"He has," I agreed, going up to the bag and moving it after I placed all her books on the counter.
Only, when I went to move it, the sheer weight of it surprised me.
"Wow," I grunted. "The man acted like this weighed nothing."
Krisney came up to my side, and we both dragged it out of the way so the checker could make her way out.
"Let me help," the checker said. "We can take it to the breakroom for now."
"Are you okay, Lark?" Krisney asked.
Lark, the checker, looked away and started dragging.
Luckily there were no other customers in the store, so they didn't know how pathetic we all were trying to get the bag through the line of checkouts, and to the breakroom.
"That has to weigh a hundred pounds," I muttered under my breath. "Seriously, how?"
"Tate was always big." Krisney pushed it the last few feet. "I'm just seriously impressed that the bag could hold up with all those books in it. A hundred pounds seems mighty impressive."
"It's probably more like fifty," Lark argued. "But since it's packed so full and awkward, there really isn't much to hold onto except little pieces with the tips of your fingers. That's why it feels like it weighs more."
I hummed something under my breath.
Then a loud voice came from somewhere outside the store. "We're ready to check out!"
Lark waved a small goodbye and raced away, as if her entire world hadn't just tilted on its axis.
"She's taking this a whole lot better than I would have," I murmured to Krisney. "Isn't that odd?"
Krisney nodded. "Yeah, it is."
I hummed in agreement and walked out of the breakroom.
"Where'd you put my groceries?"
"In the car," she said. "Are we still doing lunch?"
I nodded.
"Tacos, right?"
I nodded again. "It's Tuesday. It's a rule in Texas that you have to have tacos on Taco Tuesday."
I was two tacos and two dirty martinis in to Taco Tuesday when he came in the door.
My entire body shuddered, and Krisney immediately took notice.
"What was that?" she asked, leaning into me, her face only inches from mine.
"That," I lied. "Was n-nothing."
Krisney leaned even closer, allowing me to smell the spicy tacos on her breath. "You're lying."
I turned, and our noses touched.
"We look like we're about to do it."
Krisney laughed and backed off.
I turned and surreptitiously looked behind me at the door, only to see the object of my desire watching me.
His eyes were intense, and I turned away.
My smile kicked up a notch, and I reached for my last taco.
"This place is hopping," Krisney said. "And it looks like we're not the only ones to think Taco Tuesday is a great thing."
I didn't bother to look at where her gaze was pointed.
I knew where the man was. My entire body seemed fine tuned to his every movement.
He sat across the room from me, which unfortunately was only about four tables away since the place we were currently occupying was on the smaller side.
The Taco Shop (literally the actual name of the place) was brand new, but already it'd become one of my favorite places to eat. They served all kinds of tacos. Brisket tacos, original beef tacos, chicken tacos, and even shrimp tacos. They were also all you can eat, and were brought out three at a time. I was on my one-and only-serving of chicken tacos, and working on my rice and beans.
I tried, really, really hard not to notice how Tate didn't have anyone sitting with him.
For ten minutes, anyways, until a buxom brunette with legs up to her ears walked in, and immediately found him.
I then lost any and all appetite I had left. The woman that had walked in was none other than Tate's on again, off again, girlfriend.
Her name was Ariya Diebold, and I hated her from the moment my dreaming self had fallen for the town bad boy who never, ever returned her feelings, or gave her a second look.
Ariya was, for all intents and purposes, a very attractive woman … as long as you didn't listen to the words that came out of her mouth.
Tate, however, obviously didn't have any problems with her mouth, because he'd been going back to her and her bed for years now.
I hated her, and everything about her, and had since the day she saw me looking at Tate with longing in my eyes.
"Oh, shit."
I knew then that Krisney had seen her.
She wasn't my best friend for nothing.
That day all those years ago, I knew that we'd be friends forever.
But I wouldn't allow my mind to go down that dark path. I had a nearly full martini in front of me, and I was not going to let that bitch break me like she did when I was younger.
Today was for celebrating. Today was the day that I would not let Ariya Diebold hurt me.
Tate
"What's that look for?" I asked Ariya.
Ariya grimaced and looked away from where she'd been staring.
I chanced a look, and saw Hennessy, and her best friend Krisney, leaning toward each other again.
They were whispering something, making it to where I couldn't hear any of their conversation, and my dick instantly hardened.
I wasn't one to want to do a threesome, though I had indulged in a few over my lifetime. They weren't my thing then, and weren't my thing now.
But looking at the two beautiful women, light and dark in coloring, inches from each other's mouths, had done nothing for the semi-hard on that I had for the woman.
It'd been that way since I'd seen her that morning for our scheduled appointment.
I really needed to get laid, which was where Ariya came in.
Ariya's and my relationship was a tough one. Neither one of us loved the other, at least not anymore. We'd both done some things that the other couldn't forgive, and over time, we'd continue to do those things until those feelings weren't enough anymore.
But we still had the occasional fuck-at least until I'd gone to prison.
She'd gone on with her life, but the day I'd gotten home, she'd made it known that she'd be willing to take up our old relationship where we'd left off-as fuck buddies.
Though, at the time, I had a feeling she wanted something more. We were both getting older, both of us in our mid-thirties. She wanted something more with her life, but she wasn't the woman I'd ever be willing to do that with.
I hadn't been interested in her advances then, and to be honest, still wasn't. She was a good woman, and she deserved to find someone who wouldn't ruin her life like I would.
But it was hard to find someone that wasn't either A, disgusted with me for going to prison, or B, only wanting to be with me because she knew I was a bad boy.
I wanted someone nice. My dick was at the point where it no longer cared if they were nice, only if they had a warm, willing hole that I could stick it into.
Which was why I was toying with the possibility of taking Ariya home.
And very well might have done so had Hennessy not been there to let me know just how much I was craving her.
God, was I craving her.
However, I kept my eyes forward and on the woman that I'd semi-invited when I'd been at the grocery store earlier.
"Gosh, can you believe we're getting so many restaurants?" Ariya asked, bringing my attention back to her.
And her tits.
"Seems like they've added at least ten since I've been gone," I noted. "Only been to two of them so far, though."
Ariya smiled her ‘come hither' smile and leaned forward, giving me an unencumbered view of her breasts.
Breasts that were large, inviting, and nowhere near as arousing as the ones on a certain psychologist.
Ariya had a low cut, black t-shirt on that hugged every available inch of her skin. She was tall, slim, and had breasts that had always been just a little too big for her body. Her hair was long, blonde, and straight. Her cheekbones high, lips puffy, and eyes a deep sea green.
Everything I thought I was once attracted to.
Then I saw Hennessy.
Where Ariya was blonde, Hennessy was dark.
She had jet black hair that looked almost blue in certain lights. Her skin was porcelain white, so creamy and smooth that it looked like you could take a lick and taste heaven. Her hands were small, but her hips were curvy. Her breasts were on the smaller side, but would still be a perfect handful for any man.
Her lips were plump, yes, but they were also kissable, if that even made sense.
And Ariya, I realized, wasn't going to work. Not when I'd be comparing every single thing she did or looked like to the woman at my left.
The woman who kept glancing at me, just like she used to do when she was a kid, and I was a man.
Then, it'd always made me feel uncomfortable.
My father had been a shit dad, and an even shittier person in real life. When he was thirty-eight, he'd been busted for indecent exposure with a minor … and that'd been the day that I'd promised never to take up with a younger woman.
A younger woman exactly like Hennessy had always been to me.
Though the age difference didn't seem like it was a lot now, it was back then. Back when she was a starry eyed young girl, and I was a man.
Back when it was still fresh in my mind that my father had tried to have sex with a girl that was over half his age younger. Back when everyone compared me to him.