Finding You

chapter 16

I laugh obnoxiously at Zay while he repeatedly apologizes to an old lady.

"I really am sorry, ma'am. I should have paid more attention."

The lady just screams more at him, making my laughing even harder to stop.

Zay and I were walking out of the candy section and he didn't see the old lady standing right in front of him. He plowed her cart down, almost getting her too.

"I said I'm sorry lady; please, stop screaming at me." Now Zay is getting worked up. I decide to step in.

"Zay, let's leave now." I grab him and pull him away before the lady can say anything more.

"Wow Zay, do you tackle old ladies all the time?"

"I can't believe that just happened," he says shaking his head.

"Maybe if you were watching where you were going instead of staring at me it wouldn't have happened," I point out.

He looks away from me shyly. It's rare for Zay to not be completely confident, so I relish in the moment.

"Do you think this is enough food? We're not throwing a party, are we?" Zay asks throwing away his timidness. He eyes the amount of food we grabbed. If I was anyone else, I would think the same thing.

"No, of course not. It's just for us."

We near the checkout and put our heap of edibles on the conveyor belt.

The cashier, about her mid-30's, looks at the food and then back at us. "Party?"

I laugh. "Sure. A two person party."

She incredulously shakes her head. "I remember when I could pack away all sorts of food and not have to worry about my weight. Enjoy it while it lasts."

I understand where she's coming from. My mom tells me that all of the time.

We take the bags from the girl and I start to think about my mom. How would she react if I told her about Zay? I feel really bad about not telling her and lying.

"Hey, you okay?"

My eyes find Zay's and my unease fades away. Just like that, a single look in the eyes. I don't know if I'll ever get used to the way he makes me feel.

"Yeah, I am. Just..hungry."

I smile and make him follow me back to the car. What I have planned is going to be awesome.

**********

"Stop eating the skittles," he tells me for the fourth time.

I pout my lips and complain. "But I wanna taste the rainbow."

"You said yourself, no eating until we've started the game."

"This doesn't count. Want one?"

I offer him two red ones, and he takes one in his hand and eats it. But the second one he uses his mouth. The tips of his teeth graze my fingers for a long, drawn out second. He stares at me, chewing the tiny piece of candy way longer than he needs to.

Surprisingly, I've managed to keep my face neutral; I don't know if I'm blushing. But either way, it doesn't seem to have pleased Zay.

He walks more towards me and takes another skittle out of the bag. He raises it and puts it near my mouth for me to eat.

I have to smirk. He might not know it yet, and it might be harder with him, but I'm the flirting queen.

I accept the candy, but also wrap my lips around the point of his finger. I hear the change in his breathing so I know he felt the same spark I did.

I grab the skittle bag and walk away. "C'mon. I'll teach you how to play what me and Savannah call Can you Keep it Down."

"Why do you call it that?" he asks in a gruff voice.

"Because. The goal is to see who can keep the food you eat down."

"That's easy, I have a strong stomach. You're going to lose."

"I can keep anything down. Food is food. I love food. I've played this many times, you should be worried. I get to create the food myself."

"So you're saying I have to eat some recipe you make? Like a cake, or sandwich?" he asks.

I smirk in an evil way. "Yeah, something like that."

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Sorry for the wait, I had exams all last week. But I just realized that this book sounds a lot like this other story I know. So I'm going to try to lean away from that plot.
Anyways, thank you guys for reading and I hope you liked the chapter!!