Page 7 of The Rebound
“It’s a date. I’ll take you wherever you need to go.”
Smiling, I cock my head to the side. “I’m not completely helpless, you know.”
Saint gives me that crooked grin again.Wow. My insides do a little happy dance. “Helpless? Never said you were. You’re doing me the favor here. It’s rare I have something productive to do with my time. I was gonna throw myself out the window if I had to spend another moment flipping channels.”
I chuckle again. “If you say so.”
We spend a few minutes eating our noodles and making polite conversation, mostly about the groceries and houseware supplies that I need. For the first time in a long time, I’m starting to feel like everything is going to be okay. Maybe things will work out for me here.
If an experience with a total stranger can be this pleasant—fun, even—then maybe my life in Boston won’t be so bad after all.
3
SAINT
If you had told me two days ago that I’d be comparing prices for prenatal gummies in the vitamin aisle, I’d have told the bartender to cut you off. Yet here I am, and stranger yet? It feels completely normal.
Kinley stands next to me, our shopping cart filled to the brim with houseware items and a few essential groceries. She peeks around my shoulder with a frown. “Woo, look at those prices.”
“Not great,” I say before tossing both kinds of gummies in the cart. At twenty dollars a bottle, they’re more than even I was expecting, and I take a lot of pricey supplements. “They’re on me.”
“No way,” she says, swatting my arm playfully.
“Ouch.” I cry out in pretend pain.
A man looking at protein powder peers down the aisle at us.
“Oh my God, stop.” Kinley giggles, gently rubbing my arm where she smacked me. “I didn’t even hit you that hard.”
“It’s those hormones,” I say. “You’re hulking out.”
Kinley scrunches up her nose in an adorable way, lifting her fists. “Then you’d better not mess with me.” Her smile is absolutely contagious.
“Copy that.”
We’ve been wandering around the store for more than an hour without a real plan in mind. Normally, I’m the kind of guy who finds shopping boring. I have aget in, get what I need, get the hell outkind of mentality. But with Kinley, shopping isn’t boring at all. For starters, I keep finding ways to make her laugh. And if the number of times she’s snorted between giggles is any indicator, she’s having a pretty good time too.
Coach and Reeves think I’m some reckless partier who needs to clean up his image. I’m not saying they’re wrong. I’m just saying, what could be more wholesome than taking your single, pregnant neighbor out shopping for life essentials? Prenatal vitamins, no less. I’m half waiting for some boy scout’s badge of honor to appear on my sleeve.
Although, my motivations for helping her have nothing to do with wanting to clean up my image. I’m enjoying myself and not overthinking things beyond that.
When we wander past the shoes selection, I snag a pair of plush slippers off the shelf and offer them to Kinley. She looks up at me with a grateful smile, and damn, if that doesn’t fill me with a warm sensation.
If I’m being honest with myself, this errand run isn’t just some do-gooder chore I’m checking off a karmic to-do list. Helping a neighbor in need is the right thing to do, of course, but I’m actually having a lot of fun while I’m doing it.
As we pass the freezer aisles, an idea comes to me that I immediately share. “I vote we grab ice cream after this.”
“Ooh. Seconded.”
“Do we have a third?” I look down to where her stomach sticks out, as if I’m waiting for the baby’s input.
Kinley laughs again before rubbing her belly with one slender hand. “My personal magic eight ball says, ‘all signs point to yes.’”
I chuckle. “Then it’s settled.”
When we’re ready to pay and leave, I find myself checking out more than just our shopping haul, stealing a few glances at Kinley while we load the items onto the conveyor belt.
She’s pretty, no question. Gorgeous, really, with her long dark hair flecked with gold and her wide hazel eyes. Kinley hasn’t told me much about how she ended up pregnant and single, but from what I’ve gathered, the guy she was dating didn’t care to stick around when he found out the news.
