Chapter 2
CHAPTER TWO
Barrett
Did she have to be so damn beautiful?
My God. She was the most gorgeous woman I’d ever seen. And I didn’t even know her name yet.
But the more pressing issue was how I got to be handcuffed and in the back of a police car on Black Friday.
All because of a little shopping trip gone awry.
The deal on the laptop was a steal at fifty percent off. And while I hated the crowds and frivolous overspending so many did on Christmas, I wanted the sale price. It wasn’t offered online, either.
So, after braving the cold and snow, I waited in line in the frigid air and made a beeline straight for the laptop section. Only to find them gone, the last one flying off the shelf in a split second.
Well, I took that split second and acted on it. Why not? I deserved the laptop sale, and I wanted it. I wasn’t leaving the store without it.
Of course, the beautiful woman holding onto the other end felt the same way.
Part of me held on just to be close to her, part of me liked seeing her angry, but the other part? The other part wanted the laptop. A lot.
Now I had to ignore the growing attraction between us and hope I didn’t have too much crap to deal with after this was all said and done. Court dates and other bullshit I didn’t have time for. The cherry on top of it all?
I was going home empty handed.
But maybe not…
I looked at the stranger beside me. “Hey, listen.”
She swiveled her head my way and looked anything but friendly. A frown stretched across her pretty lips, and I wanted to kiss it away. Her eyes, narrow and angry, and ready to destroy.
The urge to kiss her overtook me, but I pushed it away, remembering where I was and what happened. “This whole thing sucks. Let’s just make the best of it, yeah?”
She gave me nothing and went back to looking out the window.
I cleared my throat. “Yeah?” I asked again and still got nothing.
“Okay, if starting out the windows in silence is what you want to do, then fine. When it’s time to tell our sides of the story, make sure you tell them you were in the wrong.” I smirked.
Sure enough, my comment went up her ass sideways. She whipped her head around, her eyes wide with anger, her features tight. “What? I was not! I told you I was there first.”
Ha. My plan to rile her up worked. I liked her talking even if she was angry.
“It’s alright, let it out.” I tried to hold back a smirk, I really did, but it popped out anyway and out came a snicker of laughter.
Her eyes shot daggers. “How the hell are you laughing right now?”
“I’m only trying to lighten the mood, sweetheart. Might as well make the best of a bad situation. I’m Barrett, by the way. I’d hold out my hand for a shake, but kind of tied up right now.” I cracked the corny joke, but her expression didn’t waver.
Instead, she rolled her eyes. She looked gorgeous while doing it. “It doesn’t matter to me what your name is. We aren’t going to ever see each other again.”
“You never know. I think the universe introduces us to the right people at the right time.”
She fixed her gaze on me and studied my features. Then she looked away. Damn it. I almost had her.
“Hopefully this doesn’t take much longer. My shift starts in six hours.” The clock on the dash of the police car glowed through the metal bars separating the front from the back, reading just after one o’clock in the morning. Fuck midnight Black Friday shopping. I’m never doing this again.
“That sucks.” The woman finally showed some sense of humor and I leaned into it.
“I take it you don’t have to work tomorrow?”
“No, or I wouldn’t be out shopping in the middle of the night.”
“Ouch, burn. That hurt. Not. We’re adults. I know plenty of people who shop Black Friday and go to work the next day. Sounds like you can’t handle it.” I egged her on.
“I can handle it. I just wasn’t scheduled, is all.”
“Wasn’t scheduled? Or took it off?”
She huffed. “Whatever, it doesn’t matter. You ruined the night. Should’ve let me have the laptop and we wouldn’t be sitting here.”
“I don’t go down without a fight. In everything I do.”
Her eyes snapped to mine. “Neither do I.”
“So, if I asked you on a date, would you be up for the challenge?”
Her eyes widened. “A date? Ha! I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because I hardly know you.”
“Isn’t that what a date is for? Two people getting to know each other?”
“What if I don’t want to know you?”
“Ouch. You wound me.”
“Good. Stop talking.”
“I don’t think that’s how you really feel.”
“It is though. I wanted a laptop. You took it from me. End of story.”
“How about I make it up to you?” I ventured.
I wanted to dislike her. To scream and throw a tantrum. Yet her soft voice, pretty eyes, and gorgeous features held me captive. And no matter how much I denied it, I wanted her.
I wasn’t letting her go easily.
“How? By finding that laptop for the same price and buying it for me? Yeah, doubtful.”
“Well, probably not, but damn it, can’t you feel the tension between us?”
She said nothing as she looked at me. She opened her mouth to respond when suddenly the front driver’s side door opened along with the passenger side front door and both officers slid inside.
“Alright you two, let’s get you down to the station and booked.”
“Booked? As in staying for the night?” The gorgeous woman beside me asked, her voice small and…scared, almost?
“Yep. The store is pressing charges for disorderly conduct. On both of you.” One officer explained while buckling his seatbelt. “Can’t fight on the biggest shopping day of the year and expect to get away with bad behavior.”
I sat there, dumbfounded. An overnight in jail all because of a little squabble? This didn’t seem right. And the woman next to me? She was as pale as a ghost.
So much for trying to lighten the mood.
Our night was fucked.