AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Or plan some kind of romantic night in. What are you going to do for presents?” He asks me as we turn and head down the chip aisle.
“Candy and flowers, I guess. It seems like I should keep it classic.”
“Sounds like a plan.”
He tosses in a few bags of chips, and I grab some pretzels and popcorn since I know that Mira loves them.
We brainstorm other ideas for Valentine’s Day as we finish shopping and head to checkout.
“I’ll see you later,” he says as we head out to our cars.
“See you.”
We head in opposite directions, and I hurry to load all of the groceries into my Jeep and push the cart back up to the market.
I drive by Wet and Wild on my way home and crane my neck to try to get a glimpse of Mira, but she must be in one of the aisles or in the back. I head home and unpack all of the groceries. Then I just stand in my kitchen.
Something feels off with Mira, but I can’t figure out what could have caused that. We had fun on our last date. She’s been normal when I bring her food at work. We’ve been texting like usual. Nothing seems off. Until tonight.
I try to convince myself that it’s all in my head, but as I clean up the kitchen and get ready for bed, all I can think about is how I’m messing things up with Mira.
I pull out my phone and plug it into the charger next to my bed. There’s no message from Mira, but she’s probably just getting home. I decide to text her and click on her name.
Townes:Good night. I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Sweet dreams.
I stare at the screen,waiting for the dots to pop up so that I know she’s texting me back, but they never come.
I frown at the screen. She’s usually so quick to text me back, and panic starts to set in once again.
I lay back in bed and stare at the ceiling. All I can think is that I’m not going to lose Mira. Not when I finally have her.
Sleep doesn’t come for a very long time.
NINE
Mira
I’m lost.
Not literally. I mean, I’m standing in the middle of Shelf Indulgence. No, I’m lost with what to do.
It’s been three days since I last talked to Townes. I thought that time and space away from him would help me clear my head and figure out what to do. Instead, it’s left me feeling even more torn.
It’s been hard to ignore him. I’ve been avoiding his calls and texts, refusing to answer when he knocked on my apartment door yesterday. I know that my time is running out though. He knows I’m working today, so it’s only a matter of time before he shows up here.
I clock in and force a smile to my lips as I greet Saffron and head over to the front counter to see what I need to stock today.
“Mira,” Townes says behind me, and I jump, spinning to face him.
That was fast.
“Hey,” I say awkwardly.
Looking at him hurts. He looks so worried and confused. I hate that I did this to him. I never wanted to hurt him, and now I’m afraid that I’m going to hurt us both.
“Can we talk?” He asks me, and I look around, hoping Saffron will save me.
“Go ahead, Mira! We’re slow right now,” she says with a smile.
