Chapter 200

Chapter 200
Mattie:
I pulled out my phone and opened the group chat my cousins and I shared; It always made me laugh when I read the name Cas choose for our text thread: the fun in dysfunctional. 

I typed: Do sprinkles change the donut flavor? 

My cousins replied almost immediately: 

Lux: You should be to work by now, not getting donuts. 
Cas: yes, yes they do. Go for rainbow. taste the rainbow gif

I snorted, thumbs flying over the screen to find a dining donut gif. I glanced back at the glass case. 

“Maple bar or rainbow sprinkle?” I asked out loud, bouncing my finger in the air between the two competing donuts. “Sprinkles or no sprinkles?”

“If a donut doesn’t have sprinkles is it even a dough—“ A deep male voice, warmed with humor, draws my attention away from the sprinkle debate. I looked up, brows furrowing at the man standing a few feet away. His steps halted like he’d long forgotten how to walk, and his stubbled jaw goes slack. His ocean blue eyes locked with mine. My forehead scrunches when he makes a squeaking noise, like he is trying to speak but only a tiny amount of sound snuck through. 

“Depends.” I retort, my heart beat sped up, “Do you consider glazed or powdered donuts, donuts?”

His eyebrow lifted just a fraction, the curve of it laced with quiet amusement. With that one simple change my soul felt like it was floating in the wave pool my mother used to sneak us into, my head just barely remaining above the undercurrents and the mass of human bodies piling up around me. Recognition sparked in both our eyes and my heart thumped so loud I swear the girl behind the counter could hear it. It was the guy from the club. I hadn’t seen his face before but I knew his voice. Wolfie surfaced instantly and it was like I was looking at a long lost friend—a piece of my soul coming home to rest in my heart. The sensation was terrifying. 

“It’s you.” The man whispered, eyes wide, and that velvety voice was rough with disbelief. No. Nope. Nope. No way. not going to happen. Abort mission. Abandon ship. Turn away from the iceberg already! 

My thoughts must have been plastered on my face because the man’s lips split into a shiny half grin that looked easy-going but immediately gave me the ick. That was the kind of smile that made panties drop and I wanted my panties to firmly stay put. His smile widened, “Hey—“

“Not today, Satan. Not today!” I nearly yelled, shaking one open palm up in the air in a stop gesture and grabbed the first donut my fingers touched before I sped-walked for the check out. 

“James, actually, not Satan.” The man’s footsteps were quick behind mine. “Actually, I guess it would depend on who you ask.” 

Wolfie’s whimpers echoed so loud in my head that one tumbled out of my lips. His steps paused for a breath, confirming he heard that embarrassing sound. Fuck, I really wish that hadn’t happened. I sunk my teeth deep into my lip to prevent anything else Wolfie was doing from escaping. 

“Hey, I’m sorry if I scared you the other night. I just— shit!” He yelped.

I had turned the corner of the aisle so sharply James collided full-body into a towering display of neon-colored energy drinks. The cardboard groaned under the impact before giving out entirely in a landslide of cans. Any other time I’d stop to help clean up, but I didn’t even hesitate to keep moving. This man was bad news. He was tied to my curse, had that crazy hot player vibe going on and I wanted nothing to do with him. 

Slapping a crumpled twenty on the counter, I gave the cashier an apologetic smile even though I wasn’t the one who knocked it over. The girl behind the counter was someone I recognized from high school however her name escaped me. She chewed her gum loudly with her back molars as her eyes bounced with annoyance between me and James, clearly unimpressed. 

“Really, Mattie?” She said, dragging my name out like a sigh. 

“Keep the change.” I shrugged, already backing away, not wanting to wait a moment longer for that man to catch up to me.  

“Wait! I just—“ Crash! The cashier and I both looked toward James. The sound of sliding and scraping metal on the tiled floor signaled his clumsy attempt to follow me. I stifled a laugh at his failed balancing act and bolted for the exit. When I glanced at my hand holding my donut I growled in annoyance. Powdered sugar? Out of that full display case I grabbed my least liked one. With my heart racing, the subpar donut in hand, and an entire caffeine avalanche covering for me I was more certain than ever that I needed to stay far away from that man.