ALL THE LOVE WE LEAVE BEHIND

Chapter 34

5:30 pm (Sunday)

My emotions washed away with the shower that the two of us ended up taking together, and as he left for his final meeting with Meghan- to wrap up the case- I was given the opportunity to clear my head and think back to the moment we shared just before we exited the roof.
He didn't say it back, but I didn't push it.
Instead I attempted to focus on any and everything else. Miraculously, avoiding my feelings got a little too easy due to the distractions I had forced myself to dive into. I spent the hours cleaning, watched a movie, organized my already clean closet and by the time Dylan got home, my mind was too tired to overthink. So, self destructively, I cuddled into his arms as the clock ticked everything back to normal. It was like those words were only uttered in my head, and after falling out of that nightmare, I focused on the present, which was a debate over Betty Crocker or raw dough.
We decided to get both things and then make whichever one- depending on how much energy we'd have when we're back from the grocery store. So we did just that, as we headed to the nearest shop down the street.


"Are these okay?" I held out a case of blueberries as Dylan complied.
"Get the strawberries too."
He pointed towards the freshly packed box of blood-red berries as I picked them up and added it to our metal basket which was attached with a silicon hanger to make it easy to carry. So far, we had gotten avocados, frozen berries, full cream milk as well as almond milk, a variety of soda cans, a packet of sealed brown sugar, mini bottle of vanilla essence, Hershey's chocolate syrup, Betty Crocker, necessary vegetables for upcoming dinners and a small box of coco pops.

It felt refreshing being able to shop- back in Florida, I never once needed to grocery shop thanks to our dorm facilities, and endless line of cafes- not complaining. It was comfy but this was just fun.

"Anything else?"
I edged, with my feet crossed.
"Yeah eggs and two loaves of whole wheat bread?" Dylan read out the list on his phone.
"I'll get the eggs." I said.
"Okay and pick up anything we could use at the fundraiser." He clicked his phone shut.
"Do you think they'll have anything here? It's not exactly a decoration store."
I analyzed the place. It didn't take a genius to decipher that this was your typical down the street store, but slightly bigger in space. Maybe they'd have stationary on sale but I doubted they had carnival supplies.
"Probably not. Doesn't hurt to check though." He walked away from me, as I reversed back into the other aisle.
"Where are you? Eggs!" I signaled to myself as I spotted them on the top left corner of the cooled fridge and headed to pick up a dozen.
"I'd recommend you get the brown ones. They're a lot more fresh." A voice startled me from behind causing the carton to slip out of my palm and shine light on my poor reflexes as the white bleached eggs cracked open, ruining the mopped floor.
"Oh my god!"
I flinched my legs back and pondered as my panicked eyesight rushed towards the jell-haired male that stood barely a foot away from me.
"Wow. I expected your hands to have a little more grip." The rusty voice commented as I bent down to pick the mess up.
"I would have been able to hold them if you hadn't startled me!"
I answered Blake as I realized his attire looked a little more dressed up than usual. He was still wearing the typical polo shirt that men wore- but it looked like it had been purposely neat and matched ideally to his straight cut pants, with polished shoes, making the final look- seemingly elegant.
Was he going on a date?
I wondered but didn't say anything out loud.
"My apologies. I didn't realize I had that effect on you." He bent down with me as his eyes locked at my level.
"Unfortunately you don't."
I said.
"Right." He shrugged, as I sarcastically commented-just for humor's sake.
"Just out of curiosity, did you follow me here?"
"Don't worry." He shook his head as he smiled.
"I'm here with my sister. We're grocery shopping for the week."
"Oh! Same actually." I gleamed. "I mean- I'm here grocery shopping with Dylan."
"That's good. How is he? Did you get by the other day?"His eyebrows twitched, as I nodded my head, and then thanked him for- everything.
"Yes. Thank you for driving me."
"Anytime. Um- do you need me to pay for this? Because they'll definitely charge you."
He looked down at the mess we had created on the floor, and as sad as I felt for those cracked egg shells, I was kind of happy they fell- it gave me my chance to show my gratitude.
"I'll cover it, don't worry."I smiled, but then he did something I wasn't expecting- he insisted he'd pay.
"Blake, it's okay. It's just 2 pounds."
"Exactly. Just let me handle it." He pleaded, as I once again insulted british men for being this kind- I loved it, but at the same time I didn't want him to keep doing me favors. It wasn't right.
"No." My eyebrows suddenly crossed, tensing my forehead."I'm capable of paying for it myself."
"Is that really the issue? Or is it Dylan that won't let me pay?" He taunted me, but his mention of Dylan wasn't as random as I thought- his gaze and sudden interest in the male, led me right to a 6 foot tall Dylan, who like a puzzle missing it's piece, placed his arm around my waist, making my insides flutter, while he dumped a stack of red paper cups into the basket.
"Hey man." He acknowledged his presence, as Dylan did the same- and just like that, the tension between the men faded.
"Party?" Blake raised his eyebrow at the cups.
"Fundraiser." Dylan clarified.
"Oh the charity thing I dropped you off at?"
Blake pointed a finger at me, and I wasn't sure if he did it on purpose to tick Dylan off, or he was just mentioning it without realizing what it sounded like. Either way, Dylan wasn't affected by it, so I just nodded my head in compliance.
"You work there too?" His eyes danced back to Dylan.
"Yeah. I'm the one organizing the main event."
"Oh cool. Where's it going to be?" He actually seemed interested, as Dylan continued to answer his probing questions.
"At the building itself. We don't have the budget to host it anywhere else."
"You guys did last year at Hyde Park." He amazed both Dylan and I, as I wondered how big of an event this really was- was the entirety of London invited?
"You were there?"
"No. But my little sister attended it with our parents and she really liked it." He brought to light, as I subconsciously smiled- there was something about the way he talked about his sister, it was wholesome. "If you guys want a bigger audience, do it somewhere grand."
"Do you have somewhere in mind?" I finally spoke up.
"Not at the moment, but I'll see if I can pull some strings."
He offered, making my eyes beam, and just at that second, a little toddler dashed like a thunderbolt as the curly haired, doe eyed squeal bug wrapped her marsh-mellow packet gripping hands around his feet- I assumed that was Sarah.
"Hey."
He sat down so that he could meet her eye level. Something about that just made him appear so cute.
"You can't buy more than one packet. That's too much sugar."
"That's not fair." She had this animated scowl on her face, as she glared up to look at me.
"Hi."
She waved as I waved back.
"Are you the girl my brother's going on a date with?" Her comment did both- make me blush, and prove my intuition right. I guess he was going on a date after. "Sorry."
His apology was almost immediate, as I couldn't help but giggle, as the little girl grew even more confused. Thankfully- and slightly unexpectedly- Dylan appeared to save the day.
"Do you like marshmallows?"
He asked in a soft voice, as Sarah's eyes practically lit up.
"I love them."
"Hmm. Then you should tell your brother to get you to this party we're hosting. You'll have all the marshmallows you want then."
"But mom says I'm not allowed to go to parties." She pouted, as Dylan smiled.
"Don't worry. This is a kids party."
"Do you promise to have marshmallows?"
She made sure to confirm, and when Dylan nodded his head, she happily let one packet go, as Blake mouthed a thanks to him, while saying goodbye and leaving the isle.
"You're adorable."
I swooned over Dylan, as I wrapped my arms around him, just as they left.
I didn't care how cute Blake looked when he was with kids- Dylan was a whole other level- and he was all mine.
"I know."
He smirked- but his conceit washed over me for the time being, as my mind was blurred by the fact that he was so incredible around kids- it made me drool, as I lifted my tippy toes up to kiss him.
Our lips had just met, when we were suddenly interrupted by a grumpy old voice, and me turning my head proved my doubt right- the man who was pissed off was in fact a senior, gray haired employee, with the name tag- Bob. He looked cute- grandpa cute- as I felt bad for standing there and violating his laws- no messing the floor up, and especially no hormonal teenagers making a grocery store their 'spot.'
"That's not allowed here."
As expected, he yelled, but before I could shoot out an apology, Dylan beat me to it.
"I'm sorry sir. Just please don't tell our mom. She's against the whole kissing my sister thing."
He blatantly threw out, as I looked at his face in utmost humiliation. He did not just say that.
"Your what?" I said at the same time as the old man, but before I could say anything else, Bob fell into a rage- rightfully so.
"I can't work here anymore." The repulsed man rubbed his eyes as he vacated the area- without giving me a chance to explain.
"Dylan!" I jumped, as Bob disappeared from our sight.
"It's not my fault he can't take a joke." Dylan defended, as his face broke into a laugh, but I refused to find any of this even borderline comical.
"And it definitely is not my fault that you just lost your girlfriend." I stomped my foot as I walked away, before he could add anything more deranged into my ears.
"Here's the change."
The lady at the cashier glared at me with an uncanny stare, as I realized, either the cameras had voice recorders in them, or the old man and young lady were gossip buddies- who apparently had a really quick message system.
Dylan- who caught up behind me- seemed to notice the abhorrent look too as he smiled in awe and wrapped his arms around my neck, while we exited.
"Bob certainly can't keep things to himself." His voice nuzzled warmth into my ear, as it juxtaposed with the cold wind that hit as we entered London's cool street.
"Don't even try to apologize. That was disgusting." I reprimanded him, as his lips buried over my neck, making me freeze in the midst of the sidewalk.
"You do realize we're probably never going to be allowed back in there." I added, to which his teeth chattered against my collar line, making my stomach go all fuzzy.
"Fine by me. There's plenty of other places I can make my sister explore." He dropped his sickening line, as I punched him in the gut and stormed away.
"You're repulsing."
I yelled, as I made my way down the street, with his broadened laughter echoing in my ear.