I was rounding a corner, heading away from the prepackaged potato chips like they were silently judging me, when my cart nearly crashed into someone else’s. I leaned over the front of it to stop the momentum and dug my heels down on the hard concrete, stopping my speed just enough to only have the two carts clink together in a sad metallic sound.
“Sorry about that,” I said, not looking up yet, as I was eyeing the carton of eggs on top that threatened to spill over.
“Tyler?” the voice asked, and I immediately recognized who it was.
“Holy crap, Becca?” I said, my eyes going wide.
I was immediately stunned by how gorgeous she was. I had never really taken much notice of her growing up, since she was my best friend’s little sister, but once she hit eighteen, I’d realized she was a very pretty girl. In spite of myself, I noticed I had gotten a little googly-eyed about her when she would come home from college or spend time around her brother, but those times were few and far between, and I usually wasn’t hanging around her enough to even have a conversation. Our relationship had been strictly, and firmly, that of two people connected by another.
But now, my God, she looked incredible. The years since I had seen her last had done wonders for her. Her blonde hair hung just over her shoulders, and her green eyes sparkled out at me from a bright, smiling face. Her lips were full and lush, and her lipstick was a dark red that made me think of cherries. At around five feet and six inches, her curvy figure had filled out, and she was simply stunning to look at. It took me a moment even to realize she had her arms open for a hug, and I eagerly accepted. When her body pressed against mine, her large, pillowy breasts pressed against my chest, and I had to break the hug before I was pressing into her from other areas.
“How are you?” she asked as she returned to her cart. It looked like she had just gotten there, as the only thing in it were a bag of apples and a couple of spices.
“I’m doing good,” I said. “Staying busy.”
“And hungry it looks like,” she said, eyeing my cart.
“Oh,” I said, in mock surprise, “is this my cart? I think I must have confused it with a family of five.”
She laughed, and the sound was musical and free. Even her voice had gotten sexy. And I really, really needed to stop thinking of her that way.
“Hopefully you find them,” she said.
“Hopefully,” I said. “So, how are you, really?”
She grimaced a bit and then looked around to make sure no one was close by. “Did my brother tell you?”
I pursed my lips together. How the hell was I going to get out of this one now?
“Ye-ah,” I said, pausing in the middle as if I could change the word into something else, but not knowing what. “I heard a little bit about it. I’m sorry that happened to you.”
She shrugged. “I’m just trying to deal with it as it comes, you know. It sucked. Like, a lot. But being home is helping.”
“Are you staying with Nick?” I asked, a sudden and unexpected hope springing up in my voice.
“No, though he offered,” she said.
Damn.
“Oh,” I said, lamely.
“I’m at my parents’ house, actually. At least for now. We will see how much being around Mom twenty-four-seven does for my nerves.”
I laughed. “Yeah, she can be a bit much sometimes, but you always know it’s out of love.”
She sighed. “Yeah. I suppose. What about you? Are you still living with Mason?”
“No, that didn’t last long,” I summed up. “I have my own place now. It’s nothing spectacular, but it’s in the new complex down the road.”
“Anything else interesting happening?” she asked, and there was a hint of something else there, another question going unasked.
“No, nothing much really. Live by myself, work at the bar. You heard about the bar, right?”
“Yes, Nick did tell me about that!” she said, concern suddenly crossing her face.
“It’s okay. They caught the guy that did it, and insurance paid for most of the stuff we lost. But we had to move to a new location. It’s actually not far from where your parents live,” I said.
I told her the location, and we fell into a silence for a few moments, but neither of us moved. I did that nervous laugh people do when they don’t want to end a conversation but are at a loss for what to say next.
“Are you guys open at the new place yet?” she asked.
“Yes, actually. You know, you should come check it out,” I said, unable to stop myself. “We have these great theme nights. My sister-in-law, Ava, she’s great at coming up with cool stuff for us to do, and the place gets packed. It’s a blast.”