Page 23 of On the Double

“I’m shopping for groceries!” Edu snapped.

“Hey, I didn’t make up the rules,” Fox said, holding up his hands.

“There are no rules. I’m buying groceries. I can’t be stalking someone when all I’m doing is coming to the only grocery store in town to pick up necessities!”

Man, he was really getting worked up over this whole thing. “How about we call it square?” I asked, tilting my head at him.

His nostrils flared angrily, and that was what did it for me.

“Square? We’ll never be square,” he grumbled, reaching across the counter and yanking me up on the belt. With his arm still wrapped around me, he thrust his hand into the hair at the nape of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss. “I was a fool,” he murmured. “When I saw you that first day behind the counter, I knew that behind that red, polyester vest was the woman of my dreams. Say you’ll leave it all behind and run away with me!”

“Yes,” I grinned. “Yes, I will.”

I sighed in contentment at the man across the register from me. Daydreams really were the best. However, he was watching me like I was about to have a seizure. Oh well, some dreams weren’t meant to come true.

7

EDU

“She’s totally into you.You should go for it,” Fox said conversationally as we drove back to OPS with a trunk full of party supplies, half a million avocados, and every bag of Funyuns the store had in stock.

“She’s a lunatic,” I corrected. “She spaces out in the middle of ringing up groceries.”

“So, she’s imaginative,” he shrugged. “What’s wrong with that?”

“Other than the fact that she can’t seem to hold down a job without royally screwing it up? Nothing. But pardon me for wanting to set my standards a little higher than that.”

“Harsh, man. You don’t know her. She could be on the run from an abusive boyfriend. Or maybe she’s got ADHD. Ooh, or maybe…maybe she’s got cats that run all over her at night and keep her awake. That’s why she spaces out. She’s tired from all the cats.”

I slowly turned to face the man who was now staring at me with excitement. “And you think I should go for a woman like that,” I deadpanned.

“Totally. Cats are awesome. Mean as fuck and better than any guard dog.”

“What cats do you know that are mean?”

“Uh…about any one in existence,” he snorted.

“And you want me to date a woman based solely on the fact that she might like mean cats.”

“Well, not just because of that. Did you see her? She’s fucking beautiful.”

“Yeah, the red vest really did it for me,” I deadpanned.

“Red vest aside, did you see her eyes? I’ve never seen anything quite like them. And what about that hair? And her nose? Cute as a button.”

How was it that Fox—a married man—noticed how this random woman in the grocery store looked, but me—a single man in desperate need of a good fucking—didn’t notice a single thing about her? Maybe there was something wrong with me.

“You know, I don’t think Anna would appreciate you checking out other women,” I said, going on the defensive.

“I’m not checking her out for me. You know there’s only one woman who could make my world spin around.”

I shook my head. “You’re so weird.”

“I’m in love. Something you should consider trying.”

“No thanks. I’m not looking for love or anything like it.”

“It’s much easier to find a woman who will sleep with you when she’s dating you. Women have a code, too.”

---