Page 14 of A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love

“Got it.”

“Maybe we can get him fired or something?” She raised her eyebrows.

That was the thing I loved most about Lisa: She wasn’t intimidated by me and didn’t think she couldn’t talk to me like just another person on staff.

Maybe she’d already figured out that I couldn’t personally fire anybody—I wasn’t a part of the hiring process either.

But whatever the reason, I really liked working with her.

“I’m sure we could, but would that really be the best solution here? ”

Lisa hung up the last of her snake earrings. “Yeah. I think it would be.” She nodded.

“Or maybe you could provide him with some of your expertise and guidance as a seasoned worker with years of experience under your belt.”

Lisa’s mouth twisted like she’d just eaten a handful of Sour Patch Kids. “Or, counterpoint, we could get him fired.”

I shook my head at her. “I’m going to let you think things over a little more before settling on a decision.” I headed away from her and toward the Beetlejuice section of the store.

“No, I think I’m good,” she called.

As I made it past an endcap of every color hair spray imaginable and rounded the corner at the vampire aisle, I slammed into someone. “I’m so sorry,” I said before realizing who it was. “We really need to stop running into each other like this.”

Christina stood in front of me, black silk blouse speckled with raindrops and her blonde hair slightly damp and limp. “At least this time you didn’t catch me with any”—she paused—“interesting products.”

I also didn’t catch her alone this time. Behind her was a woman with brown hair, glowing brown skin, and a very pregnant belly. “No lube today, then, huh?” I whispered.

“Maybe next time.” She winked, and I wasn’t sure if she was joking or not.

Unsure what to say, I glanced past her, but there wasn’t a cart behind her, and she wasn’t carrying anything, so I asked, “Well, what brings you in today?”

“My friend Cami needed to get some things.”

A twinge of disappointment hit me in the chest.

The pregnant woman held up a large hammer. “Peanut and I are going to be dad bod Thor.” She rubbed her stomach.

I had no idea what that meant, but I didn’t get a chance to ask as Christina giggled and then quickly introduced us.

“It’s nice to meet you,” I told Cami.

“Same,” she said.

Christina twisted her foot—her black ballet flat squeaking on the linoleum—and propped it on the other one. “Since I’m here, you mentioned helping out…Said you might have some things and that I could stop by, and I was hoping maybe since I was here and all…?”

“Yes!” I said a little too eagerly. “I’d be happy to help any way I can.” I leveled my voice out.

“Good, because I was watching this YouTube video where someone dug a hole—or not really a hole, but used one of those wooden pallets and covered it mostly in dirt—and it looked like people clawing out of the ground, which seemed pretty cool, and anyway I was thinking that maybe you might have some of those lying around that you didn’t need, seeing as you probably get pretty big shipments in.

” All the words kind of rushed out like a shaken soda that someone had popped the top off of.

I held back the smile that so desperately wanted to come out—she looked really cute when she was flustered. “I actually do have some of those.”

A crash of thunder rattled the store, and the lights flickered.

Christina jumped. “Holy—!” But she didn’t finish her statement. Teens swore all the time, but teachers were never allowed to in front of students, which was likely what made her hold herself back.

“Got those teacher reflexes working.” I winked.

“Hey, I’ll catch you later,” Cami said. “I want to be home in case the power goes out. Plus, Peanut is hungry.”

“Yeah, I’ll see you tomorrow.” Christina gave Cami a quick hug before she walked away. “She has one of the electronic doors. So no power means she can’t get in her house.”

I wasn’t sure what that meant either, but I didn’t want to ask since that could lead to questions about why I didn’t know, and I couldn’t exactly tell her. “Follow me if you want to take a look at those pallets.” I headed toward the back of the store.

“How did that not scare the crap out of you? I’m honestly surprised I didn’t leave a puddle behind.”

Over the years, I’d had plenty of time to think about a lot of things.

One of which was how fear was such a funny emotion when you really contemplated it.

So many of the choices people made in life were rooted in fear.

But when life doesn’t affect you the same way it does everyone else, you kind of just lose that emotion.

What exactly did I have to fear? “I’m not scared of anything. ” I decided to tell her the truth.

“Everyone is afraid of something.”

“That’s true for everyone but me.” I shrugged.

“I’m not sure I believe you,” Christina said as we stopped at the door to the back, which read Employees Only in a horror-style font.

“Well, you should.” Our gazes connected, and she seemed to study me, her eyes shifting back and forth.

Her right one was just a little darker than her left.

For a moment I wanted to know what she saw—what she thought—when she looked at me, but then again it didn’t matter.

She’d never remember this anyway. “Don’t worry, I got you.

” I pushed the door open just as another crash of thunder rattled the building, and Christina jumped again.

She shook her head at me as she walked through.

Once we’d passed the tables that held Dewy’s workstation and that the computer staff used for clocking their time, we headed down a hallway into a side pocket of the building that was used for storage.

I flipped on the lights, and they flickered to life.

Boxes we hadn’t processed yet were stacked shoulder-high.

Maybe we would find those wigs that Dewy had been so concerned about.

“Have you seen the Barbie movie?” I asked.

Christina gave me this look like I was wearing a chicken on my head. “Who hasn’t?”

If it was still playing somewhere, maybe I should go and see it tonight, just so I knew what everyone was so wild about, and with the rain and everything, it could possibly be better than getting soaked.

“You are so beautiful,” Christina said, and I stopped breathing.

I stopped moving. And time itself seemed to stop as well.

It had been years ago, when I was sitting at lunch at my very first job out of college, that my colleague made a comment about how straight women were more comfortable with the idea of two men kissing than two women.

In that moment, my entire world changed—like its axis had shifted and begun spinning in a new direction.

Because up until that point, I had lived my life believing certain fundamental truths about the universe.

Water made you wet. Moonlight was just a reflection of the sun.

Every woman who brushed off the dessert cart on the Titanic didn’t die any happier than those that didn’t—so always eat dessert when given the option.

But more than any of those things, I thought every woman knew other women were beautiful.

That everything about them—their bodies, the way they smelled—was just as good as, if not better, than everything about guys.

That everyone at some point had thought about hooking up with women.

When in reality, it turned out this was not the case.

I had been conditioned to believe all the heteronormative messages, thinking I was straight because of society.

But sitting at that café with my work colleague, it hit me—I wasn’t straight at all.

And while I had thought about hooking up with girls and even maybe crushed on a few, I’d never actually been with one.

After that moment with my actual straight friend, the realization that I was bi didn’t really matter.

I was already happily in a committed relationship.

And after he passed away and before I had the chance to explore that side of myself, I got stuck here.

But now, standing with this adorable woman in front of me, staring at me with her stunning brown eyes—who had just told me she thought I was beautiful—I had no idea what I was supposed to do. The words I think you’re beautiful, too were stuck in my throat.

“From the Barbie movie,” she said like it was obvious. “At the bus stop with the older woman? Remember?” She scrunched her brows. “That moment was so touching.”

My entire body got hotter than a Nashville chicken sandwich, and all I wanted to do was rip off the jacket I had on.

“Oh yeah.” I turned away from her to catch my breath.

Oh shit. She was not hitting on me after all.

If I could die, I wanted to do so right then and there.

“Such a great movie.” I forced a laugh as I moved deeper into the building and down a row of boxes where the pallets would be, and Christina followed.

“So iconic.” If she noticed my embarrassment, she at least pretended she hadn’t. But now I was acutely aware of the fact that I had a major crush on this girl, which meant I had no idea how to act.

I stepped away from her and tripped over the box of a giant mechanical spider. “This is what we’ve got.” I motioned to the side.

“Careful there,” she said. “So you’re not afraid of anything, but you’re clumsy, is that it?” She had this delightful smile on her face that said she wasn’t making fun of me—more like friendly teasing.

“Pallets. You wanted pallets.” A bolt of lightning flashed through the horizontal blinds on the large window we stood next to, quickly followed by the shake of thunder.

Christina jumped. “It’s really coming down now.”

“Sure looks like it.” I shoved my hands in my pockets but that felt wrong, so I pulled them out, then ran a hand through my hair and shifted from side to side.

“Will these work?” Electricity from the storm had invaded my body.

My insides felt like a lit sparkler, and I had no idea what to do with my hands.

Christina came closer; the scent of roses, vanilla, and wood flooded my nose. She smelled as fresh as a spring day, and it had been forever since I’d experienced one of those. “Yeah, these are perfect, but…” She glanced behind me to the window.

“What are you wearing?” I asked, and Christina turned to me, those red cheeks of hers flaring. “The perfume or whatever? What is that?”

“It’s Pretty Rosey from Betty’s Bath Emporium on Carrot Street. Have you been there?” She sounded breathless.

I shook my head, inhaling deeply. “It’s amazing.”

The rain outside pounded the roof and echoed all around us, or maybe it was the sound of my heart thumping wildly against my ribs. Christina stood so close, and she had on that same cherry red lipstick she wore the first day we met—it would be so easy to lean over. Did she taste like cherries, too?

She licked her lips. Could she tell I was looking at them?

Another bolt of lightning flashed throughout the room at the same time thunder rattled the building. Christina sucked in a breath and grabbed my arm.

“Don’t worry. I got you.” I placed my hand on top of hers. She was even closer now. Her body pressed up against mine. Her hand gripped me so tightly, it seemed like she needed something to ground her—to hold on to.

Her gaze flickered to my mouth and up again.

“Did you feel that?” Caleb barged into the room, and Christina jumped away from me. “Oh, sorry, I thought you were alone back here. Dewy was hoping you could help the new guy with something up front.”

“Sure, no problem. I’ll be right up,” I told him, and he quickly exited.

“I guess we should do this another time,” Christina said, and I wasn’t sure if she was talking about the pallets. I hoped she wasn’t just talking about them.

“I can bring them to you if that’s okay.”

“That would be very okay,” she said. “I’ll give you my number.” She held out her hand.

Oh, my cell phone. It had been forever since anyone had called me—aside from people here at the store. I didn’t even know the number myself, but it was on a paper at the register. “It’s new, so I don’t have it memorized yet,” I said.

She took it from me and typed in her number. Her phone dinged a second later. “I just sent myself a text message. So now I have it.” She handed the phone back. “You can save me as a contact if you want.”

“Yes. For sure. I’ll do that.” I was sure I could figure it out.

Her cheeks flushed. “I will, too.”