Chapter 2

A blast of cold wind blew down the street as Ava stepped out into the cold night air, burrowing deeper into the old denim jacket that had seen better days, wishing she had picked up something warmer on her way out this morning. Ava pulled the front door of the shop closed, securing the locks before turning to head down the street. Dave had left for Chicago yesterday morning, leaving Ava alone to deal with the shop which she had done before but never for such a length of time. She couldn't help the feeling of pride that Dave's confidence and trust in her, gave her. The dark sky rumbled above her head causing her to give it a brief look before hurrying her pace towards the small grocery shop that was around the corner for the music store.

The night lit up brightly as lightening flashed in the sky and Ava practically ran the last few feet past the flower store. The store was dark and closed up for the night, like most stores at nine at night. But usually, when she didn't work the afternoon shift at the store, the small florist was where she regularly bought the brightly coloured Gerberas that decorated her house. Another clap of thunder filled the air and Ava tried not to flinch as she crossed over the threshold of the grocers, it was opened later then most store, like Dave's music store, to cater to the College student's schedules. It was not unusual for the kids to rock up at eleven at night looking munchies, after a late night 'session'. The reason Ava shopped here was because it had been the first store she had come to looking for work after she had arrived in Michigan. And while they hadn't had any openings the owner Mrs Johnson and her son, Teddy, who was Dave's childhood best friend, had sent her in Dave's direction. Which was why she didn't mind the little extra they charged and plus it meant she could do her shopping when she wanted.

She exchanged a small smile with the bored looking woman behind the counter, grabbed a red shopping basket and headed for the back of the store. She was way overdue on her shopping, in fact the only thing left in her fridge was Chinese left over from last night and it was what she was planning having for dinner tonight. A particularly loud round of thunder sounded outside the small shop and Ava shivered, she hated storms. She paused, that wasn't exactly true, she liked storms but she hated being alone in them, they made her scared. Moving down the isles she grabbed the basic and anything that resembled comfort food, which she would take to bed with her, when she went to hide under the covers. Pulling open the freezer Ava reached up to grab the last tub of chocolate, chocolate chip ice cream, cursing when she realized the carton was further back then her small height would allow her to reach.

"Fancy meeting you here…" a deep voice from behind her as a warm body pressed against her back and masculine hand joined hers before wrapping around the ice cream she had been reaching for, lifting it off the high shelf and bringing it down to place it in her hands. Ava shivered, and not from fright this time, and she turned around to thank her knight in shining armour only for her words to catch in her throat. He was absolutely soaked from head to toe and underneath the open jacket his army green cotton shirt clung to his chest like a second skin, showing off the muscles she knew were there, reminded her of the first night they had met. And as she became conscious of the fact that she was still trapped between him and the freezer, his arms on either side of her, Ava remembered the urges she had had that night too. Her eyes locked on his soft looking lips and she had to lick her own suddenly dry ones. She imagined him stepping forward, breaching the few inches between them, his hands coming up to cup her face as he lowered his face ready to take her mouth for his own.

She felt the heat blossom in her cheeks and knew she was blushing and she wished she could hide her face from his gaze as he tilted his head, looking at her curiously. Kyle smiled and she had a very sneaking suspicion she had been busted. "Hey…" Ava said shyly, tucking her hair behind her ears. Kyle's grin got larger and then he shivered "It's freezing in here!" He exclaimed and Ava giggled, "Yeah, open freezer…" She said grinning; nodding to the open door she was still standing in. Stepping back Kyle plucked the basket, half full with food from her arms, placing the ice cream into it as well. She couldn't decide if the space he had coincidently put between them by stepping back made her relieved or disappointed. Moving out of the open doorway, Ava closed the freezer door, turning back to Kyle who was staring at her, with a small smile on his face like he was almost watching in awe. As soon as she thought it Ava quickly dismissed the crazy idea, no one would ever look at her with awe. She quietly cleared her throat, seemingly breaking whatever thoughts Kyle had been thinking while looking at her.

"So, what do we need next?" Kyle asked his grin widening when Ava blinked at him owlishly as he tucked her shopping basket into the crook of his arm, wordlessly telling her he was going to help her do her shopping. Biting her lip Ava looked at him curiously, she was shy but she had also grown up with Lonnie and Rath, so she had learned to hold her own. She had to wonder what it was that made Kyle so different from all the other men who had tried to catch her attention and failed. She had a secret, one that meant she couldn't really trust anyone but there was just something inside her that when she looked at him, made it impossible for her to tell him to leave her alone. He grinned at her again and Ava was sure that any minute now she would melt into a puddle at his feet.

"Uh, I guess down that way since I need to grab some cheese," Ava said softly as she reminded herself to breathe.

"Cheese…and Ice Cream?" He asked dubiously but the twinkle of mischief in his eyes made Ava blush and her heart pound in her chest, even as she poked out her tongue at him.

"I'm overdue on my shopping…I've been busy" She said with a grimace and Kyle chuckled, nodding as he turned down the aisle to where she had pointed. But what made Ava pause was the way Kyle put his elbow out, indicating that she should take it. Before her mind could stop her, her arm wrapped around Kyle's proffered limb. Ducking her head, Ava let her blonde hair cover her face from Kyle's inquisitive gaze, trying to shield the blush she knew was brightening her cheeks. It helped that she was about a foot shorter then him but she could still his warm look caressing over her face. Almost as if it was actually his hand on her face and it served only to make her blush deepen.

***

Finally they approached the check out, Ava's basket now almost over filled with her normal items, plus a few things Kyle had insisted that she couldn't go with out. It had taken them nearly twice the time it would have taken her to do it on her own but Ava was sure she'd never had so much fun shopping before. Normally she was an in and out shopper, only grabbing what she needed and getting out as quickly as possible. Crowds always made her feel a little bit nervous and claustrophobic but tonight had been different, with Kyle by her side, making her laugh and completely forget where she was. Not that the grocery store was in anyway a packed crowd at this time of night, or any of time really but she still didn't like to hang around much.

Kyle placed the basket up on the counter, stepping back as Ava stepped in front of him to pull the shopping out for the clerk behind the desk to scan into the cash registrar. Kyle took the opportunity to watch Ava quietly as she paid for the items that had been placed into four plastic bags, now taking the place of shopping basket. He had never really met anyone like her before; she was so bold, with her piercings and coloured hair and yet she was also shy, blushing when he talked to her. Growing up in Roswell, the small town that it is hadn't given him a great spectrum of girls to know. Most divided into two categories, the smart, good girls like his ex Liz Parker and the girls like Pam Macy, who were most definitely not good girls. Well, there was Maria, his step sister, who was a kook but she didn't count because there was no one like Maria.

A clap of thunder boomed over their heads and Kyle watched curiously as Ava jumped about a foot in the air before turning and giving him a sheepish smile. He could hear the rain pouring down outside and from what he could see through the glass doors of the shop it was blowing a gale out there. Stepping forward, Kyle sandwiched Ava between him and the counter as his arms encircled her, reaching up to pull the bags off the counter.

Though it only last a second, Ava felt like her whole world was moving in slow motion as she felt Kyle's arms around her. His warm breath made her skin tingle where it brushed over the bare space between the collar of her jacket and her long hair fell. In her chest, Ava's heart pounded so loud she was sure he would hear it as she turned around to face him. Raising her eyebrow in question, she looked down at the shopping bags.

"It's pouring down out there and these are heavy…I want to make sure you get home ok," Kyle said and Ava's insides shivered at the concerned in his eyes as he stared at her. She swallowed, no one had ever looked at her like that, no one had ever cared as much as Ava, in that moment could tell Kyle did. Rationally, she knew it was a bad idea to let him go home with her, nothing good could from him following her, she had a secret that made it impossible to let anyone close but the way he made her feel, so safe, so protected, it all fogged Ava's brain and before she could stop herself she found the words tumbling from her mouth.

"Ok, but give me some of those bags…" She said with a soft smile. Another rumble of thunder was heard through out the store and Ava tensed, her eyes closing tightly as tried to ignore the sound.

With her eyes closed, Ava didn't see Kyle move till he was pressed against her once more, her hands moving up to grip his shirt of their own volition. The warm scent of Kyle filled her senses and made her forget for a moment about the storm raging outside. It was soft and warm but still manly and she had the most intense urge bury her face against Kyle's chest and rub her cheek against the soft fabric that filled her hands.

"Are you ok?" Kyle asked his voice barely above a whisper and was said so close to her ear that his breath tickled the shell of her ear. Ava nodded and she let her eyes finally open. A tingle run up her spine when she realised how close they were now standing, if she moved her head up and a little to the left Ava would able to press her lips against Kyle's.

Kyle's concerned look turned quizzical and Ava realised she was once again blushing. Cursing her biology, Ava reached her hands out intend on grabbing some of the shopping bags so she could try and take the attention away from her scaredy cat behaviour. Kyle stepped back, pulling the bags away from her grasp and Ava's brows furrowed in confusion.

"Are you implying that I am not man enough to carry these bags on my own?" Kyle playfully gasped, indignant. "Cause that would hurt my manly ego…" Ava snorted softly as she began to laugh, Kyle pouted, making her laugh harder.

"Just hand the bags over…" She said poking her tongue out quickly at Kyle before reaching out again to grab two of the bags out of his hands. Kyle laughed and gestured towards the door that lead out to the raging storm. "Ready to brave the storm?"

TBC.