"Yeah, it was honestly the strangest grocery run of my life," I whine to Simone as I recap my eventful morning.
"Did you even ask his name?"
I stare at her dumbfounded. No, I didn't ask his name. I was too busy, irrationally irritated by his presence, to wonder what his freaking name was.
"No. I must've forgotten that part." I smile sarcastically at her.
"You're such a peach sometimes." She rolls her eyes at me.
"I try," I wink at her, earning me an even more exaggerated eye roll.
I pop the cork on the champagne as she slides the pan full of bacon in the oven. As much as I want him to be an afterthought, my mind has different plans, and Mr. Grocery Store occupies my every second. I fill the glasses absentmindedly as his smile invades my thoughts. I can hear his voice almost intimately. Every tattoo that lines his arms is embedded in my memory.
My phone vibrates on the counter, jolting me out of my jog down memory lane. Before I can fully process the intrusion- wait, not intrusion. It's fine because I shouldn't be thinking about him, and I honestly don't care to. Anyway, I head over to grab my phone, but I'm a few seconds too late as Simone snatches it up, smirking at me.
"What's going on here?" She waves the phone in my face. I can't make out much, but I see exactly who the text is from.
"We... it's complicated." I sigh and down my freshly poured mimosa.
"Damn, girl. That complicated?" She slides my phone over to me.
I nod. That. Complicated.
"Maybe you should tell him you met a fine guy in the grocery store and see if that lights a fire." She shrugs and downs her mimosa.
"Now, why on earth would I do that?" It's quite literally the worst idea I've ever heard, and between the two of us, that is quite the feat.
"You like flirting with disaster. Why stop now?" She snatches my glass and begins pouring a refill.
I don't like flirting with disaster, per se. I suppose one could argue that I don't run in the other direction when I should. What's life without a bit of adventure? I sip my freshly refilled mimosa, and my body begins to sway as Promiscuous Girl plays in the background. We're jamming out to the throwbacks right now, and I've never appreciated anything more. If my mind is focused on the music, that means it isn't focused on...enough. I have thought about Mr. Grocery Store more than enough.
Why is it that even after he... we left that stupid store, he's still in my head? It's like I'm sitting and staring at the clock. The seconds are ticking by in excruciatingly slow motion as I wait for the clock to hit midnight to experience the magical reset that it promises. But there is no reset coming. There's just now. And right now, no amount of throwbacks or champagne distracts me from his smirk. The sound of Usher's voice pales compared to the memory of him leaning in to whisper how stubborn I am.
Have you ever replayed an event over so many times in your head that you start to wonder what's real? This was a trip to the grocery store. I've had my moments, but even this is a brush with insanity a little too close for comfort.
It's funny. Nobody wants to be the only one that's left standing, but that's exactly who I am right now because I can't shake that encounter. I can't shake this belief that I was supposed to meet him. I didn't even get his name.
"So, just how complicated are things with Cam? Your complicated? His complicated? Or you guys' complicated?"
I laugh because as outrageous as that question sounds, it makes perfect sense. Cameron has complicated things. I have complicated things. And then sometimes, we're just complicated-through no fault of our own, more or less.
"I'm just not sure if I forgive him yet. I'm not sure if I ever can. I'm different. We're too different now."
All we want is for someone to understand-they just get it. Cameron got it. I got him, and boy, did he ever get me. We made sense. It was easy and peaceful. It was fun and fresh. And it went as quietly as it came. I watched him leave without me. I watched us drift away. I was safe and sound with him. I unwillingly sent him on his way, sound and safe.
It was right for him. It was probably even right for me. It was six feet under for us. And now we find ourselves trying to water our grave. And a tiny voice whispers for me not to go back because it can't end well. An even louder voice begs him to tell me we can do this. And that safe and sound girl who held her tears in as he blew away like a puff of smoke is staring up at the clouds, wondering if they can cry us back to life.
"You guys make too much sense not to figure this out. Maybe you're just thinking too hard."
"Enough about Cam!" I shrug away all the thoughts. The smell of bacon penetrates my nose, and my tummy begins to do a little happy dance. I bounce around the apartment a little more as the champagne courses through my veins.
"You know, we've been so focused on my boy drama, but what's happening with you?"
"Are you trying to hurt me? You know the dating scene is trash right now. Maybe I need to go hang out outside of the grocery store." She rolls her eyes at me.
I grab one of the blackberries out on the counter and toss it at her head. "That wasn't the beginning of a love story. It was my villain origin story."
She laughs almost hysterically before pouring eggs into a pan on the stove. "Do you even believe what comes out of your mouth these days?" She chuckles again.
This is the last time I give a grocery store recap. I walk to the cabinet that houses the plates, grabbing two. Luckily, we'll be eating soon, and the more time we spend eating, the less time there is for me to be harassed about my grocery trip.
I set the plates down and grab the remote to change the song. Usually, the algorithm is on our side, but the past three songs have been awful, so it's time to regain control. I click on a Beyoncé song; it seems easy enough. A commercial begins to play, and I'd swear to you my heart stopped.
"Wait!" The remote falls from my hands and clashes with the coffee table.
"Hey! You alright over there?"
"Tha-that's the guy from the grocery store."
He's on the TV. I'm looking at him on TV right now. You have got to be freaking kidding me.
"Please tell me you're joking. There's no way you met that guy and didn't know who he was. There is no way."
I turn to her, the blank expression on my face, all the confirmation she needs.
I stare.
She stares.
Silence coupled with more silence.
"Well?"
"That's Spencer James. He's arguably the most important player on the Panthers, and he's easily the most recognizable-unless the person meeting him is, well, you." She chuckles.
"So he-people know him?"
"Oh dear." She scoops the eggs out of the pan onto our plates. Her giggles begin to fade in the background as my lightheadedness creeps in.
My appetite is gone. I insulted the team he plays for right to his face, and all he did was smile his intoxicating smile at me. This isn't real life.
"Spencer," his name drips from lips like a prayer.
Welcome back Spencer and Cameron! I hope you guys enjoyed!!
