Once the spreadsheet has been emailed to each of us, we finally stand to leave.I’m so exhausted I could probably sleep here in the flimsy folding chair.None of us live too far, Atlas being the farthest.Caleb will drive him and Adrian home before heading to his own house.As much as Caleb insists that he lives with Adrian since the accident, Adrian shut that down in the hospital the second he could speak for himself.
I push through the back door eager to get my ass on my Harley and back home.A flash under the streetlight catches my eye, and there, under the flickering glow, stands a woman.I would’ve noticed her had she been there before.She’s like mist, a mere silhouette amidst the enigmatic play of light and shadow.She’s standing so still, my own personal hallucination.Her features are veiled in the night, making her out of place presence seem normal at this hour.So much a part of the dark she should be invisible.She isn’t.
My feet start toward her of their own free will, but my brain quickly catches up realizing that I have to see what her face looks like.It’s freezing, but my palms are sweating.Who is this woman?I can’t even see her face, but the thought of approaching her knocks the wind out of me.I’m never affected like this.Ever.No man or woman has ever made me gut-punched.
I step off the curb and slow my pace.If I run, like I want to, she’ll scream and that doesn’t work in my favor one bit.A car pulls up and I pick up my pace.She’s opening the passenger door and I want to yell and stop her, but what would I say?Hey you?
I don’t know her name.I never got a look at her face.But I know I’ll spend nights imagining both.
Two more breaths and she’s gone, disappearing into the night and leaving me no way to find her.She didn’t even really look at me.But something lived in the space between us.Recognition.Fate, if I believed in that kind of shit.
I can’t breathe right.I’d carve her name into my chest if I knew it.That’s how much it’s pressing on me.The aching need to know her.
By the time I’m home, showered, changed, and laid out on my bed, I’ve found a second wind.I should be passed the fuck out, but I can’t stop thinking about the woman under the streetlight.The burner pings on my nightstand, and I reach for it, hoping to God it’s not a job.
Unknown:
I never heard from you, so I wanted to make sure you saw that I’m not coming.
Well, shit.Whoever this is doesn’t want some other asshat sitting at a restaurant waiting for them.I hate waiting on people.Adrian is going to murder me for what I’m about to do.He could order me to murder myself… there’s a thought.
You have the wrong number.
Unknown:
Oh, no.You’re right.I was off by one digit.I apologize.
Off by one digit.
I apologize.
Who the fuck is this, a librarian?
Are you a librarian?
Unknown:
Close.An editor.
An editor.Interesting.
My brothers read all kinds of books, Adrian and Caleb about computers.Atlas likes mysteries, probably because he can solve them before the end.I read everything I can get my hands on.I love to time travel, fight old wars, visit futures that will never arrive.I love to escape, to disappear into someone who doesn’t extinguish the light in this world.
I don’t talk about it with anyone, reading.My brothers would laugh their asses off if they knew I liked books.To them, I’m the muscle, and I always have been.I doubt any of them think there’s much substance to me.
What’s your favorite book, editor?
I don’t know why I keep answering.The person knows that they need to contact someone else about their dinner.I blame my second wind and boredom.I don’t have friends.I don’t talk to anyone except my brothers and the guys who attend our monthly poker game.This is the first interesting thing that’s happened to me in years and that’s pathetic.
Unknown:
I don’t know that I could choose.Do I know you?
Do you need to?
Unknown:
I’ve never found myself in the position of texting a stranger.
