For the OQPromptParty: Prompt number 68: Robin cuts in line at the supermarket and Regina is not having it.
Thanks to Brooke for being my beta and encouraging me to just post it lol..mwah!
Just a bit of fluff to get us through the day. This is the fastest I've written something, so please forgive any mistakes...all mistakes are mine :)
Late.
Regina Mills is running late to pick up her son, Henry, from her neighbor. Mrs. Lucas (Granny, as she likes all the kids in the neighborhood to call her) claims she doesn't mind keeping him on days Regina has to work late, but she always feels guilty when she rushes in right before dinner time to get him. Being the owner of her small design company should allow her freedom in her schedule, but in reality, it keeps her at the office later than desired more often than not. So, she's grateful for Granny.
Looking down at her phone, for the hundredth time, Regina sends a quick text to the older woman letting her know that she's grabbing a few groceries but will be there soon.
When Regina looks up, she notices a new form in front of her. The body doesn't belong to the little old lady that had been loading her groceries onto the conveyer belt at a painstakingly slow rate a few moments ago. This figure belongs to a man with brown hair that is starting to gray, broad shoulders and a strong looking back (and a cute butt, but who's noticing?).
Irritated that someone would jump in line with no regard to the other customers, Regina huffs out an exasperated breath.
"Uh, excuse me? I was next in line."
The man turns around, stunning Regina for a second with his piercing blue eyes. She's entranced for a moment until he opens his big, British mouth.
"Ah, yes, well, there was a gap in the line. Figured it was up for grabs," He finishes with a smirk, shrugging up one shoulder in a carefree, totally opposite of Regina, way.
"Well, it's not," She clips in a short tone. She doesn't have time for this.
Instead of seeming remorseful, the man smirks at her and says, "Well if you hadn't been on your cell phone instead of enjoying the world around you, you might have seen the line move."
Rolling her eyes, Regina huffs an annoyed breath. Who did this man think he was? "You could have politely asked me to move up instead of stealing my spot. Just go to the end of the line like any decent person would do."
"Oh, sorry. It's my turn," He grins, turning back towards to conveyer belt and loading ground beef, cans of sauce and other basic items onto the moving platform.
Huffing, Regina looks back to her phone, seeing that she has a text from Granny telling her not to worry and to take her time. Bless Mrs. Lucas and her empathetic self. She reminds Regina constantly that she raised her granddaughter, Ruby, all by herself and knows the struggle of running errands with a child by her side, curiously asking multiple questions per minute. Granny doesn't let too many people in to see the softer side of her, but Regina is one of those blessed to have been welcomed into her home with open arms.
Looking up, she sees that the annoyingly British thief is finishing up, so she shoots another text to her babysitter, thanking her again and letting her know she's checking out and will be there within the next 20 minutes.
The smug line jumper finally leaves, and Regina begins loading her items onto the moving belt, giving the clerk a tight smile. She knows it's not the poor girl's fault, but no one jumps in front of someone in line. Its rude. And yet, she can't stop thinking about the man's blue eyes and dimples that popped out every time he smirked at her.
Walking out of the store, Regina comes to an abrupt stop when she hears the infuriatingly cute British accent call out to her.
"Thanks for letting me line jump," He says, making his way over to where she stands...
"Let me make it up to you...?" he leaves off the end of his question, seemingly wanting to know her name.
Regina's eyebrows furrow as her lips descend into a scowl. How dare this man skip in line at this time of day, when everyone is trying to just get home after work, and expect her to just accept it. "I'm not telling you my name. You're a stranger...and a thief."
"I'm no thief, milady," The man chuckles. "I simply took what was available, trying to help those of us who pay attention out, you know…and I wouldn't be a stranger if you'd introduce yourself to me," The man with blue eyes counters, continuing to smirk at her as if he knows a secret that she doesn't.
"I'm Robin. Robin Locksley."
Hesitating, Regina slowly reaches her hand out to shake his outstretched one. "Regina Mills."
"Well, Regina Mills," Robin begins, "allow me to make it up to you by inviting you over to enjoy these homemade enchiladas." He says, holding up his grocery bag. "Granted, I have a four year old at home sick with a tummy ache, but…"
So, he has a son. Clearly divorced…maybe widowed… if he's bold enough to be asking her out right here in front of the supermarket. Surely he's not some scumbag who asks a woman out while still married. As annoying as he is, he doesn't seem to be a prick. Still irritated with his behavior, she huffs again, but feels her irritation lessening with each passing moment. There's something about his persistence that is intriguing to Regina.
"Why would I go to a stranger's house to have dinner?"
"Technically," Robin counters, "we're not strangers anymore. You're Regina and I'm Robin. And you know I have a son, so we're practically friends at this point," he finishes with mirth in his voice and a spark in his eye. He clearly enjoys annoying her (she is starting to enjoy it, too, if she's honest.).
There's something about the way he picks at her that she can't help but find attractive. He's pushing all of her buttons, especially when she's running late to pick up Henry, but yet she can't help flirting back in this childish, elementary school way. If he picks on you, he likes you. Wasn't that always the rule?
Rolling her eyes but failing to conceal her grin, she says, "I don't go to newly met men's houses on the first date."
Smirking and making those dimples show even more, Robin responds in the smuggest voice possible, "Who said it was a date, milady?"
Regina rolls her eyes again as he moves a tiny bit closer to her. Her breath catches in her throat for a moment when she gets a whiff of his pine scent. God, it's been so long since a man who wasn't an employee was this close to her…and this good looking (and straight).
Snapping out of it, she clips, "Either way. I'm not going to your house. Plus, you have a sick child at home. You need to go take care of him and I need to get home to mine."
Shrugging, Robin responds nonchalantly, "His uncle is watching him for now, so he's ok at least for a few more minutes without me. He's requested my famous enchiladas, claiming his tummy feels good enough for Papa's best dish all of a sudden," he chuckles, then continues with a happy smile on his face, "but you're right, Regina Mills, stubborn lady who also has a son, I do need to get home to Roland. How about I take you to dinner Saturday night?"
Eyes widening, Regina contemplates his words. This man has done nothing but annoy her in the twenty minutes that she's known him, yet she hasn't been this attracted to someone's whole demeanor in years. His eyes, his dimples, his smirk, his voice, his confidence, his obvious love for his son…She finds she does actually want to go on this date, but doesn't want to admit it just yet. He got the stubborn part right, at least.
"What makes you think I'd want to go to dinner with a common thief?"
Grinning, he quips, "Well for one, I'd probably be standing here alone by now if you weren't interested."
Huffing out a laugh at how right he is, Regina clicks her tongue and nods in his direction, smirking.
"True."
Looking into his eyes and smiling, she tells him, "Alright, Robin Locksley, annoyingly persistent man with a sick child at home, I'll let you take me out Saturday night. But only if I pick where we go. Who knows where you'd end up taking me," she jokes, shrugging a shoulder and finding herself softening to this man's annoyance with each passing second.
Laughing, his eyes light up when he says, "Bold and audacious. I like it."
Reaching into his pocket, he pulls out his wallet and removes a card. "Here's my business card. Cell number is on the back." He grins that maddening grin. "When you decide where you want to go, let me know."
With that, the annoyingly handsome man with a British accent and blue eyes she knows she'll soon not forget walks away, hauling his grocery bags higher up into his arms.
Sighing, Regina looks down and realizes she's wasted another ten minutes talking with Robin and is definitely going to owe Granny one of her special, homemade lasagnas to make up for this.
That night, after Henry has been fed and tucked into bed, Regina can't help but let her mind wander back to the irritating man who stole her spot in line.
Robin.
His name is Robin and he wants to take her on a date. The thought alone makes Regina nervous. She hasn't been on a date since Graham, three years ago. That had ended awkwardly enough to put her off of dating for a while. She had her ten year old to think about anyway.
After an hour of tossing and turning, not being able to get those blue eyes and damn dimples out of her mind, Regina finally rolls onto her side and grabs her phone. Unlocking her screen, she clicks on the number associated with the contact name "Robin Thief Locksley" she had stored in her phone as soon as she got home earlier tonight.
Clicking on the message bubble and grinning, Regina begins typing "How does Copeland's at 7 o'clock on Saturday sound?"
Nervously hitting send, Regina smiles to herself.
She's actually happy this man had the nerve to jump in front of her in line at the supermarket.
Sounds wonderful, Regina Mills. Where shall I pick you up at?
Scratch that. She's very glad he jumped in front of her.