Page 32 of Press Play

I’m not a difficult girl to please. Give me a good book, some tea, any form of rice, and I’m good to go. Theo knows this, so he doesn’t fight my request for caffeine.

“Can I get a large—” He looks at me and repeats what I say, “Ice vanilla chai latte.”

I give him a thumbs-up, and he chuckles before ordering his usual iced macchiato.

The girl at the window stops dead in her tracks when she sees him. He doesn’t notice because he’s opening his wallet for his debit card. I’m not embarrassed to be seen with Theo, but knowing how people know him makes it slightly awkward.

They’ve seen him naked, having sex with other women or pleasuring himself. I wonder if anyone has ever asked him for a quickie, or even if they could participate, and if they have, has heever agreed? He must have sex for fun and not just for recording purposes, right?

My stomach tumbles, and I fucking wish it didn’t. Releasing a tiny groan, I shake my head to force the thought from my mind. Theo and I will never be anything more than friends. I shouldn’t be thinking about such things. The girl smiling at him as she hands him our drinks shouldn’t stoke envy in my veins. And I most definitely shouldn’t be scrunching my lips together in irritation.

“Are you okay? It looks like you’re fighting off an aneurysm,” Theo says as he hands me my drink.

“I’m great. No aneurysm here.” I lie to him, plastering a fake smile across my face.

I’m half expecting the woman to ask him for a picture. While sipping on my iced chai, I debate the endless possibilities as Theo drives toward the grocery store. His gaze wanders to me every now and then, but he doesn’t ask any questions.

After pulling into the parking lot, Theo parks the car and downs his drink before bouncing in his seat. I chuckle and smile at him as he turns to face me.

“Chug that tea, woman! We’ve got places to be!”

“Chai is meant to be savored.” I sass him.

Those dark eyes bore into me. “I know someone else who’s meant to be savored.”

I side-eye him as he smirks, trying my best not to crack my own smile. I finish my drink in a few gulps, and we hop out of the car to start toward the store. We step through the automatic doors, and a cold breeze wraps around us. It’s April, and the temperature is getting hotter and hotter. But hey, global warming is a hoax. . .

Theo grabs a cart and follows me through the produce section. I wrote a list on my phone’s notes that included mealsand snacks. Most of it is naturally gluten-free, while some require some tweaking. Theo won’t mind either way.

“When was the last time you went food shopping?” I ask while bagging some tomatoes.

“Huh, you know, that’s a good question.” He tilts his head side to side, as if he’s counting. “Two months?”

I trip over my feet as I stop. “Two months?” I repeat.

“Maybe three?”

“Three!? How are you still alive?” I poke his stomach, and he flinches.

“I get my protein in other ways,” he says with a wink. Locking eyes with him for a moment, I smack him upside his head, and he winces. “Yeah, I deserved that.”

“You’re such a perv,” I sigh while grabbing a bunch of bananas. “Don’t.” I point at him, and he raises his hands in surrender.

“I wasn’t going to say anything.”

“Uh-huh, sure you weren’t,” I say while placing them in the cart.

“My mind isn’t always in the gutter,” he says while we walk toward the next aisle.

“That’s the biggest lie of the century—” I squeal as Theo pulls on my hood, making me stumble back. “What are you—” He covers my mouth with his hand and peeks around the corner.

“What’s wrong?” I murmur.

All of a sudden, the fluorescent lights buzz, too bright, too sharp. My feet are stuck to the dull linoleum floor as the cold air from the aisle wraps around me.

And then I see her. Mother stands at the end of the aisle by the jars of pasta sauce. Her face is sharper than I remember, her eyes locked on mine like she knows my darkest secrets. My chest tightens. I take a step back, bumping into our cart.

“What’s wrong?” Theo’s voice is low, concerned.

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