Bitter

Chapter 6

My phone rings as I pull into the grocery store parking lot. I’m here to pick up snacks in case anyone comes back to our place after the bar. I glance at the caller ID and see it’s my mom. I sigh as I debate whether or not I should answer.

I haven’t talked to her in a quite a while though, so it’s better if I just get this over with to get her off my back. She can get her few minute fix in order to make herself feel like a good mom.

“Hello?” I answer as I get out of the car and start walking into the store.

“Hi, Wren.”

The phone goes awkwardly silent as I wait for her to talk. She’s accustomed to me making conversation since she doesn’t actually have anything to talk to me about, but I don’t this time. She called me. She can tell me what she wants.

She finally clears her throat. “How are you doing? You know, with everything?”

I sigh as I grab a grocery basket and start walking toward the snack aisle. “I’m fine. Hey, I’m at the grocery store now. Did you need something or can I call you later?” I won’t call her later and she knows it. She doesn’t want me to. I give her this out though all the time so she doesn’t feel bad.

“Uhm…” She pauses. She must actually need something since she didn’t take me up on my offer. “So we got the invite to Tina’s wedding. It’s just that times are tough right now, and we’d have to stay in a hotel if we attended.”

Typical. I sigh again as I grab some snacks off the shelf. I can’t very well tell my in-laws that my parents can’t attend because they are too cheap. “Don’t worry about the room. We’ll cover it.”

“You finally find some of that money that man was hiding from you?” she asks.

I groan. “No, Mom. For the millionth time, there is no money. I’ve been working.”

She sounds like she still doesn’t believe me. “I think you need to talk to your lawyer again. His family has to be hiding it somewhere.”

I close my eyes and sigh as I turn the corner. I open my mouth to tell her again there is no money, but I run straight into someone. My chips fall out of my basket onto the ground, and I step back to apologize. I come face to face with the store manager from the other day.

“Mom, I have to go,” I interrupt.

I hang up before she responds and smile at the man as I grab my chips off the ground. He squats down next to me and hands me the other bag. “I’m so sorry,” he says as he grins back at me.

“Oh no, it was my fault. I wasn’t watching where I was going,” I say back.

We both stand, and he smiles bigger. “Back so soon? After that last trip, I didn’t think I’d see you here for a while.”

I laugh a little harder than necessary. “I feel so embarrassed. Do you keep track of all your customer’s shopping habits?”

He breathes out an embarrassed laugh of his own. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to be a creep.”

I laugh again so he knows I don’t mind. “Blame my roommate. He’s the one who needs so much food.”

He grins. “Oh? So he’s the one who’s going to eat all the junk food?”

“Some of it I’m sure,” I smile. “But really I’m just making sure we have snacks at home in case people come over after the bar.”

He leans his arm against the shelf next to us, and so I also relax against it so he knows I don’t want the conversation to end. He smirks at me. “You’re a good host even before you know for sure if you’ll be a host. I have to admire your responsibility.”

“Wow. You make me sound so lame,” I joke.

He laughs. “Oh no! Not at all. The opposite actually. You’re going with the flow. Seeing how the night turns out. Nothing wrong with being prepared and spontaneous.”

I give him a flirty smile back. “Is it bad to say then that I wish I knew now?”

He leans in closer and laughs. “You could always ask someone to come over after the bar now. Then you’ll have plenty of time to plan for a guaranteed guest,” he jokes.

I can’t not hop on this opportunity though. “Are you volunteering?”

His eyebrows shoot up. “Are you asking?”

I lean back slightly and smirk. “Maybe.”

He smiles bigger and stands up straight again. “Tell me I’m not being an idiot and mistaking you being friendly with flirting with me right now.”

I laugh. “Oh God! Am I that bad at it?”

He laughs. “Not at all.” He glances to his side. “We’re doing inventory today. I don’t usually work weekends. I’ll be out of here by five though.”

I bite my lip nervously. “Should I leave you my number? Maybe you can call me later?”

He reaches in his back pocket and hands me his phone to put my number in. When I hand it back, he grabs my hand at the same time as the phone. I glance up at his face, and he smirks back. “I would hate to have you still not know for sure if you’ll be hosting tonight, so I want to make myself very clear. I will call. And I will be there tonight.”

My heart jumps up into my throat. I feel my face blush at his confident tone. “Okay,” I giggle as I take a few steps back. I have the stupidest grin on my face. “I’ll see you tonight then.”

He nods back at me. “Tonight.”

I quickly turn before I make a bigger fool out of myself, and I grab a few more things now that I know I’ll be having a guest over tonight. A very sexy guest. Oh God! I have an actual date tonight. What the fuck am I going to do? What should I wear? Will he try to sleep with me? Do I want to sleep with him? Oh, what am I saying? Of course I want to. Should I though? That’s another question.

After grabbing a few more ‘just in case’ essentials, I head to the check out and rush home. I want to make sure everything in the house is clean and nothing weird is sitting out in the open. Tonight just got a lot more interesting.