This was why she should never ever drop toys off at the children’s wing of the hospital. Time just sucked right out of her, and now she was running behind. The bank was going to have to be on the list of things to do today. She may not even make it to the post office as it was only open half a day on Wednesdays.
“Come on, Jasmine. You’ve got this.”
She ran through the produce department and passed the meat section. Deciding against beef, she grabbed some chicken for half-price; so yay, freeze some for later. She’d just gone down the section for baking when she heard a whimper and then a cry. Babies crying always broke her heart and not for any reason other than she hated to hear babies cry. It was the worst thing in the world.
Well, maybe not the worst thing, but it was something she couldn’t stand.
Rounding the aisle, she came to a stop when she saw a huge man bending over looking at different kinds of baby food and diapers.
He wore one of those MC cuts, but from the look of it, it wasn’t merchandise from a TV show. This was the real deal.
MCs were all violent, weren’t they?
She didn’t know many of them.
She froze as he lifted a hand and placed it on the baby, softly shushing the sound. The baby didn’t like that.
Jasmine expected him to lose his temper or something like that as the baby wasn’t doing what he wanted. Instead, he stood and smiled at the baby.
Slowly walking past, she offered him a smile.
“I’m sorry for the noise,” he said, his voice dark and deep.
She nibbled her lip and shrugged. “It can’t be helped most of the time. Boy or girl?” she asked.
The baby suit was white and she could never tell the sex in neutral colors, not that it mattered.
“This is a girl. Bethany. She’s a screamer.”
“You’ve got to shop too. She’s so adorable.”
“You really think that when she’s crying.”
“I’m weird. I find kids, puppies, dogs, rabbits, and rainbows beautiful.”
“Not kittens?”
“Oh, them too, but I didn’t want to sound too weird.” She chuckled. “You have got a beautiful set of lungs on you.” She smiled at Bethany.
Slowly, as if by some miracle, Bethany’s cries stopped, and she watched her.
“Wow, okay, I’m taking you back with me because that is some miracle you’ve worked there. How the fuck did you do that?”
“I don’t know. I love kids.”
“Do you have your own?” he asked.
A sharp pain slashed through her heart. “No, I don’t have any babies of my own. I’ve not been that lucky.”
“That is the first time she’s been quiet all day.”
“Would you like me to, I don’t know, stand with her while you shop? Would you like that?”
“You’d do that?” he asked.
“Sure, I’ve not got anything else to do.” She could do the post office another day and she can finish off her shopping.
“You can put your stuff into my cart, and we can separate it.” He lifted up a huge chunk of beef and placed it down the middle. “See?”
“I’ll be back.” She put her few items in her section, took her trolley back, and then returned to find him waiting.
“The name’s Hawk.”
“Jasmine.”
“Jasmine?”
“Yeah, my mom loved the name, so she wanted me to have it.” She gave a shrug.
“It’s a pretty name.”
She was not some schoolgirl that wasn’t used to taking a compliment. At thirty years old she’d met her fair share of charmers.
“I really like Bethany.”
“Yeah, me too.”
“Where’s your wife or your girlfriend?” Real smooth, Jasmine. Just go right ahead and find his marital status? She didn’t even know why she was curious. It’s not like she was interested in the guy.
He was a biker.
She wouldn’t have anything to do with bikes.
Bikes were not her thing. Gripping the trolley, she followed Hawk down the aisle, picking up some chocolate chips and vanilla and putting them in her section of the trolley. She had a baking addiction, and it was her mission that every time she baked, she did something a bit different. This week she intended to make peanut butter brownies. Yum. Just the sound of it put on ten pounds, not that she minded at all.
She’d long given up on worrying about being a slender woman. At a size eighteen, she was more than happy with her figure.
From a young age she’d had to deal with large tits and hips, along with thick, chunky thighs. She was done with all kinds of diets. She’d tried most of them, failed them all. Dieting held no interest to her.
Five years ago, she’d learned the hard way that life can take unexpected turns and that it was only a short time they were here on earth. She intended to live her life to the fullest. The only thing missing was sex.