He Hisses

~2~

Waking up to the dull sound of rain, Penny grumbled, still feeling groggy from her nap. She reached for her phone, the screen blinding her as she squinted to reduce the brightness before looking at the time 9:38 p.m.
Late, even for her. Stretching, she dragged herself out of bed and into the kitchen, only to find the fridge almost completely bare, save for a lonely bottle of water. She'd forgotten to stock up. Again.
Pulling on some sweatpants a hoodie and an umbrella, she headed to the nearest department store. At least it wasn't packed like the afternoons or mornings, no one to rush her while she lazily picked through the fruits and vegetables, silently grateful for the peace. After loading her cart with the essentials, cereal, pancake mix, fruits,milk, pasta and such, Penny moved to the cashier.
A polite smile spread on her face, hoping to make the cashier feel better as it was almost closing time. Though the cashier barely acknowledged her.

"That'll be $65.20. Cash or card?""Card," Penny said, reaching into her pocket, only to pause when a hand stretched out beside her, offering a card instead and taking her groceries bag from the cashier. Confused, she looked up to see who it belonged to as he towered quite a bit over her frame of 5'6. And there he was, a man so sinfully handsome it nearly took her breath away.

He was lean, and the black turtleneck he wore hugged his body like a second skin, perfectly outlining his arms... and damn, those arms.He cleared his throat, snapping her back to reality. Embarrassed, she glanced away, her face burning, though her skin thankfully hid the blush.

"Thank you, but you didn't have to pay. I had it covered," she said, trying to grab her bags from him. But he stepped back, pulling them just out of her reach.
"Can't I pay for a beautiful lady when I see one?" he asked, flashing a smile that looked off. Too smooth. Too fake. Not one sign of sincerity, it tickled her the wrong way. Penny's frown deepened. Handsome or not, she hated guys like this the ones who thought paying for something gave them an in. With a firm tug, she finally managed to get her bags from him, forcing a tight smile.
"Thanks for your help," she muttered before turning on her heel and walking away, resisting the urge to run. Something about him put her on edge. She glanced over her shoulder more than once on the way back to her apartment, half-expecting to see him following her.
Thankfully, he didn't. But the uneasy feeling stuck with her long after she made it home.

She locked the door and windows making sure to triple check, the guy she met at the store, gave the kind of energy of guys her mum will nag her about not to associate with. Come to think of it he was too composed, stared too much and she didn't remember if she saw him blink during their short interaction. All she knew was that she won't have to see him again after all the city isn't small