Page 20 of Unruly Kris

He gazed at his phone and then, giving her a wink, he turned and disappeared into the crowded aisle again.

With a chuckle she drifted in his direction and wasn’t surprised to find he had moved on fast, before she could get there. She checked her list, grabbed pasta off the shelf and tossed it in the cart then began searching for the brand of pasta sauce she normally kept in house. She had drifted down the aisle, engrossed in what she was doing and trying to get past a pair of people parked talking and blocking the space when her phone went off again.

With a sigh of amused vexation, she opened her phone to find another picture, time one of a jar of wildflower honey along with the same caption:

Green light? … It’s almost as sweet as you are.

Cath shook her head, wondering what his overall game was. He obviously wasn’t doing the portion of shopping he needed to do, not exactly. After a moment she decided to play along and took a photo of an expensive bottle of truffle oil, an item she chose at random that she would never buy, and shot back playfully:

Red light…Thinks it’s God’s gift to everyone… kind of like you.

He sent back an emoji of a smiley face with its tongue stuck out and then sent her back a picture of a coil of smoked sausage, the innuendo very clear. Cath retaliated by going classic and sending back a picture of the eggplant she had in the cart. He responded by sending her a selfie of himself giving her a sexy glance over the top of his sunglasses.

Grumbling at his antics, she pulled up her list and began to work through it, deleting the items she had grabbed and making sure she was headed in the right direction of the next item she needed to grab. She was in the next aisle retrieving the protein powder she used for her daily workout shakes when she felt her pocket vibrate. With an admittedly curious snort, she thumbed the screen to see a picture of a bottle of chili oil:

Green light?

Since it was an item, she regularly used at home and could use for that evening’s meal she quickly texted back:

Green light… you know I like it nice and spicy.

The photo he sent back was a unicorn in terms of what she would allow and not allow. It was from prior to the accident, the two of them curled together in his bed at the condo, covers pulled around them as she rested her head on his chest and he kissed her hair. To Cath, the snapshot was a rare and impulsive moment of insanity, something she would never ever allow normally, but she had been content in his arms and in a good mood post-coital. She’d agreed to the photo on the stipulation that it was something for their eyes only, on the pain of losing both his nuts and any sexual privileges he valued. She queried a half smile, she had no regrets in allowing it – truth be told she actually liked the picture -- but she sure as hell wasn’t going to tell him that readily.

At this rate, between Kris distracting her and the crowds, it would be Christmas Day before they made it out of the damn store. She tossed her phone in the basket, suspecting it wouldn’t long before it went off again, and willed herself to focus and not get completely caught up in his game, as entertaining as it was. She hurried along tossing the items she needed in the cart and wasn’t surprised when a few moments later the phone vibrated again. She picked it up with an exasperated noise to find a picture of a can of gourmet hot chocolate on the screen:

Green light?

Cath had few weaknesses in her life, but top shelf chocolate in just about any form was one of them. Even if her kitchen cupboards were mostly bare, she kept good quality hot chocolate on hand and she had been known to keep a stash in her office as well:

Green light. As if that’s a real question, Kris. Get two.

His response back was almost instant and cryptic enough that she stopped her cart and cocked her head as she read the screen:

Already in the basket Babe. I figured as much, given that you have chocolate in…interesting places around the house. Among other things…

Cath made a face and narrowed her eyes, leaning on the cart and typing back:

What’s that supposed to mean?

He took his time responding, causing her ire to rise slightly. When he did, she felt her eyes go wide in surprise:

I know you keep three things in your nightstand: A Glock 22, a very large bar of dark chocolate and a vibrator. I’m not sure what war you’re prepping for, but it sounds like a hell of a lot of fun, I’m in anytime you need me.

He closed with a devil face emoji and Cath felt her face go red. She looked around as if she expected other shoppers to be able to see what he had sent. She was about to fire back a response when her phone jingled twice:

And before you climb up a shelf in the cereal aisle and take me out with a sniper rifle, no, I wasn’t snooping. You told me to pick a drawer in the bedroom to stash my stuff in, apparently, I opened the wrong one….

… Or on second thought maybe the right one…

She pinched the bridge of her nose with her fingertips, her words coming back to haunt her. Normally she’d have gone ballistic over an invasion of her privacy as large as this, but she was used to living alone so there wasn’t a lock on her bedside table, there was no reason for one. The Glock was unloaded, and as an extra precaution, she also removed the firing pin. As much as she wanted to chew him out, she had a feeling it was a genuine accident, one that he frustratingly just so happened to be able to use to his best advantage.

Now thoroughly distracted and having acquired most of the items on her portion of the list anyhow, she gave up and decided to go and find Kris instead; if for nothing more than to strangle him out of pure spite for deciding to play dirty games with her on one of the busiest shopping days of the year. She turned the cart around and headed for the end of the aisle where it was clear of people and put some fire in her step. The store was rapidly going from unpleasant to the third level of Christmas hell and all she wanted to do was go home, have a glass of eggnog and relax.

She guided the buggy out of the aisle and pulled to an abrupt stop with a scowl, crossing her arms over her chest. Kris was waiting for her, leaning casually on his cart and signing autographs for a group of teenagers who were standing around him looking starstruck.

“Here you go kiddo.” He handed a kid back the scrap of people he had signed with a smile, blue eyes lighting up like a beacon at the recognition. After weeks of being on the sidelines, she knew he felt like he was finally stepping back into his element. It wouldn’t be long, and he’d be ready to be back on set, kicking ass and taking names.

The kid muttered a happy thank you and scurried off into the crowd while Cath continued to give him a measured and stern look. Kris gave her a slightly guilty expression, looking like a kid with his hand caught in the cookie jar, and then grinned as he popped a grape in his mouth from the bag in his basket.

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