We meet at the sea

Cookies?

Aaliyah had spent the rest of the week to herself. Now that she had an idea of Cruz's schedule she avoided the beach in the early mornings, midday and evening.

She was agitated by the fact that she had to go to such lengths to avoid the surfer. It had been worth it though, a sense of peace of mind had been achieved.

Aaliyah had spent her days painting. On the sand dune, on her deck and inside her house. She had also managed to get through half of her book without distractions.

This morning she planned to check out a local farmers market. Her body had been craving fresh fruits and Aaliyah couldn't wait to devour a punnet of strawberries.

Thankfully she slid into her car. The scent of spring water invaded her senses. It reminded her of Cruz's stupid, cheeky grin and how the woman hated "tourists."

Aaliyah put her windows down allowing the heat in the car to be released, she was already sweating.

The distance  to the farmers market wasn't far but far enough to drive with the A/C blasting. There was no way in this hot and steamy hell that she would be carrying her bags of produce back home herself.

There was a larger crowd at the markets than Aaliyah had expected. Wide brimmed sun hats fluttered on top of women's heads. Aaliyah was pleased she had remembered to leave the house with hers.

She headed into the crowd armed with a couple of tote bags. The smell of all kinds of food wafted around her as the markets bustled conversations and transactions.

Aaliyah had already spotted at least eight dogs, all being adorable and each one she had stopped to pet.

The stalls were loaded with vegetables and more fruit than Aaliyah could have imagined. Everyone was friendly and welcoming, the atmosphere lifted Aaliyah up with each second she spent drifting through the crowds.

Aaliyah had secured the goods she sought after and extra sweet treats that she knew would go down easily after dinner.

Her bags were so full the Aaliyah was almost struggling to carry them but she managed. It was more of a challenge trying to eat a bag of roasted peanuts and carry them at the same time.

Aaliyah weaved her way through the masses, trying her best to not swing the bags into people. She figured being struck with a bag which consisted of an entire pumpkin, potatoes and cabbage would be the same as a wrecking ball.

Her eyes scanned for an exit through the maze of people as beads of sweat trickled down her face. Aaliyah shielded her peanuts from an almost collision. She sighed in relief having missed the man.

She felt a tug on one of her bags. The assailant had come from behind her, Aaliyah's New York instincts took over.

She let go of her other bag to free her arm up, clutched her peanuts and pulled back to swing at whoever was touching her.

"Hey! Stop that." Cruz laughed as she caught Aaliyah's flying fist.

Aaliyah resisted the urge to dump the bag of peanuts on the surfer's head.

"Cruz, what the fuck?" Aaliyah groaned as she yanked her wrists from Cruz's grasp.

"I wanted to help carry your bags to your car, they look heavy." Cruz grinned, unphased by Aaliyah's attitude.

"You could have just asked." Aaliyah rolled her eyes as she went to pick up the bag she had plopped onto the group.

Cruz picked up, holding the heavy bag out and away from Aaliyah's reach like it was nothing.

"You would have said no." Cruz laughed as she reached for the other bag.

Aaliyah pulled it away. "That's beside the point."