Page 69 of Cadence
The sliding doors part with a mechanical hiss, the cool air hitting my skin as we step into the store. Eli veers off toward the snack aisle, Beau close behind him while I pretend I’m going to follow too. Instead, I grab a basket and head in the opposite direction, my heart hammering at what I’m about to do.
Loading up with a bunch of pain relief, I round the corner, slowly making my way around the store to the section I actually need, my eyes snagging on a fluffy pink heating pad. That goes in too, along with several facemask packets that feel odd when I touch them.
Standing frozen, I stare at the shelves in front of me, feeling completely out of my depth.
Fuck. This felt like a good idea ten minutes ago.
Looking down at the red basket hanging off my arm, I cringe. Tylenol, a heating pad, some essential oil things that looked girlie and shit, a few chocolate bars and Nerd Ropes… Like, twenty of them.
What the hell am I even doing?
My eyes sweep the shelves again, my brain blanking at all the options. Why are there so many? Pads. Tampons. Liners.One box says “Regular,” and another down from it says “Super” or “Super Plus Extra.” There’re non-plastic options, a 3-in-1 special, at least half mentioning an applicator.
What the fuck is an applicator for?
“Dude.” Beau’s voice comes from behind me, and I jump. “What are you doing?”
I spin around, and he laughs at the panic on my face. He’s holding a basket too, but unlike mine, his is full of stuff for himself; drinks, candy, deodorant.
“I don’t know what to get,” I mutter, dragging a hand through my hair. “She said she’s out of tampons, but there’s like a million different types.”
His grin fades slightly as his eyes narrow. Not in a bad way, more…calculated.
“She asked you to get this?”
I shake my head.
“But you’re doing it anyway?”
“Figured it would be better to let her sleep and I’d just grab her stuff…” I turn back to the shelves, each box mocking me.
“Right…and you’re planning on buying the entire aisle and letting her play tampon roulette?”
“Help me,” I beg. “What's the difference between ultra and regular? I don’t even know what flow she has. Heavy? Light? Should I have asked?”
“Fuck no.” Beau chuckles as he reaches past me and grabs a couple of boxes. “I’m guessing if she’s this miserable, she’s not going to want to get caught short again. Get both. Tamponsandpads. Also, get the night ones, y’know the ones that are like diapers?”
I glare at him. “No, I don’t know what ones are like fucking diapers.”
“Out of the way,” he grumbles, moving through the aisle like this is routine.
“You are weirdly good at this,” I say as he tosses more things into my basket.
“Dated a girl once who made me do this on the regular.” He grabs a different box and chucks that in too. “You learn fast when you get yelled at for bringing back scented ones.”
“Scented?”
“Yeah. Don’t do that. Ever.” He pauses, looking thoughtfully at the haul of sanitary products, reaching in and rummaging through it. “Really? Do you think she needs all these Nerd Ropes?”
I shrug, yanking the basket away from him. “I don’t know what she needs, but these things are addictive, and I’m pretty sure they might be her favorite candy.”
“Fair enough,” he says, lifting his hands. “She definitely has a sweet tooth.”
We walk toward the checkout, and I feel this sort of weird newbondbetween us now. Apparently, buying half an aisle of period supplies will do that to a friendship.
“Thanks,” I say, nodding toward the pile of stuff on the conveyor belt. “I couldn’t have done that without you.”
He nods, staying quiet until, “Seriously, though. You good?”
