The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day (control F version)
Selene grabbed her bags from the cashier, grunting at the weight. She hadn't realized that she had bought so many groceries. No wonder the bill was so high. Walking to her car, she stopped to readjust the bags. Just then, the bottom of the bags collapsed, relieving themselves of the food they contained. The fixings for tonight's dinner and the next weeks' lunches were strewn on the ground. Apples rolled under cars, cans and boxes getting dented and broken, eggs smashing, leaving a yolky, gooey mess at her feet.
"Dammit!" Selene swore, leaning down to try to collect what she could.
A wind picked up, lifting the lighter items from the ground and blowing them across the parking lot. Her eyes followed her dinner as it disappeared behind the multitudes of cars.
This was typical. The way her day had started was awful enough. Her boss had yelled at her, her sister cancelled their double date that night, and her boyfriend...well, let's just say he's not her boyfriend anymore.
She felt a lump rising in her throat, the tears edging in her eyes. Selene angrily brought her sleeve up, wiping at the prickly feeling.
Don't cry. Spilled groceries aren't worth crying over. Men aren't worth crying over. Dammit.
Once her tears started, it was hard to stop. Sniffing, she knelt, trying to gather what groceries she could, praying she didn't need to go back into the store. Selene knew her face was tear streaked, her eyes were puffy and her nose runny. She didn't want to face anyone looking like this.
"Hey!" a voice called from across the parking lot.
Selene turned to see a tall man, his arms full of groceries, taking long strides towards her. She quickly scrubbed her face on her sleeve, trying to make it look like she wasn't crying.
Yeah right.
"Hey," he got to her, gesturing at her with the food in his arms. "I think these are yours."
She looked up at him, sheepishly, praying he didn't notice the state of her face. She sniffed. "Thanks."
His warm eyes scanned her face, his eyebrows furrowing in worry. "Are you okay?"
Selene nodded. "Yeah, just one of those days." She started to try to collect her groceries from him, but he held on.
"I'll help you take them to your car," he offered, nodding towards the other groceries on the ground. "You should grab those."
"Right," she breathed out, kneeling to pick up the items. She stood, gesturing with her chin for the man to follow her.
Walking to her car Selene tried not to think about how attractive this man was. He was strikingly tall, longish brown hair, and gorgeous hazel eyes. Apparently, he's also super nice. So nice, he had found Selene's groceries at the other end of the parking lot, gathered them and tried to find who they belonged to.
Who does that?
"I'm Justin," the man offered just as they got to her car.
Apparently Justin does that.
Shifting the groceries in her arms she fumbled for her keys to open the trunk. Luckily there's reusable bags in there. Selene had forgotten them when she went into the store and opted to buy the plastic ones. She dropped the groceries into one bag, then held the other for Justin to drop the ones he was holding into.
"Selene," she replied, once she was empty handed, holding out her hand to him.
Justin gripped it gently. "Nice to meet you, Selene."
His gaze on her brought a flush to her cheeks. "Um, thanks for the help, Justin."
"No problem, Selene, glad to help." A frown started to show on his face when he noticed tears welling up in her eyes again. "Are you okay?"
Another pathetic sniffle escaped from her, and she swallowed down the lump in her throat. Shaking her head, Selene smiled sadly. "I've just had the adult version of The Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day."
Justin sighed, "I'm sorry to hear that. Is there anything I can do?"
She blinked, her eyes searching his face. She slowly shook her head. "No, no. I don't want to take up your time, Justin. Thanks again for your help."
Justin moved forward slightly, his hand gripping her shoulder. "Do you," he blinked, his lips quirking to display adorable dimples. "Do you have any plans tonight?"
"I did, but," Selene paused, swallowing, fighting back a fresh wave of tears. "But they fell through," she concluded.
Justin's eyes lit up. "Good," he pauses when she quirked her head at him. "No, not good that they fell through, good that, well," he stopped himself, grinning when he realizes how silly he was sounding. "I mean, I would like to take you for dinner. Would you like to have dinner with me, Selene?"
She pursed her lips, considering his request. On one hand she wasn't really ready for this, but on the other this gorgeous man was asking her out even after seeing her tear streaked, puffy face. So why not?
"Yeah, Justin, I'd like that."
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Looking in the mirror, Selene fussed with her hair, trying to get it to smooth down a bit. Her curls were forever unruly. She blinked at her reflection taking in her brown eyes, small nose, smattering of freckles and slightly full lips. A cold compress had done wonders on the puffiness she had from crying, and now she was passable for her date.
Her date with Justin, the man from the parking lot.
