Page 16 of The Odds of Happily Ever After
Luna
I’ve got it!
Kriz
Too late lol don’t send it back
Whoever decided tokeep this supermarket open until eleven p.m. was a godsend. I had never gone grocery shopping this late, and seeing how empty this place was might just convince me to switch up my schedule. I’d been holding off on restocking groceries until my next payday, but when the girls texted their food requests for our sleepover, I figured I might as well get everything in one go.
After loading up on milk, I rounded the end of the aisle only to pull up short. Because who else was walking toward the cashier with a cart full of groceries butGabe.
He froze, staring at me.
My thoughts tripped at this random sighting of Gabe in the wild, running an errand as mundane asgrocery shopping. A reflexivehellohung from the tip of my tongue before I snapped back to my senses and clamped my lips together. Darting my gaze to the side, I pushed my cart to the next aisle and mentally groaned at how its wheels creaked.
“Luna.”
I contemplated ignoring him like he usually did me, but the approaching sound of footsteps and rolling wheels—no creaking, of course—told me that was useless. It might look like I was running away, and I refused to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’d intimidated me.
Instead, I turned and gave him a tight smile. “What are you doing here?” I asked, and then fought back a cringe at the utter stupidity of my question.What else did people do in a supermarket, Luna—get a massage?
I braced myself for a snarky response, but Gabe’s expression didn’t change. He simply said, “Groceries. I’ve never seen you here before.”
“It’s my first time coming here this late.” I should have kept it at that, but my mouth ran on. “Of course you’d shop in the middle of the night. Although I actually thought you were the type to get groceries delivered.”
His brows lifted. “You put that much thought into my grocery-shopping habits?”
“What?” I sputtered, my face hot. “Of course not. I just meant you hate human interaction. Which reminds me, why are you talking to me anyway?”
“Are you here with someone?”
“No—”
“So you’re going to carry all that home by yourself?” he asked as he studied my cart’s contents.
“If you mean I’ll put them in bags and take the bus, yeah. Like I do every time I go shopping.”
He frowned. “I’ll bring you home.”
“No, you won’t. I’m not even done yet.”
“I’ll wait.”
“What happened to your no-fraternization policy?”
“This is different. I’m ensuring my friend’s sister gets home in one piece.”
I shook my head. “You love using that excuse when it suits you. Are you going to take my stuff hostage again?”
He stilled. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and I knew he got what I was referring to. “It’s late, Luna,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
I had been ready to argue, but my annoyance fizzled out at his words. “Would you offer me a ride if I were another student?”
He opened his mouth. Closed it again. “You’re not another student.”
“Hypothetical question.”
“No.” Other people might have tried to come up with an excuse, but he stuck with the truth.
