The slight wrinkle near his eye gave away that he enjoyed laughing, usually, but right now, it showed… stress. She probably had that written all over her face most of the time too. She ushered him toward the register to pay. “I see. This should be everything you need.”
They used the self-checkout and she was about to walk away, but then he asked, “And I go which way?”
Jack had said to toss the blue vest and see the world. Now that was crazy, but she did have some time. She decided to take it off. “I have a break. I’ll walk you. What’s your name?”
He paid and said, “Antonio.”
She stuffed her vest behind a checkout stand. “Nice to meet you, Antonio. I’m Charlotte.”
No one stopped them as they walked out the door and she headed into the huge but mostly vacant parking lot. He held his empty gas canister on the other side with his water bottle and their arms brushed slightly. “Nice to meet you too. Do you work at the store part-time?”
She blinked. No one new generally entered her life so she’d been accustomed to no one asking in a long time. A warm wind was at her back when she shook her head. “No, my… father started the store so it’s a family business.”
He bumped into her side. It was clear he was doing it on purpose as they crossed the paved lot to the small side street. “Interessante. I’ve not gone shopping in a store in years to be truthful.”
Her stepmother’s face popped in her head. She blinked and the image dissipated as she shared the problem that plagued their family. “Online shopping does get in the way. This is the gas station, to the left.”
They walked to the tank together, and Antonio unscrewed the cap. She tapped her hands together, but then his face contorted and he turned slightly red before he met her gaze and said, “This is embarrassing.”
Nothing had happened. Adrenaline rushed in her veins as she asked, “What?”
He held up the empty red container. “I don’t know how to open this.”
Brute force wasn’t the answer. She held up her finger and waited for him to hand it over. Once he did, she pressed the small button to the side and twisted. “Here, it’s a little tricky with a new nozzle. You push the red button first, and then you twist it off.”
He smiled and wow those dimples of his just made his face go from deadly sexy to adorable in the blink of an eye. “Grazie.”
She shrugged and let him put the gas in the container as she said, “No worries. Being queen of useless knowledge is my specialty.”
Finished, he put his card away and turned with his gas to go. As they headed out, he asked, “How did you acquire such a title?”
Her father holding her hand as he explained the superstore and everything in it came to mind as she glanced into Antonio’s warm brown eyes. which weren’t blue bust still tickled her skin that he was like Jack.
“I pretty much grew up in a general store where folks need something and it’s been my job to help find their items. Plus, I like reading.”
They headed back to the store where his silver car had coasted to a stop, his parking skewed. Soon her real life would crash into this dream. “I like reading books too. I have a collection of classics, like Albert Camus.”
Seriously, guys like this didn’t exist in the world. At least she’d thought so, until now. She squared her shoulders to not get all mushy and said, “I wish… I have my stepmother’s old tablet so I mostly get to read on that.”
The walk was too short. “I prefer paper,” he said. “It makes the story inside so much more real for me.”
The pre-teenage version of herself, before her father’d had a heart attack, would have agreed. She held that thought and pushed her stray hairs behind her ear that had fallen out of her ponytail. “I used to… but now I don’t get to be so fussy. I’m trying to prevent a shutdown of the store.”
She skipped the part of joining author newsletters to get the lowdown on sales and freebies to feed her reading addiction.
His car looked expensive, but she didn’t know vehicle brands. “I understand," he said. "I’m juggling the demands of my family with plans for my own future. Sometimes I wish my father was still here…”
Wait. She folded her hands in front of her and asked, “Did your father pass on as well?”
His silver car had two angel wings as its logo and she was sure she’d seen this in a Bond movie. The two-seater probably sped fast. What a thrill. Antonio poured the gas into the tank. “Yes, unfortunately. Look Charlotte, I have to go but can I get your number? I’d love to call you and go out officially, this weekend.”
Seriously! She bounced on her tiptoes but then crashed onto the black pavement she felt through the holey soles of her shoes. “I’d love to go but… I don’t have a phone.”
He put the container on the ground and placed his hands in his back pockets, staring at her like she was from another planet. “You don’t have a cell phone?”
Phones cost too much monthly and she was saving every penny she could… just in case she needed to leave. Her stepmother could kick her out any time. Her father had always told her to save and be prepared. “No. It was… holding me back from following my dreams.”
He squared his shoulders and then straightened like he’d made a decision. He handed her his. “Here, take mine. I know the number and I’ll call it.”
