Page 77 of What We Break
"I'm a child at heart."
"It's literally called Chocolate Sugar Bombs."
"Sounds delicious."
I grab a box of something with actual nutrition and toss it in the cart. "Try this. It doesn't taste like cardboard, I promise."
"If you say so." He puts the Chocolate Sugar Bombs back with visible reluctance. "But if this turns out to be gross, I'm blaming you."
"Deal."
By the time we get to checkout, the cart is full and Reid looks slightly overwhelmed.
"How much food does one person need?" he asks, watching me unload.
I stop. Stare up at him. "Did you just call me fat?"
His mouth drops open. He makes this choking, strangled sound — like his brain just crashed and rebooted — and I hold the stare for exactly two more seconds before I crack. His relief comes out as a growl, and he nips my neck while I giggle my way through unloading the rest.
"This will last me most of the month," I explain, still laughing. "Plus extra because I'm trying to be better about meal planning."
"Meal planning. Right." He's helping me put things on the conveyorbelt. "That's when you decide what you're going to eat before you're hungry?"
"Exactly. Revolutionary concept."
The total comes to more than I usually spend, but looking at all the fresh produce and actual ingredients, it feels worth it. Reid tries to pay for half, but — no.
"You taught me things," he says, trying to hand the cashier his card. "Least I can do is contribute to the cause."
"Nope. Not happening."
The cashier's grinning, but sisterhood wins out and she swipes my card. Reid scowls and tucks his card back.
"You know if I have my way, I'm going to be eating a bunch of that food, right?"
"Doesn't matter. You buying my groceries feels a little..."
He stops dead. "You're going to say creepy, right? Fuck. I was trying so hard not to be creepy. I'm sorry."
"Not creepy. I swear. Just... maybe too soon."
His eyes narrow, studying my face, and something in his expression softens. "Okay. Too soon. I'll take that over creepy any day." He leans in close, his breath warm against my ear. "But just so you know, I'm keeping track. And when it's not too soon anymore, I'm buying you so many groceries."
"That's the weirdest threat I've ever heard."
"It's a promise, Lainey."
Loading bags into my car, Reid gets quiet. He's arranging things in my trunk with more care than groceries probably require.
"This was really nice," he says finally. "I mean, I know it's just grocery shopping, but..."
"But?"
"I don't know. I never thought errands could be fun." He closes the trunk and turns to face me, leaning against the car. "I never thought I'd want to spend my Saturday morning learning about tomatoes and meat labels. But with you..." He shrugs, looking almost embarrassed. "Everything's better with you."
I fiddle with the keys. Spin them around my finger like a fidget toy.Ridiculously pleased and trying not to show it. "Wait until you see what we can do with all this food."
"We?"
