Page 44 of Living La Vida Mocha
“Who do you know that’s all the way happy?” He took off toward the dairy cases.
Good point.
I shuffled through my incredibly small list of friends and acquaintances, and yeah, none of them were truly happy. Everyone was dealing with something to weigh them down. Was true happiness unattainable? It was the ultimate, yet unreachable, goal?
Dragging my feet, I followed him and added a slim carton of milk to my small pile of food. It wasn’t much, but then again, the fridge in the motel was one of those snack-sized ones and wouldn’t hold much. Topping up with two containers of yogurt, I was nearly done. It was pathetic but would have to do.
“Set your basket in the cart,” I told him, seeing as how his basket was overflowing.
“Thanks, but then I need to push.” He hip-checked me out of the way after he set his basket into the cart and took control. “You don’t have much. What else do you need?”
“Easy to microwave staples, since that’s all there is, aside from a tiny fridge. Of the two-burner stove, only one element works, which is fine. I’m not making fancy meals.”
“You’re not proving your case with this motel being all you claim.”
“It’ll be fine. You’ll see.”
Under his watchful eye, I grabbed a few non-perishables to add to my small but manageable stash as we small talked about the town and the upcoming tree-lighting ceremony. The more he talked about it, the more I was excited about checking it out. However, I needed to secure a pair of skates first.
After we each paid for our groceries, he escorted me out to my car and loaded my two bags into the backseat, leaving his in the cart.
I leaned against my door. “Thanks for shopping with me. It was great seeing you again.”
In a move I did not expect, he braced his arms against the car on either side of me. “Have lunch with me?”
“Are you asking or telling me?” I rather liked how some switch had been turned on inside of him; it was a spark I remembered him having back in our youth.
“Both.” His gaze danced between my eyes and lowered briefly to my lips.
I stared into his dark browns and blinked him into focus, barely breathing as I whispered, “Love to.”
Chapter Thirteen
The car rolled to a stop outside my motel door, in front of the no parking sign. I only planned on being a couple of minutes, just long enough to throw my groceries in the tiny fridge and skedaddle, surely bylaw officers weren’t that fast here.
“I’ll be just a hot minute.”
I fiddled with the display and put the games on the screen. Amanda always enjoyed playing them whenever I’d get my tires swapped.
“Oh, no thanks.” He remembered how to open the door, something I remember taking me a few attempts to master. “I need to see this place of yours.”
“Really?” I cringed as I remembered the state of disaster I’d left it in this morning.
“Yup.”
He helped carry the bags and leaned against the wall as I stuck my key in.
“It’s not tidy.”
“I promise I won’t judge.”
“I would.”
The door squealed and creaked as it opened. Addressing that was next on my list. In the meantime, I had a mountain of embarrassment to deal with as my clothes and tools were scattered everywhere, and I prayed he didn’t need a bathroom. My bras were hanging over the shower bar.
“Let me just toss these things away.” I practically wrestled the bag from him, dumped the contents on the counter, and shoved them as quick as I could into the tiny fridge, hip-checking it for good measure to ensure it sealed – item four to fix. “Alright, let’s go.”
I grabbed his hand and started pulling him to the door as there was absolutely no need to linger.