Page 14 of Between the Blue
I’ve been going on Wednesday mornings after my workout for years now because I’ve discovered it’s the least busy day and time at the grocery store. There’s just something so peaceful about having the store mostly to myself. And I’m all about enjoying the little things.
So I just have to get through this first.
I feel like I can practically count the seconds down in my head as I make my way across the weight room and down the stairs.
Seven.
Three.
One.
I enter the locker room hallway, swiveling to my right.
The door to the men’s locker room swings open.
Bingo.
I square my shoulders, keeping my gaze steady, waiting for those brown eyes to meet mine.
And the moment they do, I let the best smile I have spread across my face and the words fly out of my mouth before I can stop them.
“Good morning, James.”
He rears back, just slightly, his gaze raking over my body like hot coals. I don’t let myself flinch. I don’t allow my smile to waver. I don’t let myself react at all. I hold my ground the entirety of the five long seconds he remains staring at me without a response.
I’m over this.
Overhim.
I’m not going to cower away from him or let him make me feel like I can’t relax every morning that I come to the gym. I pay for a membership just the same as he does, and just because we didn’t get off on the best foot over a simple mistake that I made doesn't mean he gets to make me feel unwelcome here for the rest of time.
This isn’t me trying to be his friend. That clearly isn’t in the cards for us. But I just want to make it clear that I’m not putting up with his shit. I’m not going to let him walk all over me. So I’m going to take a page out of my Nana’s favorite book and do what a small-town-Georgia girl does best:kill him with kindness.
I know what happens next. I know that James will finish giving me his look of disgust and will then walk away from me, not sparing me a single word or parting glance.
So I don’t give him the chance.
I tilt my head at him, forcing my smile even wider as I give him a gentle bat of my eyelashes. “See you in there,” I say, jutting my thumb in the direction of the weight room.
His dark brows pull together, his lips parting, but I’m already gone, pushing through the door of the women’s locker room.
My shoulders finally relax as the automatic doors of the grocery store open before me.
I push the shopping cart that I grabbed from the parking lot on my way in, pulling up my grocery list on my phone. Since this is only the first full week I’ve lived in Austin, my list is pretty hefty with all of the basics and essentials I need to stock up on.
I make my way into the produce area, scanning over my list. I round the corner of a display of avocados when the corner of my cart slightly clips something that sounds a whole lot like another cart.
“Oh, excuse me,” I say, offering a polite apologetic grin as I glance up from my phone.
I don’t get a good look at the person I’ve accidentally bumped into. But considering that it was barely a tap, I figured they’d respond with a silent nod and go about their day.
However, clearly, that’s not going to be the case, their cart now blocking my path and their figure remaining still in my peripheral vision.
I relax my wrist holding my phone, fully lifting my head.
“Sorry about that–”
My phone lands on the child seat of my shopping cart with a loud thud.
