2. Adam #2
When she tried to take Asher back, he instantly clung to me and screamed in protest. The poor woman's face paled and fell even more with her embarrassment. Her eyes remained avoidant of me for as long as possible, keeping them fixed on her child until she could no longer.
I felt a little bad about wanting to laugh at how wide her eyes got and how her mouth opened slightly at the sight of me.
"Oh my—I'm so sorry for bothering you again.
" Her face instantly blushed up until it was cherry red, which made me worry a bit because she looked like she was about to pass out with how she swayed a little.
Once again, she reached for Asher, who screamed and clung to me for dear life the moment her hands slipped around his midsection. "Asher, please don't do this." Her small voice cracked along with the apologetic smile on her face.
Setting my basket down, I took her hands in mine and held them together between us. Firmly holding her there, I turned my attention to Asher, shifting him in my arm a bit to hold him better. Then, I looked back at my blushing beauty with a warm smile.
My blushing beauty…
She wasn't mine by any means, but fuck did it sound right.
Forcing my face to maintain the smile, I brushed aside my budding desire for her. "There's nothing to apologize about. I mean, I'm not exactly mad at you or anything, so it's fine, really," I assured her warmly while brushing the back of her hands with my thumb.
Reluctantly, I let go of her in order to hold the squirming toddler properly. Chuckling softly out of amusement, I held him firmly in my arms. "You're gonna fall again, bud." I kept my voice soft and playful as I spoke to Asher, sounding atypical for a rugged-looking man like me.
Asher laughed as I poked his midsection with a wiggling finger.
"Five seconds, that's all I need to talk to your momma, alright, bud?
Think you can be good for me for five seconds?
" I doubt any of my words were understood, but I knew how important it was to communicate and work on those little neural pathways in the growing brain.
Grinning at the woman, I proposed my idea to her, "How about this, and you are free to say no, but how about I carry this cute little sucker around and help you finish your grocery trip in peace?
" A sudden grab of my cheek pulled a laugh from me as I glanced at Asher.
"He seems to like me, and I don't want to leave you to deal with a screaming kid the rest of the trip.
I know how stubborn they can be if they don't get their way. "
Her eyes lit up with curiosity for a split second before they averted to my hands and clouded over with disappointment. "Y-you have kids of your own?" Her reluctant eyes looked back up at my face as she chewed her lip nervously.
A smiling chuckle and a shake of my head was all it took for her tense shoulders to relax with an exhale. "No, I don't have kids of my own, unfortunately. But my younger sister has a daughter, and I babysit my niece a lot for her so she can go to classes and work."
Looking closely at Asher, I surmised he was around Adelaide's age.
"I think Adelaide is around Asher's age.
I mean, they kinda look about the same, like size-wise and all, but I could be totally wrong," I commented with a warm chuckle, poking at Asher again when he started to get handsy with my hair.
"How old is the little guy? If you don't mind me asking. "
Cracking a warm smile, she hid her face a little from me shyly as she reached up to help pry her kid's chubby hand from my hair. "Asher's about sixteen months old," she replied with a proud smile.
"Oh, Adelaide is sixteen months too." I beamed, making faces at Asher to keep him entertained.
Holding my hand up to him, I wiggled my fingers around to distract him so I could give his mother my full attention. "But my offer, what do you say?" I did my best to put on my charming smile to rope her in.
I probably should be getting home to prepare for my date, but that was the last thing on my mind.
Like hell would I let this second chance of mine slip away.
I mean, what were the odds of us running into each other again on the same trip?
And for her son to cling to me like this.
It was obvious that whoever was writing our story up in the sky wanted to line things up for us.
"You don't have to." She hesitated with a reluctant smile.
"I mean, you have your own trip to finish, and you probably have a lot of things to do besides this, and I don't want to be a bother to you, or more of a bother than I already have.
" Her soft voice grew shakier and shakier the more she rambled, until she was practically mumbling to herself with her head down.
In a somewhat bold move, I reached out and curled a finger under her chin, lifting her head.
"I wouldn't have offered if it would have been a bother," I assured her with a firm smile.
"I'm not the type of man to waste my time either.
Not to sound like a dick, but I would have just plopped your son back into the cart and left if I didn't want to stick around.
" Yeah, that really sounded bad of me, but it was the truth.
I wasn't the type of person to beat around the bush or idle with time because, well, I didn't have the time or energy for it. I only ever put myself toward things I deemed worthy, and apparently, this woman and Asher fell into the category.
Brushing the tip of her chin with my thumb, I warmed my smile up as much as possible. "So, what do you say? Put up with me for about ten more minutes, for Asher's sake?"
Instantly, her eyes trembled with nervousness as she looked at me with uncertainty and… fear?
Had I tried too hard and ended up making myself creepy? What did I do to scare her? Why was she scared? I really haven't done or said anything too strange… Hopefully… I think…
Her neck tightened as her throat bobbed with a hard swallow, and I was fully prepared for her rejection when she surprised me.
"W-well, you should at least tell me your name if you're going to be tagging along.
" It was so cute how she struggled to sound coy, and the way her cheeks flushed up made her more adorable.
Trailing the back of my index finger up her jaw, I tucked her silky chocolate-colored hair behind her ear.
"Adam, and I apologize for being rude and withholding my name from such a beautiful woman," I replied with a smooth chuckle and playful grin.
"A lovely woman who hopefully has a name as well?
" I couldn't keep referring to her as 'the woman' or 'grocery store woman. '
The redness in her cheeks dissipated with her giggle and shy smile. "Sorry, I'm Eliza." Nervously, she rubbed her bunched hands together. "Are you sure you're fine with holding Asher for another ten or fifteen minutes? I mean, I'm almost done, but I like to take a close look at everything."
Throwing her a knowing smile, I nodded my head with certainty before reaching down to pick my basket up, only to have her take it from me and set it in her cart. "You're already carrying my sack of potatoes," she joked with a playful chuckle. "You don't need to lug around extra weight."
Deciding not to fight with her on it, I let her have it her way. "I mean, these muscles aren't just for show, you know." I lightly boasted with a slight puff of my chest.
"Oh? I didn't notice them," she snarked with a stifled smile.
Unfortunately, her little ray of sunshine cut off with a quick frown and a turn of her head. "Sorry, I don't mean that in an offensive way, not saying you don't look good, or your efforts aren't clearly seen," she quickly apologized with trembling eyes.
A slight pang to my heart caused me to wince internally as I smiled at her sadly.
"Hey," my finger reached back out and tilted at her chin.
"That means I didn't flex enough for you," I joked with a cheesy grin and chuckle.
"You don't have to apologize for a harmless quip," I assured her. "Besides, do I look upset by it?"
I actually found it quite amusing and a little refreshing because not many people made such jabs at me. To be fair, joking around with a mafia boss wasn't a good idea all around. Eliza probably wouldn't have talked to me or looked my way if she knew of my career.
Which is why she will never know if I can help it.
Pinching her chin, I flashed her a friendly smile before nodding at the freezer. "Are you done looking at dino nuggets," I asked with a chuckle before looking down at her cart to see a missing bag of the fun-shaped chicken bites.
"Uhh yeah, I remembered I still have a lot at home…" If her voice hadn't wavered as it did, then I wouldn't have doubted her words.
Hiking Asher up because he was slipping, I gave most of my attention to the smiley toddler.
Glancing at her out of the corners of my eyes, I told her, "Well, I'm perfectly fine and dandy with the lil' dude, so you take your time.
" It also meant more time to spend around her if she took her sweet time.
Giving in with a smile, she started to push her cart along the aisle at a slow pace.
Her eyes never ceased scanning each item and tag as we passed by the shelves.
Besides watching Asher, I found myself being the cart police with Eliza.
She was so engrossed with the items she kept veering her cart into the middle of the aisle, so I had to keep nudging it back or steering it clear from hitting people.
Along with Asher duty, I found myself being the cart police.
Eliza was so engrossed with the items and tags that the cart kept veering into the middle of the aisles.
Discreetly, I carefully nudged it back, keeping it from hitting other customers and avoiding embarrassing Eliza in the process.
Even if most of my attention was on Asher, I didn't let Eliza slip from my radar. I noticed every scrunch of her face, frown of her lips, deflate of her chest as she sighed inaudibly, and downward turn of her eyes.
Was she just picky? Was it something at home? Why did she seem so stressed?
"You usually take these trips alone? Like, just you and Asher? Or does your partner help out usually?" Hopefully, I wasn't too straightforward or offended her, but I was curious as to whether I had to get rid of a body or not to get her.
Her cheeks tensed up in an awkward smile as she looked at me with half-hooded eyes. "Uhh it's just me and Asher…" she dragged out, her voice a little flat as she scratched at the side of her head with a finger.
She didn't sound to beat up about it. If anything, her voice softened a little with relief before fear tightened it up a little.
"But yeah… Uhh just us…" Her bottom lip reddened as she gnawed on it and nervously chuckled.
"Hopefully, your girlfriend won't get too upset at you staying out long…
" her voice wavered heavily between confusion and coyness with a tinge of regret when she looked up fully at me.
This poor woman really needed to grow a backbone, or at least, she needed to let her confidence out. I could see the sparks of confidence and trouble in her eyes, but they were always extinguished before they could rage into a wildfire.
Who hurt you, my dear Eliza?