After Arlington

Chapter 14: William

William Bishop watched the storm cloud that was Chloe Whittaker dart down the aisle, her eyes lingering on dishwashing detergent momentarily before grabbing a bottle and chucking it into the basket hung at her elbow.

"Can you wait up?" he asked, amused as she turned around and raised a brow.

"I can't believe how long it takes you to do grocery shopping," Chloe said, her warm brown eyes rolling in a show of disgust.

"Hey, this is why I keep to doing it online," he said, eyeing off a shelf of cleaning products. "Or just take food from my parents."

"Oh God," she said with a sigh, "I don't know what you did without me, William."

"Well, I used to have access to my bathroom sink."

She shot him a pointed look before increasing her speed, rounding the corner and turning into the next aisle. He watched her with affection, admiring the curves of her body, the way her black jeans hugged her ass and her shiny chestnut hair whipped over her shoulders.

He'd almost caught up to her when a particular section of colorful products caught his eye.

"Hey, Chlo," he called, stopping her in her tracks.

"What?"

He saw her face pale when she turned to see what he was examining, a finger pressed to his chin in mock thought.

"William," she hissed under her breath, her cheeks turning from a ghostly white to a burnt red in only a fraction of a second.

"What? We're running low."

Her horror-struck embarrassment caused her to fumble with the handles of the basket as she turned around and started storming off.

"Catch, baby." With one swift movement, he flung a box of condoms towards her, aiming for the basket. But, to his displeasure, it missed completely and landed on the floor, skidding in front of Chloe and to the feet of an unsuspecting elderly lady.

That's it. Chloe was going to murder him.

He spun on his feet, stifling laughter before she could turn her rage towards him. He heard her stammering apologies as he ducked down the frozen produce aisle. She was absolutely going to murder him in his sleep, and that was only if she didn't do it right here in the supermarket.

When she finally caught up with him, her face the color of beetroot and a look so full of fury it actually managed to knock the smile from his face, Will was starting to consider that maybe it wasn't all that funny.

She ignored him, yanking over the freezer door and pulling out a box of frozen berries.

"I'm sorry," he said, trying to keep his tone genuine. Maybe if he got in early she wouldn't cause a scene in public.

"You're an asshole," she corrected, glaring at him beneath her lashes. "Condoms? Really?"

"Believe it or not, Whittaker, but they don't actually come from a never ending supply in my drawer."

"That old lady gave me the worst look," she muttered, only flushing further.

"Why? She's probably glad we're being safe," he said, masking his smile by grabbing her free hand, intertwining their fingers.

"You threw a box of those at her. I think she was more worried that you're too immature to be having sex to begin with," she shot, refusing to close her fingers around his.

"Oh, Chloe," he said, his voice dipping deeper. "You won't be saying that tonight."

Ignoring him, she shook free of his hand and made a beeline for the cash register, pausing at the conveyor belt to load their basket of groceries. He chuckled as he followed her, pulling out his credit card and subtly grabbing her ass.