Chapter 6
chapter six
luna
Kriz
Lulu! I know this is SUPER last minute but can you cook asado for tom? Random craving!
Luna
Sure! Anything else?
Chloe
Banana bread
Kriz
Ooh good idea! I can do a grocery run
Luna
No need, I have to get some stuff anyway
Kriz
Yay, you’re the best!! I’ll venmo you
Luna
I’ve got it!
Kriz
Too late lol don’t send it back
Whoever decided to keep this supermarket open until eleven p.m. was a godsend. I had never gone grocery shopping this late, and seeing how empty this place was might just convince me to switch up my schedule. I’d been holding off on restocking groceries until my next payday, but when the girls texted their food requests for our sleepover, I figured I might as well get everything in one go.
After loading up on milk, I rounded the end of the aisle only to pull up short. Because who else was walking toward the cashier with a cart full of groceries but Gabe .
He froze, staring at me.
My thoughts tripped at this random sighting of Gabe in the wild, running an errand as mundane as grocery shopping . A reflexive hello hung from the tip of my tongue before I snapped back to my senses and clamped my lips together. Darting my gaze to the side, I pushed my cart to the next aisle and mentally groaned at how its wheels creaked.
“Luna.”
I contemplated ignoring him like he usually did me, but the approaching sound of footsteps and rolling wheels—no creaking, of course—told me that was useless. It might look like I was running away, and I refused to give him the satisfaction of thinking he’d intimidated me.
Instead, I turned and gave him a tight smile. “What are you doing here?” I asked, and then fought back a cringe at the utter stupidity of my question. What else did people do in a supermarket, Luna—get a massage?
I braced myself for a snarky response, but Gabe’s expression didn’t change. He simply said, “Groceries. I’ve never seen you here before.”
“It’s my first time coming here this late.” I should have kept it at that, but my mouth ran on. “Of course you’d shop in the middle of the night. Although I actually thought you were the type to get groceries delivered.”
His brows lifted. “You put that much thought into my grocery-shopping habits?”
“What?” I sputtered, my face hot. “Of course not. I just meant you hate human interaction. Which reminds me, why are you talking to me anyway?”
“Are you here with someone?”
“No—”
“So you’re going to carry all that home by yourself?” he asked as he studied my cart’s contents.
“If you mean I’ll put them in bags and take the bus, yeah. Like I do every time I go shopping.”
He frowned. “I’ll bring you home.”
“No, you won’t. I’m not even done yet.”
“I’ll wait.”
“What happened to your no-fraternization policy?”
“This is different. I’m ensuring my friend’s sister gets home in one piece.”
I shook my head. “You love using that excuse when it suits you. Are you going to take my stuff hostage again?”
He stilled. A muscle ticked in his jaw, and I knew he got what I was referring to. “It’s late, Luna,” he said. “It’s the right thing to do.”
I had been ready to argue, but my annoyance fizzled out at his words. “Would you offer me a ride if I were another student?”
He opened his mouth. Closed it again. “You’re not another student.”
“Hypothetical question.”
“No.” Other people might have tried to come up with an excuse, but he stuck with the truth.
I had to give him credit for that, even though he only proved me right. “Thanks for the offer, but I’ll take the bus.”
“But—”
“Don’t worry, I won’t tell Ate that I saw you.”
His eyes searched my face.
“Anyway, I’ve got to go,” I said as I inched my cart forward. “Have a good one, Professor.” Turning to the shelves, I pretended to study the products on display. I couldn’t let him know that he affected me in any way.
“Luna.”
Despite myself, I glanced over my shoulder and found him watching me, his face blank.
“Take care.”
I nodded automatically. “You too.” Then I forced myself to focus on checking off my grocery list.
It was only when I hit the snacks section that my heartbeat slowed to its normal rate. Chloe was right—I needed to start working out. Clearly, my respiratory system needed help. Why else did it go into hyperventilation mode whenever Gabe came around?
Or maybe that was my blood pressure. Maybe he annoyed me so much I was getting early onset hypertension.
It wasn’t that Gabe was a bad person. He had good intentions for the most part, but I’d been burned by his hot and cold behavior before—like that time last summer when he spotted me walking to the bus stop carrying bags full of thrifted clothes. I’d recognized his car even before the passenger window slid open.
“Get in,” he ordered like I was a dog he’d trained to go fetch.
Sweat trickled down the back of my neck, sticking my baby hairs to my skin, and my arms ached from the weight of my haul. Despite that, I refused, because his tone got on my nerves. “No, thank you. I’m taking the bus.”
His eyebrows, as thick as his dark hair, pulled together. “Luna.”
“See you around, Professor,” I said as I continued walking.
The next thing I knew, a car door slammed and heavy footsteps gained ground behind me.
“Let me drive you home.”
“I’m good.”
He caught up to me and gently tugged the bags from my hand and left shoulder.
“Gabe! Give me back my stuff.”
Without a word, he strode back to his car, opened the back door, and plopped my bags on the seat.
I followed him, fuming in self-righteous anger. “You can’t just take my things. I said no.”
He closed the back door and opened the passenger side. “Get in, Luna,” he said with an implacable set of his chin.
I pretended I was getting in only to step aside at the last minute to open the back door. He read my intent, blocking the door with a single step.
“It’s a ten-minute drive with air-conditioning and a comfortable seat,” he said.
“That doesn’t make up for the grumpy driver,” I shot back.
His jaw ticked. “Do you always have to be difficult?”
“Do you always have to be a jerk?”
“Apparently, sometimes I’m a grumpy driver instead,” he muttered.
The flippant remark was so unexpected that I laughed despite myself. “Fine. Just this time.”
“Lucky me.”
His tone was even, but it held a note of sarcasm. Ignoring it, I slipped into the passenger seat.“Don’t blame me if I stink up your car.”
Wisely, he didn’t say a word. He held the door open, waiting until I had settled in to close it. I watched as he rounded the front of the car, his motions brisk and efficient. He got into the driver’s seat, buckled up, and gave me a look that reminded me to do the same. As I did, he fiddled with some buttons on the dash.
Cool air blasted my legs, and I glanced at him in surprise. “Thanks.”
“I promised you air-conditioning,” was all he said as he released the brake and started driving.
The silence stretched on for so long that I thought he’d blocked out my presence. When I couldn’t take it anymore, I turned to face his profile and blurted out the first thing I could think of. “How’s work?”
His mouth tightened. “We don’t have to talk.”
“You wanted me to ride with you, so you’ll get the full experience,” I said. “It’s ten minutes. Less than that now, actually. The perfect amount of time for small talk. So, how’s work?”
He looked at me for a split-second and focused back on the road. “Work is work. You could try it sometime.”
My jaw hung open at the sudden attack. “Ate insisted I focus on school.”
“You seem to have enough time to shop.”
I shrugged myself out of the memory. Four months had passed, and still my stomach churned at his words and what they implied. Something I’d overheard Papa say about me years ago.
Walang kwenta . Useless .
Gabe didn’t even know me, not really, yet he’d hit my sore spot right on target. Even if he tried to be nice on occasion, I couldn’t let my guard down and risk getting hurt again.
I’d rather my arms ached from hauling a ton of groceries than have to suffer through another agonizing ride home.