After he parked the car, he texted her to ask if they needed anything else while he was there, then he got out, slipping his keys into his pocket and headed inside the grocery store.
A moment later, she told him to see if they had a pumpkin carving kit since he never found the one he swore he put in the top of the closet last year.
Since he had no damn idea where that thing was, he made note of it.
Once he was in the Halloween aisle, he figured he would get an extra bag of candy just in case they ran out. Alison snuck the miniature peanut butter cups every time she thought someone wasn’t looking.
Candy under arm and new carving set in hand, he turned around and headed for the milk.
“I think we need Twizzlers.”
His head jerked up at the sound of Willow’s voice. There she was, walking down the aisle in his direction wearing a pair of snug jeans, a black top, and a burgundy jacket. She wasn’t looking in his direction though, she was looking over at the teenager walking beside her—a scrawny blonde kid who was staring down at his cell phone while he walked.
“She’s not coming,” Scrawny said.
Willow rolled her eyes. “Lame. Tell her she’s lame. We still need Twizzlers.”
Then she looked up and came to an abrupt stop when she spotted Ethan standing at the end of the aisle, looking at her.
“Uh, hi,” she said, a touch awkwardly.
The kid beside her glanced up, but apparently lost interest on sight, looking back down at his cell phone.
“Hi,” he returned, none too smoothly himself. “How are you?”
She smiled a little, but it wasn’t a look of amusement—maybe at him, but certainly not with him. “Fine. I’m fine.”
“Right,” he said, remembering the text. He couldn’t expand on that with the kid standing there.
As if reading his mind, Willow lightly rested her hand on the arm of the kid next to her. His head jerked up in surprise and Willow spoke before he could.
“Hey, you know what, I bet we’re going to need a basket. Could you go get one?”
Nodding, he took one last glance in Ethan’s direction and then turned to go do Willow’s bidding.
Ethan smiled, but his didn’t feel real either. “Neat trick. Do you give him a treat when he comes back?”
“Only if he doesn’t slobber,” she deadpanned.
Ethan scoffed, but maintained his smile. “Makes sense. Do you have any female friends, or…?”
Her smile turned a little more knowing then. “Why do you assume we’re only friends?”
“Are you seriously trying to make me jealous with a fucking kid?” Shaking his head, irritated with himself immediately, he said, “Nope, never mind, I didn’t—never mind.”
Willow laughed. “God, Ethan, we’re not awkward exes. And I’m not trying to make you jealous—like I knew you would be at the grocery store. You’re right, I did! I just sit outside your house every night waiting for you to leave, and if you do, I go round up the nearest guy and see if I can run into you.” Eyes widening mockingly, she added, “I can’t believe this is the first time it’s worked.”
“Why were you pissed at me?” he asked, before he could think better of it.
Her smirk waned. “I wasn’t pissed.”
“You seem a little pissed.”
Lifting her eyebrows, she said, “Um, no. You’re the one being aggressive with me because I came to the grocery store with a boy. You have a wife. You cannot be serious. And you didn’t want to fuck me anyway, so I’m not sure why it matters.”
Darting a glance in each direction to make sure no one overheard her, he looked at her pointedly and said, “Want to keep it down?”
She shrugged, but lowered her voice and stepped a little closer. “I don’t know what your problem is. You did your penance or whatever, you don’t have to feel guilty anymore, okay? I release you,” she said, wiggling her fingers in the air as if doing magic.