G is for Gerry (Men of ALPHAbet Mountain)

I didn’t have a problem with crowded stores, per se, but this place could put my teeth on edge if I went at the wrong times. It was one of the reasons I tended to only go on weekend mornings or at night on weekdays. Fewer people to worry about, and I would take the issue of the store sometimes running out of things I needed if it meant more elbow room down the aisles.

Going inside, I grabbed a cart and immediately headed for the toiletry aisles. I had a system that usually involved getting produce and frozen stuff last, but it required that I start on one edge of the store and work my way around. The toiletries aisles were first. Afterwards, I would move over to cat food and then on toward groceries, if I didn’t have other things to pick up.

The list on my phone included several items that I had thrown on there over the last couple of weeks because they were running low and I was just keeping an eye out for deals, but one thing that I was running out of was toilet paper. Considering that was a necessity, I went right for it, not wanting to forget it.

The aisles themselves were long and short, with the top shelf just over my eyeline. Some of them had cardboard or pegboard backs, but most didn’t, so items from one end of the aisle backed up against items on the other side. Usually, I didn’t notice, but it stuck out at me when I saw movement behind the last pack of the paper I tended to buy and was shocked by the face I saw when I pulled it down.

“Oh, hi,” Malia said, suddenly breaking out into a giggle.

She was pulling down a box of bandages, long wrap ones that I immediately realized were for her leg. Embarrassed, I tossed the paper into the cart quickly and smiled back. Behind Malia, Deana was pushing the cart and looked as surprised as Malia was to see me.

I waved to her, but it was Malia that my eyes were drawn to. I had been thinking about her on and off for days and couldn’t keep my brain from sliding back to her constantly.

She was moving around on her crutches pretty well, much more so than the last time I saw her, as she made her way around the aisle to me. I probably should have gone to her, as it would be the gentlemanly thing to do, but she was so fast, and I was so flustered that she beat me to it. Dee stayed on the other side, ostensibly shopping, but I had the feeling she was intentionally giving her sister a little space, while staying somewhere she could listen.

“Fancy seeing you here,” I said, laughing. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” she said, a wide smile crossing her face. “Doing a little better on these things.”

“I see that. You sped around here so fast. I couldn’t even meet you halfway.”

“Doing my best,” she said. “Dee figured out I had been using the adjustment one down from where I should. Once she moved it up, I got to moving a lot better. Less falling off porches at least.”

I laughed. With the way our eyes were burning into each other, I was surprised I was capable of thinking of words to keep saying. She was so gorgeous, her hair pulled into a bun behind her and a low-cut tank top showing just the hint of cleavage underneath an open football jersey. It was a hurried look, like she decided to go to the store at the last minute and just threw things on, but she somehow made it look terribly sexy.

The leg wasn’t a factor for me, and I was honestly a little surprised at myself. If I had thought about it before meeting her, I was sure that I would think it would be something I would have to get used to or get over. But I never had that issue—Malia was as hot as anyone I had ever met in my life and the lack of a leg did absolutely nothing to change that.

As it was, most of my attention was focused on her big, bountiful lips and the way they curled into a smile as she met eyes with me. Eyes that sparkled with laughter and intrigue, which made me want to settle in and stare at them all day.

“Well, I would hope there’s no more porch falling in your future,” I said. “If there is, though, don’t hesitate to give me a call. I’d be happy to help again.”

“I’d like that too,” she said and then seemed to freeze a bit before moving on. I tried not to dwell, but it felt an awful lot like something someone says when they are flirting.