Caffeine | PUBLISHED

16. Iced Coffee

Either way, I was as red as the bag of Skittles resting in my basket.

"Okay, we got the Skittles, what's next?"

"Isaac!" I sputtered, my eyes wide and ears pink.

"Aspirin!" He mocked me, his voice high-pitched and nasally, a smug smirk on his lips.

I blinked, attempting to find the words. The couples had moved on, leaving the aisle with a glance and a glare in our direction. I sighed, fighting the chuckle that began to bubble out of my chest.

It was pretty funny.

And the way Isaac was staring at me – all smug and grinning – showed he knew it was funny and knew the internal battle I was going through. So, I settled my face into a deadpan and swallowed the laugh building in my throat, refusing to give him the satisfaction.

He raised a brow at me, smirking, and I held eye-contact, keeping my lips sealed shut.

"We need KitKats," I decided, turning to face the shelves.

He nodded, releasing me from his hold and turning to scan the aisles.

He leaned over, his lips pursed in thought and eyes narrowed at the shelves in scrutiny.

Behind him, I finally spotted the KitKats, grabbing a few packets of different flavours and tossing them into my basket. I was scanning the shelves for Riley's favourite flavour – matcha – when Isaac spoke right beside my ear.

"Wanna kiss?"

I blushed, spinning to face him, his breath sending a shiver down my spine. I met his eyes, only to see Isaac grinning, a bag of Hershey's Kisses in his hand.

"What are you, twelve?" I teased, rolling my eyes. "That joke's been around since middle school."

His lips twitched into a playful grin and I ignored how hot I suddenly felt and the prickle of goose bumps down my neck. I grabbed the bag of chocolate from his hand and shoved it into the basket, turning to walk past him.

"Hey, the offer still stands," he wiggled his brows.

A laugh finally burst from my lips at his stupid expression, and his grin widened, pleased with my reaction. I blinked, realising how comfortable I felt now. My mind had stopped overworking, overthinking everything. I fought a smile from forming on my lips as Isaac and I looked at each other.

His eyes had softened, and I had the feeling that he'd done it on purpose – he'd been acting like an idiot to try and loosen me up. And it worked.

Warmth blossomed through me at the realisation. Still smiling, I turned, grabbing some Reese's Peanut Butter Cups and peanut M&Ms on the way down the aisle.

"You're not allergic to peanuts, are you?" I asked.

"Will you give me mouth to mouth if I am?"

I rolled my eyes. "I'd let you die a slow death."

"In that case," he threw a bag of Doritos and some microwavable popcorn boxes into the basket. "I am not."

"That's unfortunate," I teased drily, nudging his arm. "Had my hopes up for a second."

He gasped jokingly, clutching his chest in shock. "Here I was, thinking we were friends, driving you around. Now I see it was all a lie."

I shoved his shoulder and he laughed loudly, trailing after me with a boyish grin.

We walked towards the cash registers and I emptied the basket onto the conveyer belt. The cashier muttered a 'Hello, how are you?' and I ignored how my heart raced at such a simple social interaction.