Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 74875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 74875 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 374(@200wpm)___ 300(@250wpm)___ 250(@300wpm)
“Go.”
I turned, noticed Tate staring at me with his arms crossed over his chest, and reached for the bag.
He brushed my hand away and took the bag himself, nothing straining at all as he picked it up and started walking toward the front of the building.
He didn’t stop at the sliding doors. Didn’t smile or greet any of the people that were standing there, only walked with single minded determination straight to the checker.
“Here,” he said, dropping the bag on the ground behind her, blocking her into the little cubicle. “You left this outside.”
The checker looked at me, then to Tate, and then back to me.
“I did?”
He nodded once, and then turned on his heel and left.
“What the hell?”
I turned to find Krisney standing there, eyes wide.
“Was that Tate Casey?”
I nodded my head.
“He’s gotten big!”
He had.
Much bigger than he’d been when I’d seen him at the church picnic the day my father had embarrassed me in front of the whole congregation—and Tate.
“He has,” I agreed, going up to the bag and moving it after I placed all her books on the counter.
Only, when I went to move it, the sheer weight of it surprised me.
“Wow,” I grunted. “The man acted like this weighed nothing.”
Krisney came up to my side, and we both dragged it out of the way so the checker could make her way out.
“Let me help,” the checker said. “We can take it to the breakroom for now.”
“Are you okay, Lark?” Krisney asked.
Lark, the checker, looked away and started dragging.
Luckily there were no other customers in the store, so they didn’t know how pathetic we all were trying to get the bag through the line of checkouts, and to the breakroom.
“That has to weigh a hundred pounds,” I muttered under my breath. “Seriously, how?”
“Tate was always big.” Krisney pushed it the last few feet. “I’m just seriously impressed that the bag could hold up with all those books in it. A hundred pounds seems mighty impressive.”
“It’s probably more like fifty,” Lark argued. “But since it’s packed so full and awkward, there really isn’t much to hold onto except little pieces with the tips of your fingers. That’s why it feels like it weighs more.”
I hummed something under my breath.
Then a loud voice came from somewhere outside the store. “We’re ready to check out!”
Lark waved a small goodbye and raced away, as if her entire world hadn’t just tilted on its axis.
“She’s taking this a whole lot better than I would have,” I murmured to Krisney. “Isn’t that odd?”
Krisney nodded. “Yeah, it is.”
I hummed in agreement and walked out of the breakroom.
“Where’d you put my groceries?”
“In the car,” she said. “Are we still doing lunch?”
I nodded.
“Tacos, right?”
I nodded again. “It’s Tuesday. It’s a rule in Texas that you have to have tacos on Taco Tuesday.”
***
I was two tacos and two dirty martinis in to Taco Tuesday when he came in the door.
My entire body shuddered, and Krisney immediately took notice.
“What was that?” she asked, leaning into me, her face only inches from mine.
“That,” I lied. “Was n-nothing.”
Krisney leaned even closer, allowing me to smell the spicy tacos on her breath. “You’re lying.”
I turned, and our noses touched.
“We look like we’re about to do it.”
Krisney laughed and backed off.
I turned and surreptitiously looked behind me at the door, only to see the object of my desire watching me.
His eyes were intense, and I turned away.
My smile kicked up a notch, and I reached for my last taco.
“This place is hopping,” Krisney said. “And it looks like we’re not the only ones to think Taco Tuesday is a great thing.”
I didn’t bother to look at where her gaze was pointed.
I knew where the man was. My entire body seemed fine tuned to his every movement.
He sat across the room from me, which unfortunately was only about four tables away since the place we were currently occupying was on the smaller side.
The Taco Shop (literally the actual name of the place) was brand new, but already it’d become one of my favorite places to eat. They served all kinds of tacos. Brisket tacos, original beef tacos, chicken tacos, and even shrimp tacos. They were also all you can eat, and were brought out three at a time. I was on my one—and only—serving of chicken tacos, and working on my rice and beans.
I tried, really, really hard not to notice how Tate didn’t have anyone sitting with him.
For ten minutes, anyways, until a buxom brunette with legs up to her ears walked in, and immediately found him.
I then lost any and all appetite I had left. The woman that had walked in was none other than Tate’s on again, off again, girlfriend.
Her name was Ariya Diebold, and I hated her from the moment my dreaming self had fallen for the town bad boy who never, ever returned her feelings, or gave her a second look.