I’m doing my best every day, most of the time. Unless I’m rotting on the couch on social media, but honestly, sometimes, that’s the best I can do too.
Maeve grabs one of the small two-tiered carts, and I unload my full hands, dropping my keys, phone, and wallet into the top basket.
My heart starts shimmying its way up my throat as I scan the entryway, searching for a certain tall hockey player.
“Focus, ma’am.” Maeve snaps her fingers and starts grabbing some berries from the produce section to my right.
God, this man has me all off-kilter.
He wasn’t supposed to be this much of a distraction to my life, but I can’t seem to think clearly when he’s in the vicinity. How does he still have this much power over me?
“Next?” I ask, wanting to contribute to the shopping and get the hell out of my thoughts.
“Want to go grab a bottle of shampoo? You know the kind. It’s the only non-food thing on the list,” she orders me.
I salute her as I stroll away to the other side of the store.
“You’ve got to be kidding me,” I mutter under my breath as I turn into the hair care aisle, finding Mason shopping for body wash.
He glances my way before turning his full attention to me. His gaze sweeps up my body in a way that makes me feel like I’m burning alive.
His dark brows are pinched together, eyes upturned. God, he looks at me like he’s in physical pain.
“Daphne!” a familiar voice calls out behind me, and it takes me less than a second to recognize it.
“Chet!” I say a bit too excitedly, watching Mason’s jaw tic and fists clench.
When I spin around, Chet walks toward me with the biggest smile, his light-brown hair falling in messy waves across his forehead. “Hey, sugarplum. What’re you doing here?”
A shiver runs down my spine as I feel Mason’s presence behind me before his chest brushes against my back, goose bumps erupting on every inch of my body from his nearness.
I clear my throat and remind myself to stay strong.He doesn’t affect you anymore. He’s just a guy!
I smile up at Chet. “Just picking up a couple of things with my best friend before heading home.”
The other player I’ve met, Ross, walks over, stopping beside Chet, and I flash a polite smile at him.
Chet’s eyes drift upward above my head, and a devious smirk lifts his lips before he looks back down at me. “Nice, nice. Do you need any help picking out more condoms or lube? I can tell you which ones I prefer so you don’t try surprising me again.”
My eyes roll to the back of my head, the corner of my lips tipping up. “Do they even make any in your size? Or do you usually have to get the ones meant for fingers?”
A deep, rumbling chuckle sounds directly behind me, vibrating through my shoulders, and I almost jump out of my skin. My core pulses at the feeling of him at my back, my body temp rising a thousand degrees., a type of warmth that I don’t want to feel anymore, especially fromhim.
“You’re real funny, Daphne.” Chet shakes his pointer finger at me, and I smile proudly.
“Although your hands and fingers are rather big, so it could be a compliment.” I flirt with him, feeling Mason’s eyes burning into the top of my head. “Now, if you guys’ll excuse me, I have to get back to Maeve before she starts to worry.”
Spinning around on my heel, I sidestep Mason without looking up at him. He lets me pass without issue. Well, aside from the stare following me that I don’t dare meet.
I can feel the other guys’ eyes on me as I grab the shampoo that Maeve likes and exit the aisle opposite of them, not looking back.
I snake through an aisle a few down from them, getting back on the main pathway through the front of the store.
“You forgot your condoms,” Mason bites out behind me, his angry tone catching me by surprise.
I’m not sleeping with anyone. I haven’t since that night with Mason when we were teenagers, but that doesn’t give him any right to question me about my sex life.
I’m sure he’s slept with a thousand girls since walking out on me. And that’s none of my damn business.
