Chapter 4

When I look up at him, he’s smiling sweetly. “At one,” he adds. “Just a little picnic somewhere, get to know each other a bit more… what do you say?”

What canI say? “Sure.”

A picnic. God, I love it already. When he pushes away from the shelf to leave, I hold out one hand, sticky with pickle juice. It seems a bit formal, perhaps, but I’ve never been asked out by a customer at work and I don’t really know the proper protocol here. All I know is I want to touch him, now, here, any way I can. “See you then?”

“Sure,” he says, taking my hand in his. Instead of shaking it, though, he pulls me closer and leans over the mess on the floor to kiss my cheek. His lips are damp and soft and warm on my skin, and his breath tickles my ear when he breathes. “See you then.”