In My Dreams

Chapter 3

I teased a towel around my damp hair, modeling an oversized pair of plaid pajama pants and a dry tank.
My soaked clothes were a heap in the corner of the bathroom. I had to dig through a drawer of hair curlers to find a hair brush, raking it through my wet curls.
Lucky for me, I only had one class today, which had been tainted by my surprisingly lewd imagination. All afternoon I couldn't get my thoughts past that classroom. I felt as if I was still stuck in that chair, like I was glued to it.
Yes, he's attractive, but in an innocent way. I couldn't wrap my head around why I felt this way.

Unless I was missing something.

Our minds tend to remember things we don't, our bodies alone have memories that we don't retain.
But it might not be that deep. I could just be over thinking this.

"Right" I unhooked a hoodie from the closet door before wrestling in on. We were running low on a few things and now seemed like a better time that ever to fix that.
It was a Wednesday. Nowhere was busy on a Wednesday, let alone a rainy Wednesday.

---

The air felt wet and muggy with that hot summer dampness that only came once every few weeks. The puddles shallow and reflecting the gloom sky on its surface.
A few people roamed the crosswalk, either wielding umbrellas or hiding under jackets.

Just as I predicted, nobody wanted to go shopping on a rainy Wednesday, leaving the parking lot nearly bare, spare for a few cars sprinkled here and there.
The lights of the grocery store, bright and fluorescent made me blink twice. The beeping of items filling the front entrance as I walked past.

"-ma'am, this coupon is expired, I can't help you"
An older woman fumbled with her purse, flipping through her wallet.
The cashier sighed, trying once again to scan the coupon.

"Here" I dug in the pocket of my bag and stepped between the two women. I held out my student ID, the cashier swiftly scanned the barcode.
The woman watched as her bill went down a couple digits, a warm smile bunching up her cheeks.
"Thank you, Sweetheart" lines formed around her eyes and I smiled curtly, lowering the few bags she had into her cart.

"Have a good day"
A warm feeling swelled in my chest, unable to fight the pleased smile that threatened to show as I carted my own groceries. I scrolled through my phone, crossing out items one by one.

Awhile later I was giving a few watermelons a good knocking when I saw him, back turned towards me on the far side of the produce isle. The French stitching on his suit was unmistakable, and his hair looked even shinier in this lighting.
He was rolling a tomato in his hand, thoroughly inspecting it for bruises before bagging it.

Another woman passing by seemed just as entranced as I was, her head flicking a full 180 to watch him as she left the produce isle, almost stumbling over the wheels of her cart.
I slowly turned my attention back to the watermelons, giving a fat one a few heavy smacks.

"You don't have to hit it"

"Yes you do" I answered thoughtlessly before going in for the melon, casting a glance towards the voice.
Instead of meeting eyes, I met miles of shoulder and French stitching.

"You should pick the one with the most yellow bruising. That means that it's had longer to sit" His long arms arched down and easily picked up a melon with a large yellow spot.
The way he moved was like watching chocolate melt.
His face was chiseled to perfection and he almost looked as if he wasn't real, his distinct stubble being the only thing to remind me that he wasn't straight from a movie. I nearly forgot about the way he had shoulder checked me on the way into the main building.
His eyes were deep set and sultry and I found myself stumbling over my words when they met mine.
"-that makes sense, yeah. So, yellow melons"

The smile that pulled at his lips was a killer, nodding as he set the melon in my hands.
"Yes, yellow melons" he repeated.

I was probably as red as the inside of the melon by now, feeling my cheeks swell with blood the longer I held his gaze.
I took his lingering stare as my que.
"Thank you"
Placing the hefty fruit into my cart, I fumbled to push my phone into my coat pocket before smiling politely, swerving my cart towards the checkout.

_____

"Do you have a rewards card?" The cashier smacked on her gum as she scanned the last of my items.
"Student ID" I dug into my pocket, feeling around for the little plastic card. I checked my other pocket too.

I could feel her eyes boring into me as I patted myself down better than a TSA agent, slowly coming to the conclusion that I had indeed lost it.
"We take cash too" she commented as if I lived under a rock, popping her gum and licking it off her lips.
With a sigh, I reached into my bag and thumbed through a wad of bills, awkwardly counting my 1's.

"That's weird"
I looked up at the woman who now had a look of our confusion, tapping at the register screen a few times before shrugging, ripping a receipt from the printer.
"Looks like it's your lucky day"

"What"

The small monitor that once showed the cost of my groceries now showed a green check mark.
I slowly took the receipt from her as if she would say April fools in the middle of October.

The next person impatiently moved up the moment I stepped out of line.

Smiling to myself, I tightened my grip on the plastic bags and left.
Maybe it was that old woman deciding to pay it forwards. Or some charity event? I didn't know who to thank, but I was grateful.