Page 20 of Fall for You (Flirting with Forever 4)

“Do you think shopping together is pushing it? At this rate, I don’t know if we’ll ever make it out on a real date, so this may have to do for now.”

She eyes me teasingly. “Lemme get this straight. You want a trip around the grocery store to be our first date?”

“Well, if that’s all I can get, I’ll take it. Gladly.” Nonchalantly, I shrug.

She grins at me, her eyes heating. She is always beautiful, but even more so when she smiles at me like that. Shaking her head in amusement, she turns back to her cart and pushes it forward down the aisle.

“Truth be told, I didn’t follow you in here just to beg for a date. I actually do have a grocery list. Do you know where I’d find the cauliflower around here?” I give a look around, but don’t immediately spot it.

“It’s back that way.” She points behind us. “I know you didn’t follow me in here, but it sure seems like you were a little eager to come talk to me.” Her eyes sparkle as she teases me.

I run my hand through my hair. “Possibly.” I wink at her just as I turn my cart around and head for the display on the far side of the produce section where the cauliflower is hiding out. “I’ll grab a few things and catch up.”

“I’m in no hurry. What else do you need? I can help you out.” She narrows her gaze playfully. “This can’t be the first time you’ve grocery shopped here.”

“It’s not. But I’ll admit we’ve mostly survived on foods from the premade section of the store, and I promised Olivia once things settled down at the mill that I’d make an attempt to cook more. The cauliflower is for a soup later this week, and I need bananas because Olivia asked if I’d make banana bread with her.”

“Ooh, baking. Now you’re speaking my language. So, do you want bananas to eat, too, or just for banana bread?”

I wince. “Uh. What’s the difference?”

“Well, take it from the baker’s daughter, you want overripe bananas for banana bread.”

“Really?” My brows draw together.

“Yep. So, if you aren’t making it soon, then you could get a bunch, eat a few, and then wait for the peels to turn all brown and speckly. That’s when they’re perfect to mash up and make banana bread with.”

“That sounds like a plan. I’ll let you pick out the perfect bananas while I get the cauliflower.” I look down at my list. “And onions.” I sneak a peek at her as she walks a little farther down the aisle from me. I’m not sure how much I can push. I grab the veggies I need and roll my cart toward her. “So, is this what we are going to tell people about our first date? Or should we think about going on a real one?”

She holds out a bagged bunch of bananas to me and we continue on our way through the store. “What, you mean you have something more special than the grocery store in mind?” She smirks at me, and I want to grab her, toss her over my shoulder, and show her just how special a night with me can be. I chuckle to myself. As if she doesn’t already know.

“Olivia is with her mom next weekend. I’d love to take you somewhere. Maybe just out for coffee or dinner or something. What do you think?”

She bites her lip, looking over at me from under her lashes. “Is it okay if I say let’s think carefully about how we want to proceed?”

“Sure. Just tell me when and what works for you and we’ll do it.”

We make our way around the rest of the store, picking out what we need. I can’t remember the last time I had so much fun doing something as mundane as grocery shopping. It’s like we’re in our own little private world, talking and laughing about nothing and everything all at the same time. I don’t care if we ever have an official date or not, not if she’ll keep doing stuff like this with me. And I definitely wouldn’t mind if she stops by the cider mill again. That would be great, too.

Chapter 12

Quinn

“I really want you to think about doing a science fair project for extra credit. It would help boost your grade,” I suggest to Olivia as we finish up our second tutoring session.

She looks at me like I’m insane at first, shaking her head, and makes an ick face. “I really don’t want to do that.”

A burst of laughter bubbles out of me at the disgusted look. “Well, no one ever wants to do an extra project, but if it can improve your grade, isn’t it at least worth considering?” I study her while quiet falls between us. “Anyway, it’s just a suggestion and obviously your choice.” Every time I think I have her attention it slowly slips away. I’m not quite sure where she’s going in her head, but I have a feeling something in her teenage world is wrong—really wrong.

When she’d arrived to class earlier today, Olivia seemed fine at first and then all of a sudden, not so much. I have no clue why, but I suspect her shift in demeanor has something to do with a few of the other students in our class. I’d caught a couple of looks being passed among them. I couldn’t pick up on what was going on, though.

The worst part is when she’d come in for tutoring, it was like whatever had happened had upset her so much that she’d turned her attitude on me. And that attitude is bleeding into everything she does. Liam had mentioned in one of our text conversations over the weekend that he’d noticed exactly the same thing.

I set aside the textbook and review worksheets and fold my hands in my lap. I angle my body toward her so I can look into her eyes. “Olivia, I have to ask. Are you okay? It’s obvious you’ve been having some sort of trouble lately, but today, you’ve just been really off. In class and now, too. Is it something I can help with?”

She shakes her head sharply. “No. I’m fine.”

Shit. Fine never really means fine. Fine is a blow off.

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