“Hmm…” I held two bottles of wine in my hands, trying to decide which one was better. Both were on the cheaper side, but all I needed was something that tasted decent enough to pass as something fancy. Then, when I got home, I would just funnel it into a better bottle, recork the thing, and no one would be the wiser for it.
Just then, my phone started to ring. I fished it out of my pocket, seeing the name “Stacy” flashing across the screen. Who was Stacy again? Was she the redhead from last week? Or the short brunette whose apartment I sneaked out of this morning?
I let the phone ring, knowing it would make whoever was on the other end anxious. Finally, just before voicemail could snag the call, I answered. “Hello?”
“Luke!” A high-pitched voice squealed through the line. “Where are you? You said you’d just step out to buy us some champagne, but you never came back. It’s been three hours…”
“I guess I lost track of time.”
“You’re coming back, aren’t you?” I could hear the desperation in her voice. I grinned, a sense of satisfaction spreading through my body, making me feel weightless.
“Of course, of course. I wouldn’t miss a night with you…” I lowered my voice, reeling her in.
“Mmm, I’ll warm a bath for us. Don’t take too long, okay?”
“I’ll be right there. You just get that cute little tush in the bathtub and don’t worry about a thing.”
She giggled. “I can’t wait.”
With that, she hung up and I just shook my head. Some women were so gullible. Knowing I would never set foot in her apartment again, I looked back at the wines, still trying to make my decision.
Beside me, an older woman with curly brown hair browsed the selection of white wines. “Excuse me.” I tapped her on the shoulder.
She turned to look at me, her eyes widening for a second before she pushed her thin-rimmed glasses up the ridge of her nose. “Y-Yes?” Her voice wavered as if she wasn’t used to talking to others. By the amount of cat fur on her jacket, I guessed she harbored at least five of them in her home, if not more.
“I’m no wine expert, but my girlfriend loves the stuff. I wanted to propose to her and treat her to something nice. Do you have any suggestions?”
“Oh… how sweet.” She smiled brightly. “I was just looking through the selection by force of habit, but in the end, I always bring home a bottle of Kinsley’s. My husband and I used to share a glass almost every night for nearly thirty years.”
“That’s amazing,” I said, feigning interest. “Thirty years, that’s a long time to be with one person, don’t you think?”
“Oh, not when you love them. Thirty years becomes a small fragment of eternity that you just want to keep stretching out further and further…” She paused, her eyes glazing over. “But, sadly, nothing lasts forever.”
I tilted my head in question.
“My husband passed away a few months ago… right before our 30th anniversary.” She looked down at the wine bottle in her hand before offering it to me. She then rummaged through her oversized purse, pulling out an equally as large wallet. Inside, she had wrinkled bills that threatened to spill out at any moment. Carefully, she extracted a blue-colored one and smoothened it out to reveal what had once been a brand-new, one-hundred-dollar bill before it spent who-knows-how-long at the bottom of her purse.
She presented it to me.
“Ma’am?” I refused to take it at first.
“Take it. Buy your girlfriend something nice.”
“I can’t accept this.” I shook my head, pretending to be modest.
“Please, I insist. In memory of my husband. He would’ve wanted you to have it.” She smiled, forcing the bill into my hand, closing my fingers around it. She looked at me, but I could tell she was looking right through me, seeing something from her past. After a while, she seemed to shake herself from her trance, fixing the little hat she wore on her head. “Well, I wish you the best of luck.” She nodded, pushing her shopping cart toward another part of the store.
I waited for her to round the corner before I returned the bottle of wine to its place and pocketed the hundred dollars. It was so easy to scam people, just as long as you had the right story to tell.
Whistling to myself, I finally decided on a bottle of red wine, placing it in my cart. I was just about to leave the wine section when I noticed a blonde heading my way. I couldn’t be sure, but it looked like the same blonde that had rejected me.
Feeling confident after my recent score, I was about to approach her when my phone started ringing. Irritated, I answered it, knowing it would be Stacy, asking where I was. “Look, there’s a change of plans. I won’t be coming over after all. It was nice knowing you.” I hung up before she could even utter a word. I could almost picture her look of shock as she sat in the tub, her heart slowly breaking. The corners of my lips twitched.
The blonde looked up, her eyes widening as she spotted me. She turned into the closest aisle, obviously trying to avoid me, but I wasn’t going to let her get away this time.
Nonchalantly, I walked down the feminine hygiene aisle, knowing she would think it was a safe haven against a man like me. It wasn’t.
As expected, she was looking at a pack of tampons, probably trying to distract herself. I grinned, knowing that as much as she wanted to deny it, I had already left my mark on her.
“Do you know which one of these is the best? My sister sent me on a trip to get her some.” I stood beside her, grabbing the same package she had in her hand.
She looked up, her eyes widening like a deer caught in headlights. “Uh…” She stammered for an answer.
I noticed her gulp and I had to concentrate to keep my expression steady. If I cracked a grin now, she would figure out my angle.
“Uh…” Her cheeks were starting to turn bright red. She ran her fingers through her hair. “Do you know if she’s uh… heavy or not…”
“Hmm, she just told me to get her a pack. Didn’t really specify.” I shrugged. “Should I call her?”
“No, no. If she sent you, she must be feeling terrible. Um…” She grabbed some and handed them to me. “These should work.”
“Leak guard, huh?”
Her cheeks grew even redder as I read aloud all the benefits of the brand.
“Can you stop?” She finally said, looking around as if we were doing something wrong and someone could spot us at any moment.
“I’m sorry, am I making you uncomfortable?” I grinned at her. “Because I can keep this up all day.”
“What do you want from me?” She hissed in a low whisper.
“I just wanted to talk to you without you running away.”
“I didn’t run away.”
“Sure, sure.” I placed my hands in my pockets.
“This is about the club, isn’t it?”
“How did you guess?” I teased. “Am I that easy to read?”
“Look, I’m not ready for a relationship right now. Things are… complicated.”
“That’s what they always say.” I shook my head. “But, you know, I never believe a girl when she says that. It’s only complicated in their mind, but if they stopped thinking for a moment and just did what felt right, then things would be a whole lot simpler. Take you and me, for example. It’s clear we’re both attracted to each other, so why not do something about it? Why do you insist on pushing me away? Don’t let your mind stop your body from getting what it wants.” I leaned in close, our faces gravitating together.
“I…” She stammered, looking like a mouse about to get its tail stuck in a trap.
“Admit it. You want me.”
Suddenly, she shoved me away. “Just leave me alone.”
Someone had joined us in the aisle. A middle-aged woman who was looking at us out of the corner of her eye.
“Look, I don’t want to make a scene or anything.” I pulled out a pen from the inside of my jacket and grabbed her hand. Before she could pull away, I wrote my number on her palm. “If you happen to change your mind, give me a call.” I winked.
“Wait!” She called out, just as I was turning to leave.
“Damn. I didn’t think you’d change your mind so quickly.” I grinned. “Did my backside make you reconsider?”
“No… it’s just, I don’t know your name.”
“Ah. Right, right. Where are my manners?” I held out my hand.
Hesitantly, she took it and I instantly pulled her into a hug, letting my other hand rest on her ass, giving it a little squeeze before she gasped, shoving me off her. “Name’s Luke.”
She didn’t bother to tell me hers as she quickly grabbed her shopping cart and high-tailed it out of there.
I chuckled to myself, finding her flustered state amusing. She might be running now, but I had no doubt she would be giving me a call sooner rather than later. Whistling a cheerful tune, I tossed the pack of tampons back on the shelf and continued with my shopping. By the time I was done, the blonde wasn’t the only one walking around with my number on her hand.
At the cash register, I noticed the cashier checking me out so I decided to strike up a conversation. “Have you worked here a long time, Cassandra?”
She didn’t seem to know how to answer me, as if the mere thought of me wanting to talk to her, made her unable to function. She held my tomatoes in her hands, frozen in time and space.
“Uh… two years…” She finally managed to stutter a response as she failed to enter the right product code for the produce. Her fingers were shaking so I reached over and took her hands in mine, squeezing them slightly.
“Hey, no need to be so nervous. You know, a pretty girl like you should really consider a career in modeling.”
“M-M-Modeling?” Her eyes nearly bugged out of her head. “M-M-Me?” At this point, I had no idea whether she was nervous or if she genuinely had a stuttering problem.
“Of course.” I grabbed her glasses off her face and pinned a strand of her hair behind her ear. “You’re gorgeous.”
She started to blush at my words, making her complexion blotchy and unflattering.
Behind me, a few customers were starting to get angry at how long it was taking her to handle my groceries, especially since I was in the express lane. Her manager walked by, noticing the ever-growing line. “Cassandra!” He barked, causing her to jump out of her skin. “What’s the hold up over here?”
She fumbled around, looking for her glasses. I gave them back, almost feeling sorry for the girl. Finally, she put them back on, shaking her head at her manager. “N-Nothing!”
“Well, get moving then. These customers have places to be.” He turned toward me. “Thank you for your patience.”
I just nodded. “Certainly.”
The girl started ringing up the rest of my items, refusing to look at me, now that I had gotten her in trouble. “That’ll be $69.99.” She said almost mechanically before she realized the implications of such a number and her face grew even redder.
“69, eh? I didn’t think you had it in you, Cassandra.” I teased her. “But, if that’s what you want, that’s what you want.” I reached for her hand, writing my number on her palm. She stared at it and by the time she looked up, I had already swiped my credit card and left.