The Rose Thief

III. Petal To The Metal

Petal To The Metal

My weekend outfits generally consisted of wrinkled clothes and unruly hair, and a trip to the store at 9 on a Saturday evening was no exception.

I had just joined the surf of the ghastly crimson wave with no equipment whatsoever, and had to make an emergency trip to get the necessities, that understandably included chocolate.

My faded Uggs scuffed the gravel, as I pressed the alarm of my father's car once, before entering the store, hoping to leave in the next 5 minutes or less. I made a beeline to the toiletries isle, grabbing a plastic package of pads before walking briskly to the confectionary isle. Grabbing the first bar I saw-I wasn't picky. If it said chocolate, I would devour it- and made a swift turn, colliding with someone and simultaneously dropping my items.

Without looking up, I speedily gathered my things, making sure to hide the pads in order to prevent further embarrassment. As my head shot up, it bumped into a hard object, definitely a head, causing the head and I to let out matching grimaces of pain. Rubbing the throbbing pain on my scalp, I stood up properly to mutter an apology that almost instantly died down in my throat along with any coherent thought I could possibly possess.

The first thing I saw were eyes. Green and soul-sucking and oh so gorgeous I could drown in them. The black locks on his head were messy but in no way as disorderly as mine. Lips so plump and pouty, that I felt almost envious. Just looking at him made me emotionally drained but awoke a certain part of me that had been hidden for as long as I could remember. Forget my chocolate; I was two seconds away from eating him, for the specimen that stood before me was mouth-wateringly delicious.

Rubbing his forehead and focusing his eyes on my undoubtedly flushed face, he spoke up. "I'm so sorry. I wasn't exactly looking where I was going. The need to sleep does that to people."

The giggle that escaped my mouth made me want to punch myself in the face repeatedly. "I should be saying sorry. I should have watched were I was going. I hope your forehead is fine though."

His smile made my stomach drop involuntarily and something else was about to drop if he continued. "Let's agree that we both should have been more vigilant. And a little bump won't kill me."

I was undoubtedly about to say something completely cringe worthy before another voice beat me to it.

An elderly woman, with an obvious hearing problem, chose that exact moment to whisper, not so subtly, in my ear, for surely everyone, including the wet-dream before us to hear. "Honey, it seems as though you've bled through your sweats. Be sure to cover that up before someone else sees. I've had plenty of those embarrassing moments and wouldn't wish that on an innocent young lady like yourself."

And with that she left me with bright cheeks and ridiculing humiliation. My makeshift pad, consisting of a wad of toilet paper, had apparently failed to do it's only job of stain-prevention in my grey sweatpants.

I reluctantly looked to the grinning boy before me, who seemed seconds away from bursting into a fit of laughter. If he had been any other person, I would have thrown him my nastiest glare but my body was still recovering from the scarring mortification I had just experienced.

"Don't worry, Buttercup. I'll keep your secret." He was mocking me but the only thing that I desired to smack him with were my lips. "Not that I would know who to spread this juicy rumour about. You still haven't given me your name."

"Rose." Was my one-liner.

His mega-watt smirk had my legs shaking. "I'm Isaac and I'm sure you have more important things to do than chat to some stranger. I heard blood stains."

This time my body blessedly chose to function properly and my glare was sharp enough to pierce. "It does, but the blood of a certain dark haired male would be worth the stains on my clothing."

Isaac's eyes flashed with surprise and amusement. "Feisty. I would have made another period reference but my mother taught me to never aggravate a woman during her 'time of the month'."

My earlier threat seemed extremely tempting. "Your mother's correct, though you don't seem to be taking her advice."

He shrugged and shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans. "I'm a rebel with the simple cause to infuriate women, I guess. At least that's what my brother says."

"I couldn't agree more."

His gleaming smile made a reappearance. "And now that I've done my job, it's time that I depart. Hope all goes well with your...problem." And with that he turned and left. Thank goodness because I was seconds away from internally combusting.

Grabbing my products, I went straight to the till, paid and all but ran out the store. I hadn't even bothered to cover my behind. My embarrassment was at optimal level already, what was one more stare or comment.

As soon as I got into the car, I took a much needed breathe of air and regrettably looked into the rear-view mirror. My cheeks were stained red and my hair resembled a bird's nest. The thought of looking so horrendous in front of anyone racked a shudder through my body.

I gas peddled home, desperate to get into bed, in order to forget that this whole ordeal had ever happened.

However, I couldn't sleep a wink that night all thanks to a certain green eyed monster, quite literally.

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