“Scared of being banished from this beautiful Fresh Grocer?” Dan said, looking at a spot near Harper’s feet where a tangle of knotted hairnets, mixed with chunks of grocery store debris, sat like a disturbing tumbleweed.
“I wouldn’t call that a tragedy…” she mumbled, trying to kick away the pile and getting it caught on her shoe. “What’s the prize?
“If you win, I’ll let you take me on a second date.”
She barked out a laugh. “And if I lose?”
“You let me buy your groceries. Without,” he cut her off as she opened her mouth to protest, “putting up a fight.”
“Shut up. I can’t let you do that.”
“So you know I’ll win?”
Dan was the worst kind of evil. The adorable kind.
“Wow. This is quite the trap.” She tapped a finger on her chin, eyeing him closely.
He shrugged, holding that maddening smile. She looked at the carts and down the aisle, playing out different scenarios and weighing her chances. She had an idea.
“You’re on.”
Dan’s mouth opened in a surprised grin.
“But here are the rules,” she said. “You only get three strides to push off and then you have to hop on and keep control of the cart. If you hit the shelves, you lose.”
“Deal,” he said, reaching out a hand. They shook on it.
They grabbed their carts and backed up a few paces to the start of the aisle, locking eyes. Sharp energy crackled between them, and her palms started to sweat.
As he narrowed his eyes and sized her up, the ridiculousness of it filled her with a bubblegum-pink joy that she hadn’t felt in years.
“I’ll even let you count us down,” Dan said with a wicked grin.
“And who says chivalry is dead?”
She took a deep, steadying breath. “On your marks.” She planted her right foot behind her and grounded it against the linoleum for grip.
“Get set.” She adjusted her hands on her cart.
“Go!” She pushed off with all her strength, stretching her short legs to their maximum stride for three pushes before hopping onto the cart. As she’d anticipated, Dan’s longer legs had given him an advantage.
The nose of his cart was a few inches ahead of hers, as she’d predicted, putting him in the perfect position for her to move in for the kill. She shifted her weight to one side, making the front of her cart veer toward his. Dan’s head shot to look at her the moment before impact, and she saw the fear. She could almost smell it.
BAM.
Her cart jammed into the side of his, causing its wheels to jut off course, and he rammed into the shelf with a bang.
The crash threw Dan’s equilibrium off-kilter, and he flew into a pyramid of paper towels displayed off the shelves.
Harper, on the other hand, quickly righted her weight and centered herself in the lane, gliding gracefully across the finish line. A ridiculous amount of pride swelled in her chest.
She hopped off the edge of her cart with a flourish and bounced on her toes. Dan was still laying in the rubble of the paper towel heap, and she waited for him to get up.
“I won,” she preened.
Dan didn’t move.
“You were a fierce competitor though,” she called down the aisle.
Still nothing.
With a pang of panic, she hurried to the site of the collision, hovering over his still body, her palms clenching and unclenching as she waited for him to move. His eyes were closed and his legs were bent at odd angles beneath him.
“Dan?” Harper’s voice was an octave too high. “You okay?”
She reached out to press a finger to his pulse, wanting to avoid moving him too much if he was hurt. Harper almost made contact with his skin when his eyes flashed open.
He grabbed her outstretched hand and pulled her down on top of him. She let out a shriek of surprise as she collapsed against his chest and the cushy paper towels.
“You play so dirty!” he said, tickling her sides. She squealed, trying to squirm out of his strong grip.
“No I don’t!” She pushed against him. “There was nothing in the bylaws about physical contact! I won fair and square.”
“And risked my life and limb to do so,” Dan said with a noise somewhere between a laugh and a growl that sent an effervescent burst through Harper’s body. “You could have killed me. I could be dead, Harper.”
Harper let out a gasp as his tickling doubled in effort. “I think you’re being a bit ridiculous,” she choked out.
She nuzzled her face closer to the crook between his arm and chest.