not giving a fuck that he just took a chick out who is only a fraction of his size. “You all right?” I ask, cupping my hand over her shoulder. “Fucking dick ran right into you.”
“I’m good. Really. It looked worse than it was,” she says with a smile, but when I touch her shoulder, she tries to hide a grimace.
I drop my hand from her shoulder and start walking behind the dude, but she grabs my hand, stopping me.
“Cade, it’s fine,” she whispers, her eyes begging me to let it go. “It isn’t a big deal. Please, let’s just go.”
I watch as he gets into his car—a piece of shit parked up front in a handicap spot even though he doesn’t have handicap plates or a sign hanging from his rearview mirror. I know she’s right.Not walking away from a similar situation is what got my best friend killed. I can’t risk something like that happening when she’s with me.
Her hand drops from mine, and she jerks her chin toward the building. “Let’s go.”
I follow her inside, and she grabs a cart, but when she starts pushing it, I gently move her out of the way and push it instead.
When she gives me a funny look, I shrug. “Seems like a manly job, ya know?” I nudge my shoulder into her. “Remember my bod earlier, angel? I’m manly.”
Rolling her eyes, she fights a smile. “If you say so,manly man.”
“Damn right I do.” I nod.
As we walk down the first few aisles, we grab the necessities we know the house so desperately needs. And when we get to the cereal aisle, she gapes at the shelves before pointing, practically leaping up and down on her short little legs.
“Ooh, fall is here! You know why? Because look at that!” She points to the cereal with Frankenstein on the front. “Franken Berry cereal is my favorite.”
I grin, jerking my chin toward it. “Go on, girl. Get you some.”
When she steps closer, she looks at the other weird fucking ones next to it. One with a ghost and one with a vampire. “Which one should we get? They’re all so good.”
I smile as I take her in. Her cutoff jean shorts hug her legs as she shifts back and forth, trying to decide which one to get. Everything about her is sweet. Even being in her presence lightens the darkness in my soul.
That girl is sunshine. And I’m a black fucking cloud that could swallow her whole. She just doesn’t know it yet.
Stepping around her, I grab one of each. “How about all three, Haley baby?” Tossing them in the cart, I wink. “YOLO, right?”
She looks from the cart to me before widening her eyes. “You don’t understand. I havezerowillpower when it comes to a few things in life.” Holding her finger up, she starts counting. “Sitting pretty at number one? Nerds Clusters. Two, Milky Way bars, but it’s fair to say that’s tied with Hershey’s Cookies ’N’ Creme bars because they are literally better than sex.” She blushes after the words slip out but carries on. “Three, pizza. From literally anywhere. Gas stations, frozen, or a fancy Italian place … I’ll eat it. Four, smutty romance books with pretty covers. I love them. I have more paperbacks than I even know what to do with. Yet I can’t stop purchasing more.”
She’s blabbering now, and I eat it up, wanting to learn more little facts about her.
“And last but certainly not least.” She stops, pointing to the boxes. “Sugary, overprocessed cereal. Just like these ones.”
I can’t help but lean a little closer to her, smirking. “If you think a shitty ol’ candy bar is better than sex, then you are clearly not having sex with the right guys, Haley baby.”
