Romance Smackdown II (2nd Place Finalist)

Part I -- Lured

I’m not a foolish woman.

I suppose it’s hubris on my part to think I have a bit more common sense than the average, but obviously I was wrong. All it took was a single moment of weakness and my entire world crumbled to my feet.

My little spot in suburbia is a comfortable one and I do not deserve the man I married eleven years ago. I've hurt him in the worst way possible.

I saw it in his eyes as he looked down at me, absorbing the mess I created in this kitchen. My betrayal shredded him, but for some reason, he was able to bite it back and blink away the tears.

“What happened?” He asked, his choked voice grave.

“Jacob, I—”

“Tell me!” He raged and my tears started anew. “Dammit, you owe me that much!”

I opened my mouth to speak, but the only sound my throat could make was a strangled gasp.

“Please, Anna,” he begged, his voice measurably softer as he crouched down. His hand collapsed over mine and it was a gentleness I didn’t deserve. His fingers slid through my grip to pull free the knife I held. It clattered and swirled around the sink when he dropped it. He sat next to me on the kitchen tile and together we stared at the lifeless and bloody body of the man I had briefly called my lover.

TWO MONTHS PRIOR

Eggs, milk, coffee. Those were the necessities, but I wouldn’t be opposed to ice cream and beer finding their way home. A few vegetables and a bag of apples gave the guise of eating healthy.

“How are we doing on laundry detergent?” Jacob asked as he emptied his armful of goods into the cart. I had sent him off for the coffee and peanut butter — two people working on the list always made the shopping go faster.

“Um—” I tried to remember who was last to do laundry, and if it was me, how much was left. Lost in thought, I pushed the cart around the corner without paying attention to where I was going.

“Watch it, Anna!” Jacob called out in warning.

“What?”

I rammed into something meaty and it replied with an annoyed “hey!”

“Oh God, I’m so sorry!” Gasping in humiliation at the man I had sandwiched between carts, I watched as he straightened up from nearly knocked headlong into his.

He turned and smiled and his eyes held mine.

A kick of shock drove the breath from my lungs and sent my heart racing. For one moment, nothing else existed except this man, his green eyes, and that wide smile.

“That’s alright,” he said with a laugh. “No harm, no foul.”

The moment was gone, but the rabbit pace of my heart hadn’t subsided. I broke eye contact in desperation to get rid of the sensation, but a little part desired that electricity again.

“Maybe I should drive from now on,” Jacob teased as he stepped in to angle the cart around the man. “Next time it might be an old lady you plow into, and they aren’t as resilient.”

I caught the man’s eyes again. A ghost of a wink shot towards me and I blinked in surprise. He was still watching as I chanced one last look over my shoulder before following Jacob down the aisle.

 ****

“Dare I ask?” Jacob smiled wide as I straddled his lap the next evening. Suddenly the news wasn’t nearly as interesting and he thumbed the power button on the TV remote.