The Colors of Love

10: The Supermarket

"So, you speak Spanish?" I ask Adri as we leave La Cuchara. As Adri had promised, the tacos were amazing. I offered to pay for the meal, but Adri wouldn't let me buy hers. So we split the bill, and now we're strolling around the supermarket.

Adri flushes, and says, "Yeah. It's pretty useful, honestly. I sailed through Spanish 2 and 3, so I'm taking some online classes to keep myself fluent."

"That's impressive!" I exclaim. "I failed Spanish 3."

She laughs, and says, "Well, well, well, the roles are reversed! I actually know something useful, and you failed a class!"

"Who would've thought?" I say with a sly smile. She grins at me, and my breath catches. Gosh, her smile is gorgeous. Seeing her so happy makes me want to grab her by the arms and yell I'm your soulmate! We're supposed to be together!

But that would scare her away. Maybe for good. And no matter how amazing it would be to tell her, I don't want to lose her.

"So," I venture, trying to make conversation, "When you finally see in color, what do you think will be the prettiest thing to look at?"

She sighs, "The sunset."

I grin, "Yeah, it's really-" I snap my mouth shut instantly. What am I thinking?! I clear my throat, and say, "Yeah, I bet it's really pretty."

She didn't seem to realize my falter, or if she did she doesn't seem to care. She asks, "So, what about you? What are you looking forward to looking at?"

"Um... my soulmate, I guess," I say, my cheeks flushing. I look at her as I say it, and she meets my gaze with a smirk.

She chuckles, and says, "You are such a hopeless romantic."

I laugh at that, and say, "What? Aren't your parents all mushy gushy, or is that just my parents? They flirt all the time. It's like they just fell in love yesterday."

Adri's gaze darkens, and she doesn't comment on what I had said. Instead, she turns away from me and starts to walk to the other side of the store. Did I do something wrong? I jog to catch up with her, and when I reach her, I ask, "Whoa, hey, what's up?"

She growls, "Let's not forget why we're here. We have a project to do."

Right.

"I know, I'm sorry, I was just having some fun," I say with a grin.

She glares at me again, and says, "You know what? Never mind. Can we do this tomorrow night?"

"What? Why?" I ask, my heart sinking.

"I have something planned later tonight. Got a friend coming over. I should go home. Do I need to drive you home?" she says.

I shake my head, saying, "No, it's okay, I can walk from here. Are sure you're okay?" I reach out to put my hand on her shoulder, but she jerks away from me.

I drop my hand to my side awkwardly as she says, "I'll be fine. See you tomorrow."

And just like that, she walks away from me and heads to the exit. I watch her as she goes, and my heart aches once she's gone. I hadn't noticed just how much I was smiling and laughing with her, but now that she's gone, my face is emotionless, and my shoulders sag.

What had I done wrong? Was it something I had said? It wasn't the food we had for dinner, that much I know for sure. So what did I do? How can Adri go from being so happy and carefree one moment, to closed off and rude the next?

How am I supposed to fall in love with someone who is never going to love me?

A/N: Again, thanks for reading! Let me know what you think in the comments!