As I turned, I saw long pink hair accompanied by a perfectly rounded ass. She grabbed something off a shelf and dropped it in her cart. Then she tapped her pierced lip as she studied her options.
Her movements seemed so familiar, it gave me pause. It had been over ten years, but in my mind, I could see Lila’s smile and the way she moved like it was yesterday.
Jesus, there I go again.
“Lila?” I whispered, but she didn’t hear me.Probably because it’s never her, you dumbass.
She turned in my direction, and my breath caught. The arch of her brows, the curve of her cheek, they had me getting a little lost in memories. As I always did, I had to tell myself to stop imagining.
Besides, the chick was tatted up. If Lila had been alive, I couldn’t imagine her ever getting a tattoo—let alone sleeves of them. And pink hair? Never.
My heart hammered against my rib cage. Though I knew better, there was a part of me that always had to check. Like that little piece of me refused to admit she was gone—even years later. No matter how much time had passed, I saw her everywhere.
Stepping up the pace, I caught up with her in the next aisle. “Lila?”
If her step hadn’t faltered for a second, I would’ve laughed at myself and paid for my shit. Swallowing the giant lump in my throat, I reached out and gripped her arm. My fingers tingled at the touch, and she sucked in a startled breath and spun to face me.
“Hey!” she said, frowning at the hand restraining her.
I released the breath I didn’t realize I was holding. “I… uh, I’m sorry. You look so much like someone I used to know.”
Her green eyes were wide, her face was drained of color, and she seemed shaken. Then again, a big dude she didn’t know grabbed her in a grocery store.
The resemblance was uncanny, but where Lila’s eyes had been crystal blue, this girl’s were the color of a spring field. There was also a beauty mark by her mouth that Lila certainly never had. Her roots and brows were dark, and her hair transitioned to pink. Her nose was missing the bump Lila had from when she was babysitting and a kid head-butted her and was also pierced on both sides, along with her eyebrow and lip.
Though she wasn’t Lila, she was still stunning. I wanted to kiss that beauty mark and look over her body for more. That sexy lip ring made me want to feel it under my tongue.
Despite coming to terms with my reality, I was compelled to stare. Fuck, she was hot. Not that I’d ever be one for a relationship, but I’d fuck all day, every day, if I could.
“It’s okay. I get that a lot. Obviously, I’m this Lila’s doppelgänger. Huh?” Her voice was husky and nothing like the lilting tone of the girl I’d loved. She gave a hesitant smile and pushed her hair behind her ear. When she did so, I noted there was no wedding ring.
“So we’re having a birthday party for my brother tonight. You wouldn’t be interested in going, would you?” After shoving away all the ridiculous comparisons, I shot her my best smile and tried to get my heart to slow down. She still looked enough like Lila that I wouldn’t mind pretending for a night. Twisted, yeah. Probably even seriously fucked-up.
Sue me.
“Um, maybe. Where and when?” she questioned as her cheeks flushed dark pink and her gaze boldly raked over me.
“You have a pen?” I asked.
She dug in her massive purse and pulled out a cheap BIC pen. Waving it triumphantly in the air, she handed it over.
Giving her a smirk, I took her hand and wrote my phone number and the address of the clubhouse on her palm. Rippling feelings hit my stomach when our skin touched.
Damn.
As I finished, I glanced up and gave her a wink. She shook her head with a repressed grin and dropped the pen back in her purse. Her hand seemed to shake, and she curled her fingers and fisted her hand as if she was holding the numbers.
I sucked in a deep and unsteady breath. “Fuck, I can’t get over how much you look like her,” I said before giving my head a quick shake.
She tugged on her lip piercing with her teeth. “It happens,” she said with a coy smile.
“See you tonight,” I said, hoping she didn’t let me down. “Ask for Ghost when you get there.”
Instead of replying, she gave me a tight smile that said “don’t hold your breath.”
Well, fuck. I thought I had her.
Phoenix and I paid for our shit and walked out into the brisk fall afternoon. We climbed in the truck, and Angel drove past the front of the grocery story to exit the parking lot.
As we passed the plate-glass windows, Angel stopped to let customers cross. Glancing in the store, I saw the chick at the checkouts. As the young clerk scanned her shit, she twisted her hair up and shoved that white pen through it. My lungs collapsed, and I nearly jumped out of the truck as Angel started moving.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Phoenix asked as he stared at my hand on the door handle.
In a bit of a daze, I glanced down to where my hand was ready to pull the lever. Then I shook off my crazy thoughts and laughed, playing it off. “Nothing. I’m good.”
That night the chick never called or showed up.
Figured.
Oh, well. Probably for the best, because how fucked-up would it be if I started dating someone because they reminded me of my dead high school sweetheart.