Breathe

eight

"Hey, I can't find the flour," I said, causing Asher to turn around to me. He sighed, but set down the two boxes of juice he had been holding to show me the shelf.

"Here," he said, handing me a pack of gluten free flour. "Is one enough?"

"Uh, yeah. Thanks." I took the pack before glancing at Michael's shopping list.

He had been a little confused when I told him I had gone to the store yesterday without buying any of the stuff, but I just told him I'd get it today – so here I was, petty and pretty next to Asher who was still kneeling on the floor where the flour was.

"So you did come back for food," he said as he got up, brushing some dirt off of his knees. I shrugged, still focused on the list.

"Partly. Do you have soy sauce?"

Asher just nodded and turned around, already walking to the next shelf. I quickly followed him, clutching the pack of flour to my chest.

"It's for Anna, she's been talking about this sushi she wanted to make for days now," I said. "Hey, did you know her and Michael are dating?"

The boy just raised a brow as he handed me a small bottle of soy sauce. "Gill mentioned it, but I didn't really care."

"Oh. Well, I wouldn't have guessed. I thought they were just, you know, a casual thing or something." I shrugged, averting my gaze. "Not a whole serious relationship."

Asher just nodded, crossing his arms. "If you need any more help, I'll be stacking juice boxes over there."

"No, wait," I said before I could stop myself, instinctively reaching out to touch his arm. I stopped midway, both of us glancing at my hand before I let my arm fall back to my side. As I could feel my cheeks heat up in embarrassment, I wondered if anyone would mind me just running out of the store and leaving all this stuff behind.

Asher cleared his throat, and my eyes widened as I noticed the slightest grin tugging at his lips that he tried to suppress. Maybe I just imagined it. Maybe I didn't, though.

It was gone as quickly as it came, and he was back to his usual bored scowl in a matter of seconds.

"Actually," I said, glancing back at my list. "Where do you keep the milk again?"

He sighed, nodding at the dairy section. "Legit right there. Don't waste my time just because you wanna have a conversation."

I pulled the corners of my mouth down, pouting at Asher. "Talking to me is a waste of time now? That shit hurted."

"Bringing you your stuff is a waste of time," he replied, averting his gaze. "Like I said, I'll be stacking juice."

Oh. Ooooh.

I grinned at him as he walked back to the juice shelf, glad that he wasn't opposed to talking to me, even though he couldn't openly admit it. This was going so well, I was almost getting suspicious.

So, I quickly gathered the few things I needed before joining Asher again.

"What are you doing today?" I asked, my gaze wandering over the different sorts of drinks that were neatly stacked on the shelfs.

"Work."

"Fun. And afterwards?"

He simply shrugged. "Sleep, I guess. Don't know yet."

"Your life sure is exciting," I commented, putting some of my stuff down on the floor when it got too heavy. I really should have brought a bag.

When I noticed the huge flour-stain on my shirt, I let out an annoyed "fuck," causing Asher to glance at me. To my surprise, he let out the briefest of chuckles while shaking his head.