Page 24 of A Hexcellent Chance to Fall in Love

Until the Store Closes

Pepper

I didn’t need directions—Clover Creek and I had an intimate relationship—but that afternoon I was happy to have them.

The honeybees that had taken up residency in my chest were in a full-on frenzy.

I would be going on my very first official date with Christina.

It was a date, right? That’s what she thought this was, wasn’t it?

I shook my head, chasing away the intrusive thoughts that were trying to creep in.

Of course she knew it was a date; what else could it have been?

As much as I wanted to jump out of the car, I was rooted to my seat.

It had been so long since I’d felt this way about anyone.

It had been years since Mitchell passed, so this whole idea of dating was so foreign to me.

I’d never been on dating apps, and even when Mitchell and I became a thing, it felt so effortless.

We’d had a class in college together—were partnered up on a project—and then things progressed.

We’d probably been dating for longer than I even realized it was happening.

And one day I didn’t want him not to be around anymore.

We had been officially unofficial forever.

I’m not even sure who used the term “partner” first. It was all so organic, it seemed—or maybe that’s just the way I’m remembering it because it was easier.

No one ever remembered the bad things about someone after they passed—it was always the good and easy times. It was all their best qualities.

This whole thing with Christina kind of felt like that in a way—easy.

But the difference this time was that I was so painfully aware of my feelings, they weren’t something I could ignore.

My situation now was so much more complicated than when I was a carefree college student. The stakes now were so much higher.

I was getting way ahead of myself.

Before I completely lost my nerve, I exited the car, walked up her front steps, and rang what looked like the doorbell but also seemed to have a camera on it. To say it had been a while since I’d been to anyone’s home would’ve been an understatement.

“Come in,” came Christina’s voice from the camera-like doorbell thing. Fancy.

I cracked open the door. “It’s me,” I called. Duh, Pepper, she probably already knew that since it was very unlikely she’d invite just anyone in her house .

“I’ll be out in a second. Feel free to relax.” Her voice now came from somewhere in the back of the house.

Relax. Sure. “No problem.” Try telling that to those darn little bees in my chest.

Christina’s house did not reflect the same aesthetic she had in her wardrobe.

Everything was bright. A combination of robin’s egg blue and a sunshine yellow flowed from the living room into the kitchen.

She had a gorgeous royal blue sofa, and to the side of it a pair of leather chairs sat with some adorable fuzzy white pillows.

A glass coffee table with a few small cactuses was sitting in the middle.

Light poured into the space from the enormous picture window in the front.

The kitchen cabinets were gray and the countertops white with a small bar area that had a couple of stools pushed up underneath.

The table and chairs she’d made occupied a small dining area—and the craftsmanship of them was incredible.

Near the front door there was a table with a few photos of her and two women who looked like her sisters, a few plants, and a bowl with a couple sets of keys.

On the wall just above it hung a quote from Eleanor Roosevelt— The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

For a moment I took the whole space in. It was like seeing a completely different side of Christina than I had before.

With a few more embellishments, it could’ve looked almost like my own little apartment—fun and inviting.

Why did she wear black all the time when she also had this inside her as well?

Christina was cake, for sure—each layer a new discovery.

Instead of snooping around—which I absolutely wanted to do to learn more about her—I sat on the couch, running my hand against the plush fabric. “I might need one of these,” I said to myself.

How comfortable was I supposed to get? I had no idea, so I alternated between leaning back and leaning forward and crossing and uncrossing my legs. Maybe I should’ve sat in one of the chairs. Or on a stool by the kitchen island. I was completely overthinking this.

As I was adjusting the way I sat one more time, a black cat slunk out from underneath the couch.

“Oh, hey. Hope I didn’t bother you.” Yep, I should’ve picked a different seat. Here for only ten minutes and already I was messing this up.

The blackest cat I’d ever seen with the brightest green eyes seemed to study me in the way that cats do—judgmentally.

“Yeah, I don’t know what to think of me either,” I confessed to it.

I’d never had a pet growing up—although I always wanted one.

Mom said they shed too much fur to clean up, but as I gazed around, I hardly noticed any.

I reached my hand down, and the cat just sneered at me—okay, maybe not sneered exactly, but clearly it wasn’t impressed with me at all.

“You’re gorgeous,” I tried. In that moment it felt very important for me to make a good impression. This wasn’t just any cat. This was Christina’s cat. So I decided it would be my mission to gain its approval.

The cat, however, was not on board with this plan and continued to glare—its eyes turning into little slits like it was considering the quickest way to get rid of me or possibly kill me. Good luck with that, cat.

“You could try,” I told it, “but it won’t do you any good. So we might as well be friends.”

“Who are you talking…” Christina walked out from the hallway mid putting in a pair of earrings and stopped. “You’re kidding me.”

Oh shit. Yep. I’d done something wrong.

The cat didn’t seem bothered by its owner’s creased brow, and it jumped onto one of the chairs and started kneading a pillow. Well played, cat. This wasn’t over.

“For someone indifferent about Halloween, you have the perfect cat for it,” I attempted. Wooing the cat had failed, but I wasn’t giving up.

“The cat delivery service gave him to me, not the other way around, but I had thought the same when he chose me,” she said, and I scrunched my brow—cat delivery what ?

Suddenly five years felt so much longer.

“Licorice doesn’t like anyone,” Christina continued.

“So don’t be offended. I’m surprised he came out at all.

He usually hides under the couch for hours if anyone even rings the doorbell. ”

I glanced at Licorice. Maybe he was on my side after all. “Well then, I guess I should consider myself lucky.”

“Cats are so weird.”

“So weird,” I agreed.

The cat rolled over, exposing his belly, and Christina rubbed him down. She looked amazing in dark jeans and knee-high boots. Her cropped black sweater inched up as she leaned over, showing off a little skin at her side, and my heart danced.

“Ready?” she asked, and I quickly glanced away.

“Yeah, totally.”

As Christina descended the front steps of her house, her blonde hair whooshed behind her—as if her own personal fan were blowing on her for dramatic effect.

We both got in the car and buckled up.

She turned my way, her eyes connected with mine, and she smiled so brightly, her teeth showed from between stunning red lips. My stomach did a back handspring. “Well, at least if I die today, the weather is nice.”

I shook my head. “You’re not going to die.” I turned the key, starting the hearse. She seemed to enjoy using humor as a way to lighten the mood, which was something I could easily play along with.

“It’s fine, really. It would save me a lot of trouble actually.”

“Rough morning?” I asked as I pulled away from the curb.

She stared out the window ahead, nodding slowly. “Sometimes I think I should record her so she could listen to the way she talks to me.”

“Your sister?”

“She’s the older one, yet I have to be the bigger person.

Why?” Christina threw her hands up. “Why can’t she just be a decent human being for once?

Why can’t she have a normal conversation with me instead of acting like I’m some kind of burden on her—on the family?

” She let out a sigh. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t unload all this on you. ”

“No, it’s fine. I don’t mind.” That was true.

The more Christina vented about her sister, the less time I had to be awkward and try to fill the space with small talk when all I could do was concentrate on the smell of her perfume and how dangerously close her arm was resting next to mine on the center console.

Plus, I liked that she shared. I wanted to get to know this gorgeous woman, and hearing she’d had a rough start to her day meant I needed to help turn it around.

And if there was anything I was good at, it was turning a negative into a positive.

“You’re just so easy to talk to. Is that weird to say?”

“I don’t think so. I think you’re pretty easy to talk to, too.” Too easy, in fact. I glanced her way and smiled. Oh, how I wanted to unload all my secrets with her in that moment, but at the same time I didn’t want to risk scaring her away.

She dipped her chin to her chest. “So where is it that you’re taking me anyway?”

“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” I took her lead and tried to infuse some humor into the situation.

“See, I knew I was going to die today.”

We both laughed.

“But seriously,” she said. “Do I get a hint?”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

“I should’ve figured you were the type of person who enjoyed surprises.”

“I’m going to take that as a compliment.”

“You should,” she said.