He told her he would take her groceries to the car. She had come to this store dozens of times and had asked for help only twice, but Esteban insisted. Rochelle felt foolish walking to her car without any grocery bags in her hands. She opened the door for him, and he loaded her bags into the back seat.

“Can I ask you something?” Esteban asked.

“Sure,” she replied.

Rochelle had lived in this town for six months now. It seemed odd, but she felt that she had become good friends with the cashiers at the small, local grocery store.

“Never mind,” he decided. “You’re a customer. It would be inappropriate.”

She got an uneasy feeling that he wanted to ask her out until she remembered that Esteban was engaged, and the wedding date was slated for later that year.

“It’s okay,” she assured him.

Esteban took a deep breath.

“Is it just me?” he asked. “Or is there something here, something between us?”

It was wildly inappropriate, but Rochelle was not offended. After all, Esteban was going to be married soon, and she had been with her boyfriend for almost two years. It was not as if some sort of romantic attraction between them was going to result in a scandalous affair.

“Yes,” she admitted. “To be completely honest, I’ve been enthralled with you since the first day I walked into this store.

Esteban did not reply. He took her face in his hands, pressed himself against her, and kissed her the way he had wanted to since the moment she first smiled at him—just one week before he worked up the courage to propose to the woman who was soon to be his wife.

This had not been what Rochelle had been expecting, nor was it altogether unpleasant. In fact, she felt a warmth and passion deep in her chest that had not been there for quite some time.

Esteban felt Rochelle’s hands on his shoulders, pushing him away from her.

“What the hell was that?” she demanded.

He shook his head in confusion.

“But you said,” he stammered. “I mean, you said you felt it, too.”

“I find you attractive,” she told him. “I’m not going to lie about that, but we’re adults. We can’t pretend that either one of us is in a situation where we can kiss the other in the parking lot of the store where you work.”

She slid into the driver’s seat and drove away without another word.

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Take it Away Tuesday:

He told her/She told him