Was someone thinking about gluten when they made this?
“Rae!”
My manager’s voice ripped me from my trance. “What’s up, Bryan?”
“We need help stocking. You up for a change of scenery? It’ll be counted on your paycheck.”
I smiled. “You know I’m always up to help.”
“Great. Get back to aisle four. Dani’s struggling with the lower shelves. Back’s acting up again.”
“Got it.”
I logged out of my register and practically broke into a dead sprint for aisle four. Dani was the resident grandmother. Worked part-time in order to have more money to spoil the eight grandchildren she had. But sometimes she needed a bit of help. And I was more than willing to provide that help if it meant not having to interact with the pompous, arrogant customers that seemed to be out in full force today.
“Hey there, Dani.”
She sighed. “Hey, Rae. Sorry for pulling you away.”
“Now, you know good and well I don’t mind. Whatcha stocking?”
“This damn cake icing. Why is it on the lower shelf? I keep telling Bryan cooking supplies need to be more accessible to people of my age because we’re the ones that do most of the baking.”
I took the icing from her hand. “And I’ll make sure the suggestion is heard.”
I crouched down and began unpacking the items while she took a break. I sat on the floor, divvying everything up and secretly wishing I could pop open a container of icing and start eating it. I unloaded one box before Dani scooted another toward me with her foot. Together we got the baking aisle restocked. Took about two hours, but we handled it.
Then it was back to my post and dealing with customers.
“Do you have this, but in blue?”
I paused. “You want a blue ice cream carton?”
“Yes. Everything has to be absolutely perfect for this party I’m throwing. Everything has to match. I like rocky road, but I can’t find a rocky road in a blue carton.”
“Sure, just give me—”
“Miss?”
I whipped my head around as Miss Blue Ice Cream scoffed. “Yes?”
“Is the bakery going to be making any more cakes? I need a freshly-baked carrot cake for something tonight.”
I shook my head. “We stop producing cakes at seven.”
“So no more cakes.”
“No, ma’am.”
“What if I pay for the cake?”
“There isn’t anyone to make the cake right now. The bakery’s completely shut down.”
“What if I wait for a bit?”
I paused. “Waiting won’t do you any good. There’s no one here to make your cake.”
“Well, can you call someone in?”
“To make your cake?”
“Yes. Aren’t you listening?”
Miss Blue Ice Cream Spoke up. “I need help. This is melting, and I need you to help me.”
I sighed. “Then go put it back so it won’t melt. I can be there in a second to help you track down some rocky road in a blue container.”
Mrs. Carrot spoke up. “Oh, a blue container? If you like non-dairy products, there’s a rocky road in a nice light blue container at the end of the aisle, on the left. It’s tucked beside the sherbets.”
Were these people fucking serious right now?
Thankfully, Bryan came over and busted up the convention. Which enabled me to check out the three customers that had gathered around my register. I checked them out, moving as quickly as I could while Bryan dealt with the crazy that had been dumped into my lap. He checked them out personally, thank fuck. Before disappearing into his back office to take ‘a breather.’
Like he’d put in some hard work for the day or some shit.
“And here I thought I’d find you smiling.”
The second I heard Clint’s voice, a massive smile did cross my face.
“Just like that one, actually.”
I giggled. “What the hell are you doing here?”
He leaned against my kiosk. “Maybe I came to see a gorgeous girl. Or maybe I came to pick up an apple.”
“Or maybe you came to distract yourself because your father’s back home.”
“Maybe you’re smarter than you look.”
I laughed as he leaned over, kissing me on the cheek. Thankfully, we were tanking into my last hour of work before the store had to close down. Which meant not many more people would come in. I leaned my hip against the register, gazing into Clint’s eyes. I enjoyed having him there. He’d already popped in on me a couple of times to say ‘hello’ and grab something for Cecilia. But he hadn’t ever stuck around.
Until now.
I licked my lips. “I take it you have nowhere else to be?”
He winked. “You mean, other than home? Come on, don’t you remember? I reorganized my priorities. I’m a brand new man.”
I rolled my eyes. “Until your father leaves to go back out of town.”
He shrugged, and it made me shake my head. He was relentless in all the best ways. I reached out for his arm, patting it softly before his hand fell on top of mine. He brought my hand to his lips to kiss, sending goosebumps traveling up my arm.
And I watched his eyes follow their trail.
“It’s okay, Clint. You can stay as late as you want. I won’t tell anyone you hang out at Grady’s Groceries in your spare time.”
He chuckled. “Bless your heart.”
“It needs some blessing. It’s been having some inappropriate feelings lately.”
He quirked an eyebrow. “Oh? Care to share with a curious ear?”
“That depends. What are you willing to do for them?”
“Oh, I like a good barter.”
“You curious enough to do my homework for me?”
He smiled. “Not on your life. But, I can hold you close while you do your homework after your shift.”
“And let your wandering hands distract me? Hardly. I’d end up flunking all my classes.”
He shrugged. “I don’t do my homework and I don’t flunk classes.”
“Because the teachers don’t wanna hold you back and deal with you another year.”
“Potato, po-tah-toe.”
I snickered. “To answer your question, no. I don’t have much homework to do after my shift. I usually get it done during my breaks on nights like this. Why?”
“Well, I was hoping I could sweep you away and steal some alone time with you. You know, if your attention doesn’t have to be elsewhere.”
“Oh, alone time. That sounds nice.”
“I could make it real romantic for you. A shoulder massage. With some nice lotion.”
“Can you make that a foot massage? My heels are killing me.”
“Rae, I can make it a full body massage, if you want.”
He winked at me and my stomach flipped over with desire. My heart skyrocketed to a rate that threatened to burst the blood vessels in my head. I licked my lips, watching his eyes rake over me before a soft chuckle fell from his lips. And while I still had a bit of history reading to do, I could also do with some one-on-one time with Clint.
Especially after this shift.
“Hey, Rae!”
I looked up. “Yes, Bryan?”
“Got a family emergency, I need to leave. Can you lock up the store? I sent Dani home to get some rest. She couldn't get back up on her feet after the incident in aisle four.”
Clint quirked an eyebrow. “Incident?”
I nodded. “Yes, sir. I can do that.”
“Good. I’ll count the registers when I come in. Just wipe down your area, sweep up a bit, and make sure all returned groceries are back on the shelves.”
“I hope everything’s okay!”
“Me, too!”
I watched my manager zoom out of the grocery store, leaving me and Clint completely alone. I looked over at the clock, then groaned when I saw I still had forty-five minutes.
“So, what’s the plan, Stan?”
I giggled. “If we don’t get a customer in five minutes, I’ll start shutting this place down.”
Clint grinned. “Anything I can do to help?”
“You can keep your hands to yourself until we can get out of here.”
“And here I thought grocery aisle sex sounded kinky.”
“Not with video cameras recording us.”
He shrugged. “I mean, I’m down for it.”
I scoffed and swatted at him as giggles fell from my lips. And as we continued to talk, no one came in. Not a soul. With forty minutes left in my shift, I felt confident that if I shut things down, we wouldn't lose one single customer.
So I grabbed the paper towels and the cleaner fluid to start cleaning.
36
Clinton
Despite Rae’s protests, I jumped in and helped her. While she wiped down her register or whatever, I grabbed a broom and swept up some of the bigger dirt piles. I rolled the cart of returned groceries over to her, and together we started down the aisles. She handed me things and I placed them back on the shelves. And every once in a while, I stole a kiss for myself. The camera, too. But, mostly for myself.
Rae giggled. “You’re gonna get me fired.”
I grinned. “I mean, all I hear is more time with you.”
“And what am I going to do when I graduate high school and don’t have the money to move out on my own like I want?”
“Eh, we’ll figure something out.”
I stole one last kiss from her before I let her push me away. I chuckled as we continued walking up and down the aisles, putting back everything from all-natural peanut butter to gluten-free snack items. She gave me a kiss on the cheek before she shooed me outside, telling me she had to lock everything down from the inside out.