The Quest for Epic

Chapter seventeen

"So which cheese should I get; cottage or parmesan?"Maya asked holding up the two cheeses to my face

"Well the recipe said parmesan", I told her, gently brushing her hands out of my face before cheese met eyeball

"Hmm..." she studied the two and then promptly dropped them both into the shopping basket I was carrying along.

I raised a brow at her and she shrugged, "What? You can never have too much cheese"

I nodded absent-mindedly and followed her along the aisle as we inspected vegetables before dropping them into the basket.

Maya had asked me to go grocery shopping with her, she was in the mood to cook a big fancy Italian dinner and as her best friend, I had to make sure she didn't burn her beautiful new kitchen down.

"So are you sure you don't want to invite Rob? There'll be more than enough food", Maya said to me half heartedly.

I smiled at the lack of enthusiasm in her tone. "Why would I? I know you can't stand him"

"True", she said, always her honest self "But if he's going to be your boyfriend again, I can be the bigger person and try to like him"

"Slow your roll, Maya. We're taking it slow; we're just friends for now"

"Mmhmm", she gave me a look as I dropped some red bell peppers into the basket "We all know it's going to get there eventually"

"You know, I'm not so sure about that," I confessed quietly

"For real? You seemed all over the idea some time ago so why?"

I let out an aggravated breath and looked at her. "You know why"

"Look, I'm not about to join the Rob fan club anytime soon but if this is because you're still holding out hope for Noah, I suggest you stop right now", Maya said bluntly

"Don't you think I would if I could? I just... don't know how to"

"Ellie", Maya placed her hand on my arm stopping me from reaching for the sticks of celery on display "Girl, this is some serious stuff. Noah has a girlfriend and from what you've told me, they aren't breaking up anytime soon. Noah is great, but you really have to move on"

"Okay... I get it", I grumbled at her

"I know I don't say this often enough, but you're an awesome person and you deserve to be happy and have someone who really cares about you", Maya told me sincerely

"Aww, thank you Maya but You don't have to go all Dr Phil on me now", I smiled at her "Don't worry, you know I don't do drama"

"I know", Maya replied

"I'll be over this soon enough", I assured her

"Alright, if you say so", she squeezed my shoulder "Let's go get some wine"

We walked down to the aisle where wine was stocked. Maya was the expert on wine, so I let her peruse through the brands of white wine while I looked around.

A glimpse of familiar long blonde hair caught my eye as someone walked past.

Could it be?

Yes, it was. I didn't have to look hard because Shannon walked right into the aisle Maya and I were currently in. She looked as beautiful as ever, dressed in white shorts and a floral top, her blonde hair framing her face as she stooped to pick up a bottle of red wine from the bottom shelf.

"Maya... Maya", I tapped her on her arm, a tad desperately

"What?" she tossed me an annoyed look over her shoulder