The Romance Writers Weekly blog hop this week is a Flash Fiction Challenge: In 500 words or less using the words trapeze, oranges and sidewalk by Leslie Hachtel.

Apples and Oranges

The sidewalks all but rolled up in Maple on Sundays. Townies fled to

nearby Talbot for a movie, fast food or fine dining. Liz fumbled through the grocery’s pyramid of apples as the object of her crush bagged a few navel oranges. The few times she’d seen Mr. New Guy, he shopped alone in Snopes.

The tiny grocery, true to its name as gossip central, had somehow managed a CafeOLatte franchise. Since Mr. New Guy had paid for her Mocha Latte the time she’d forgotten her wallet, Liza had begun to schedule her lunch time walks to coincide with his afternoon coffee addiction.

Liz glanced his way again.

What possessed a seemingly single man to move from a metropolis to a one stoplight town? Locals had surmised he’d been fired from his position at a big law firm and decided to take on the nickel and dime lawless type of Maple.  Even on business days, he didn’t dress like a lawyer, wearing jeans and a flannel shirt, like today. He filled them like a rugged cowboy. “How are you liking Maple?” she asked.

He spun the produce bag close, sending the citrus into a blur of orange. “I grew up in a place like this. It’s more my speed. In Chicago, I felt like I was on a trapeze, trying to catch one slippery bad guy after another.”

“So rumors the rumors are true, you were a prosecutor.” She smiled.  “I’m Liz. Thanks again for covering my coffee the other day.  May I return the favor?”

“Matt.” His hazel eyes brightened as he extended his hand.  “Thanks, I developed an addiction to the stuff while working late nights on cases.”

She enjoyed his firm grip and imagined how a massage from him might feel. It’d been three years since a man’s touch had made her tingle. “There’s not too many hard core cases to keep you up around here. You might need to find a new evening pastime to enjoy with your addition.”

He arched a brow. “Is that an invitation, Liz?”

Liz felt her cheeks burn. “I always try to be neighborly.”

“What’s there to do here in the evenings?” He gave her a quizzical look.

“Not much.” She laughed while selecting her finally apple. “I usually walk the dog. It gets me outside after cooking for the town’s bed and breakfast. By the way, I’ve been told I make a scrumptious apple pie.”

“Apply is my absolute favorite and my Lab would probably love for me to take him for an evening stroll.”

Her stomach fluttered at his wink. “Great, now let’s get you that coffee, I have a pie to bake.”

Continue on the hop with Brenda Margriet’s flash fiction.