The Shelby Forest Food Mart wasn’t usually this busy on a Thursday evening. Hurried shoppers navigated their carts through the narrow aisles while older ladies stopped to catch up on gossip, blocking the way and testing the patience of the others around them. It was the day before Christmas and everyone seemed to be stopping in for last minute items and forgotten ingredients. The little store had three registers, only one of which was open and the woman behind the counter would have given anything to be sitting at home watching DVDs instead of scanning cans of green beans and two liters of soda. The only thing sustaining her was the thought of the holiday weekend ahead, three days without work and time to catch up on some much needed sleep. She just had to make it through this ridiculously long line of people and the next two hours.

 

“Lucy?”

 

When she looked up from the pack of butter she’d just slid over the scanner, she couldn’t help the fact that her mouth had popped open in surprise. A slow smile was pulling over the man’s handsome face, the smugness of it making her cheeks flush. Of all the places she could have run into her ex it had to be when she was bagging groceries at the Food Mart.

 

“Justin… hey,” she said, hoping her voice contained some modicum of enthusiasm as she snatched at his other items, running them over the scanner quickly.

 

“How’re you doin’?” he questioned and she could feel his eyes crawling over her in that way they had since they were both thirteen years old.

 

“Oh you know…” she chuckles, setting three apples on the scanner and weighing them. “Good.”

 

“Still seeing Derek?”

 

His voice clicked hard on the consonants of the name and Lucy felt her back straighten, her hands pausing in their task of bagging his items as she looked up at him. He was doing his best not to look self-satisfied which only proved he’d known the answer to his question before he’d asked it.

 

“Nah,” Lucy replied with an indifferent shrug. “Fizzled out.” She handed over one of his bags and his amused chuckle made her add. “Apparently I have a propensity for dating assholes. Your total is seven-fifty-nine”

 

She gave him a wry smile when he narrowed his eyes at her, fishing his wallet out of his back pocket and heaving an annoyed sigh as he plucked out a twenty.

 

“I thought you were working for Brenda in Memphis,” he questioned as he offered her the bill and it was her turn to sigh, snatching it from him as he took the bag from her.

 

“I am,” was her simple reply as she made change out of the register. He was looking at her blankly when she turned her attention back to him, offering his change. When he didn’t take it she unwillingly added, “I work here nights and weekends.”

 

That smug smile was back and Lucy could feel her jaw clench. “Oh really?”

 

“Yeah really,” she replied sarcastically, still trying to hand him his change. “Not all of us can make a million dollars ripping off cartoon voices.”

 

His neck jerked back and he blinked at her, his jaw setting tight at the insult but ever graceful he managed to recover and just smile, leaning over the counter in conference. “Actually I only banked seventy-five grand for that. Even less on the Fincher film. But then again you can’t really buy Oscar buzz so I guess it all evens out.” He let his eyes travel down to the green smock she wore over her faded plaid button up. “For some of us.” Lucy’s mouth popped open, outrage and shame burning through her veins as he turned from her. “Oh you can keep the change.” He called casually over his shoulder. “You need it more than I do.”

 

Lucy could only watch in abject humiliation as he swaggered his way out of the store, grocery bag swinging casually, his change burning a hole in the palm of her hand.

 

***

 

The residents at Stonegate Apartments didn’t seem to care much for Christmas. There were no holiday wreaths on the doors, no Christmas lights adorning the patios. Lucy often found herself jealous as she drove past other apartment complexes seeing garland wrapped around light poles or twinkling lights adorning their signs. She was the only resident in her building that had put up her own outside decorations, borrowing a ladder from maintenance to hang her twinkle lights on her patio and applying frosted snow to her window panes.

 

She’d loved Christmas since she was a child but this year she’d outdone herself, splurging on a live tree, hanging stockings, and fashioning a makeshift centerpiece for her small dining room table out of candy canes and fake poinsettias. As the days had passed it was beginning to hold more flowers than candy canes, Lucy adjusting the flowers to cover the bald spots as she’d pluck a candy from the bouquet. She was just sticking the end in her mouth when she’d heard a knock at her door, her brows furrowing as she wondered who would be calling on her on Christmas Eve.

 

Her mouth dropped open and she had to catch the candy cane from falling to the floor when she saw Justin standing in her doorway, looking unsure as if he were going to turn and run at any moment. But upon seeing her, a slow smirk pulled at his lips.

 

“Nice hat,” he said with a chuckle, and Lucy’s eyes rolled upward, seeing the small bit of white fluff that ringed the red felt hat she’d worn for the occasion

 

“What are you doing here?” she snapped back, ripping the Santa hat off her head as she stuck the candy cane back in her mouth, regarding him with narrowed eyes.

 

“Nice to see you too. Can I come in?”

 

Lucy waited a beat, debating before stepping aside and allowing him entry. She shut the door behind him, listening to him bluster bunching and unbunching his shoulders in an attempt to warm up.

 

“Look, I won’t be long I’m sure you gotta get to your parents’-” he began but she cut him off, brushing past him.

 

“Parents are on a cruise,” she replied tossing the hat on the couch before slipping around the half-wall into the galley kitchen.

 

“You’re by yourself?” he asked and she’d looked up to find his brow knitted in concern and she felt herself bristle.

 

“Yeah,” she answered shortly. “What do you need?”

 

“I just…” he trailed, looking around, taking in her oversized furniture and bare walls, his eyes falling on the doorway to her bedroom. He blinked slowly. “There’s a tree in your bedroom.”

 

“I know,” was her reply and he glanced over at her, the candy cane still stuck in her mouth, her head down as she chopped radishes into matchsticks.

 

“Its just… a pine tree,” Justin said confused as he looked at it. “In your bedroom.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“You didn’t decorate it?”

 

“It’s got lights,” she replied testily setting her knife down with a clatter to stomp into the bedroom and shove the plug into the wall, illuminating the dark room in a white glow. “I didn’t have any ornaments,” she grumbled as she pushed back past him into the kitchen, her shoulder bumping his chest. “Why are you here?”

 

“I just wanted to apologize,” he said with a sigh and she rolled her eyes, resuming her chopping. “I was an asshole.”

 

“I know,” she said, then looking up with a sardonic smirk added. “We dated remember?”

 

He returned with a wry smile. “Why do you have to be such a bitch to me? You’ve been this way ever since we were kids.”

 

“Why change now?” she questioned, moving the candy cane to the other side of her mouth and he simply watched her for a moment, eyes crawling over her before stepping into the kitchen next to her.

 

“What are you making?” he asked, watching her make quick work of the radishes, her hands skilled.

 

“Red Radish Salad with Truffle Oil,” she replied, glancing over at him and jumping as he reached over to snatch the candy cane out of her mouth and shove it in his own.

 

“Tha’s all ‘ou’re ‘aving ‘or ‘ristmas ‘inner?” he questioned as his tongue wrestled the candy cane over to one side of his mouth. “Some chef you are.”

 

“No, I’ve got Cornish hens in the oven,” she answered before setting her knife back down and snatching the candy cane back out of his mouth. “You’ve apologized. I guess I accept. You can go now.”

 

“Come on Luce don’t be this way,” he begged, following her back out into the living room, grabbing her arm before she could reach the door. “I said I was sorry.”

 

“And I said I accepted. You can go.”

 

“It’s Christmas I’m not gonna let you sit here by yourself,” he said matter of factly, snatching the candy cane back from her and sticking it in his mouth again. “Plus you haven’t cooked for me in awhile.”

 

Lucy watched him flabbergasted as he flopped down unceremoniously on her couch, reaching for the remote and flicking on her TV.

 

“What about your mother?” she asked and he barely glanced up at her, navigating through channel after channel of static.

 

“I’m a grown ass man. I do as I please. Plus it’s I told her I was coming here. What’s wrong with your TV?” he asked, frowning at the snowy screen.

 

“I don’t have cable,” Lucy snapped, snatching the remote from him, clicking the TV off and Justin looked up at her, his eyes questioning. She bristled, turning away. “You know you look like Mr. Magoo with the shaved head and those stupid glasses.”

 

He frowned at her, his bottom lip protruding in a pout as he looked at his reflection in the dark television screen. “Yeah well you looked like Santa’s Little Whore with the hat and that candy cane hanging out of your mouth. It’s fucking December maybe you should put some clothes on.”

 

“I get hot when I cook,” Lucy exclaimed from back in the kitchen, adjusting the strap on her camisole and remembering she wasn’t wearing a bra.

 

“Yeah your headlights say otherwise,” he replied, reaching for her hat and tugging it onto his head. “Nice tits by the way.”

 

“You’re such a dick,” was her reply, stomping back into her bedroom and he could only chuckle.

“Oh come back I’ve seen em before,” he hollered, grinning at her as she glared at him when she walked back out pulling a sweatshirt over her head. “And I’ll probably see em again.”

 

“You and I are so over,” Lucy snapped back, resuming her work at the cutting board and Justin let his head tip back, low laughter bubbling from his chest.

 

“You say that every time.”

 

“And I mean it every time,” Lucy replies firmly, jabbing her knife at him for emphasis but he merely smirked at her, rolling the candy cane from side to side in his mouth and she did her best to ignore his stare.

 

He pulled himself up then, toeing his shoes off as he padded over, Lucy watching his movement from the corner of her eye as she continued her work on her dinner. She rolled her eyes as he slid in behind her, placing his hands on her biceps as he tucked his chin over her shoulder.

 

“You and I were good together,” he said softly, pressing his scruffy cheek to hers and she snorted, rolling her shoulder in an attempt to brush him off but he only proceeded to slip his arms around her waist, hugging her back against his chest. “We were.”

 

“Justin we’ve been over this countless times,” Lucy said with an annoyed sigh. “I’m too jealous and you’re too independent. And we live on opposite sides of the country.”

 

He pulled the candy cane from his mouth and let it drop in the sink. “Did I mention I was in the market for a personal chef?” he questioned, turning his nose into her hair and nuzzling her ear. She tried to brush him off again but he only held her tighter, letting his voice vibrate in his chest as he breathed against her ear. “I’ve missed you.”

 

“Justin,” she whined, drawing out the vowels in his name as she tried to wiggle from his grasp.

 

He growled pressing his lips to her exposed shoulder. “I missed that too.”

 

Lucy turned her head to glare at him, fully prepared to give him a verbal lashing but before she could open her mouth his lips were pressed to hers and all the good things came flooding back just like they always did when he kissed her. His hands were sliding from her hips to her stomach, searching for the hem of her sweatshirt and slipping underneath, his large hands warm through the thin cotton of her camisole.

 

His tongue nudged past her lips, slipping inside and tasting her like no one had since the last time he’d kissed her. And that, she guessed, was why she kept coming back, or in this case letting him come back. No one could love her like Justin could and they would fuck and fight then fuck some more. She didn’t know how long it would last this time but at the moment she couldn’t be compelled to care.

 

She turned in his arms, her lips leaving his long enough to smudge his jaw before capturing his mouth again, sucking his bottom lip slowly in that way she knew he loved. His chest vibrated with a moan that she swallowed, letting her tongue part his lips to mingle with his. She could feel him pressing her into the counter, his body trapping hers as if she would try and get away from him but he knew she was his again the moment their lips had touched.

 

Her hands were crawling up his back, grabbing handfuls of his shirt as they climbed to grip the back of his neck, forcing his mouth harder against hers. His hands worked their way under her sweatshirt again, fumbling at the hem of her camisole, searching for her skin.

 

It was practiced, the cautious steps they took, bodies sliding against one another as she backed him into her bedroom. It was easy and familiar, the way his lips slid down her throat as her hands came between them to undo his belt. They peeled their clothes off each other as if on autopilot, as if their bodies knew what they wanted and they were both perilous to stop it from happening. Not that either of them wanted it to stop.

 

No words were needed as he laid her back on cool sheets, the lights from the tree making his skin glow golden. His mouth bumped hers affectionately as she drew her knees back, allowing him to settle between her thighs, not really a kiss, not really a nuzzle. It was just something he’d always done and she returned the gesture as her arms slipped under his, curling to grip his shoulders and pull him close.

 

He reached between them, guiding himself to her entrance and they swallowed each others sigh of contentment as his body filled hers, his forehead resting against her collarbone as her nose pressed against his ear. When her lips puckered against his skin, kissing the spot beneath his ear that raised goose bumps on his skin he knew it was his permission to move. He pressed his palms against the mattress on either side of her shoulders, lips brushing her collarbone before seeking her lips as his hips rolled against hers. She groaned deep in her throat, eyelids fluttering as dull waves of pleasure spread through her body making her brain go fuzzy as she stared at him from under heavy lids.

 

He studied her face, watching her eyes focus and unfocus as he worked in and out of her wet heat. Sex with Lucy was like nothing else he’d ever experienced. She had this ability to lose herself in him but he knew she was in the moment with him at the same time. They were together, feeling the same thing and running at the same pace and he never had to worry about what she was thinking because...

 

“Harder.”

 

…she always told him. He smiled pressing his lips to hers as pushed his hips harder against hers. She let her head tip back, arching her chest into him, the soft smattering of hair tickling against her nipples as he worked her slow and deep just the way she liked it.

 

She didn’t know why he kept coming back. There were women out there who were prettier, smarter, probably better in bed, but for some reason there he was, his hands working between her back and the mattress to pull her closer, his breath panting hard against her neck. She didn’t question his motives. Never had, just let him take her, love her and even though she always tried to put up a fight she loved him for it.

 

“God Luce,” he groaned, deep from his chest, his head heavy on her collarbone, his back tensing and releasing as his hips bumped against hers.

 

She hummed in response, pressing her lips to the side of his face, tongue reaching to trace the shell of his ear, eliciting a full body shiver from him and he tugged her closer, nails curling against her back, knuckles pressing into the mattress beneath her.

 

“Just a little more,” she whispered, her breath hitching on every other word, her thighs beginning to tremble as sparks began to curl in her toes and her stomach quivering and dropping out.

 

He groaned low, pressing his face hard into her neck for control, concentrating on anything but the feel of her nails dragging across his shoulder blades as her hips pressed down into the mattress, feeling him from a new angle. Her back arched then, a sharp cry pulling from her lips before her breath stole and her eyes rolled back into her head.

 

His breath was panting hard as he tugged one hand from beneath her, reaching for her jaw to steady her quaking body, her back jerking with the final throes of her orgasm as his was finishing it’s build. He was almost there, finger tips digging into her cheeks, her eyes fluttering open to find his pupils ringed in sapphire, begging for her without words.

 

She grabbed handfuls of his flesh, nails digging into his shoulder blades and pulling him close as his forehead dropped to hers, his breath panting against her lips as he looked down between their bodies, the visual of him entering and leaving her all he needed. His eye snapped shut, jaw dropping in a silent scream as his hands scrambled to hold her, one slipping back under her shoulders while the other cradled her head, crushing her to him as he spilled into her, his body trembling and tensing, sucking in air the best he could before his lungs shoved it back out again.

 

She pressed her cheek hard against him, holding him tightly as he came down, giving one last hard shiver before his body relaxed against hers. She didn’t let go knowing that, even though he would never admit it, this was his favorite part, the quiet moment when his body was still tingling and his head was just starting to clear, when he was vulnerable and just needed someone to hold onto him so he didn’t lose himself. It was her favorite part too.

 

He pressed a kiss to the roundest part of her shoulder, pausing before pressing another to her collarbone then to her throat and finally to her lips, nuzzling his nose against hers as he heaved a content sigh.

 

His eyes opened to find her looking back at him, her face contemplative and he just smiled like he always did shaking his head, silently telling her to just go with it. She rolled her eyes at him, before giving his shoulders a get-the-hell-off-me nudge which he laughed at.

 

“You’re not gonna burn my dinner are you?” he asked sliding so that he rested on his hip next to her, his hand settling on her stomach as she wiggled to get comfortable.

 

“I like how you invite yourself over for dinner,” she retorted, looking over at him while trying not to grin and she found his eyes lingering on her chest before his gaze met hers.

 

He smirked. “Told you I’d see em again.”

 

She scoffed, tugging the pillow from beneath her head to hit him with it. “You’re such an asshole.”

 

“Fuck you, you love me,” he teased, snatching the pillow and tossing it aside, grabbing for her hips when she tried to leave the bed. “You knew I’d be back,” he added softly, tucking his chin over her shoulder as he held her back against his chest. “And wanting food.”

 

Lucy giggled despite herself, relaxing back against him her hands covering his forearms, feeling his skin against hers. She didn’t know how long it would last this time and to be honest she didn’t really care and somewhere deep down she didn’t think he did either. They’d fight and then fuck and then fight some more but together or apart they’d always love each other.

 

“Hey…” he said softly, clearing his throat and she could feel his body tense just a little, his cheek rubbing against hers. “You know if you need help… if you ever need anything you can come to me right?”

 

Lucy stiffened, feeling her face burn, trying to wiggle free of his arms but he held her tight, forcing her to be still. “That’s not nec-”

 

“Even if we’re not together,” he interrupted and then to cut the tension, “even if the last words I said to you were ‘fuck you I don’t know why I bother.’”

 

“I believe those were my last words to you,” she replied, craning her neck so she could see him and he grinned.

 

“See, I didn’t take it personal,” he teases and she laughs shaking her head. “But seriously…” he begins again, giving her a gentle squeeze. “I love you. I’ll always take care of you if you need me to.”

 

“I don’t need you too.”

“Which is why I’m offering,” he replied with a finality that suggested the subject was closed and Lucy didn’t try to argue further.

 

 “Your mom’s gonna wonder where you are,” she said after a moment, absently trailing her fingers down his forearm and running her palms down over the back of his hands.

 

His fingers caught hers, curling between hers so that their hands were intertwined, fingers tangled together as he whispered. “It’s fine.” He smiled against her cheek as he added. “She knows I’m with you.”