Three more minutes before I need to be walking out the door. I might actually make it on time!
With toothpaste globbed onto my toothbrush, I brush while scanning my bedroom floor for shoes. I spot my combat boots and clumsily step into them.
Hurrying back to the bathroom to spit, I lean forward in the mirror and notice the white smear of toothpaste that dripped onto my shirt.
“Fuh!”
After rinsing my mouth, I dash to the bedroom, swap shirts, and haul ass through the house, throwing open the back doorand grabbing my purse off the table on the way out. I’m only a minute behind when I back out of the driveway. Amazing.
Sadly, I missed my opportunity to make coffee this morning, but at least I won’t be late.
Halfway down the road, I turn down the radio when I hear a funny clanking sound from the car.What now?
I groan.
What, is everything in my life going on fucking strike? Relationships, vibrators, and as of this recent development, my car. Something is in retrograde.
I miss Logan. Normally, I would text him I was running behind, and he’d have a few words to chill me out and a fresh coffee waiting for me when I arrived. However, that won’t be today. I’m going through a cleanse, taking a break from men—or at least, attractive, emotionally unavailable men.
Another light turns red. It’s starting to feel less like a drive to work and more like a scenic tour of every intersection in the fucking city. I pull out my phone and quickly shoot off a text to Thor.
Hey, are you at the studio? I’m running behind. So sorry.
Hawthorne
Nah, I swapped with Casper, he’s opening. Who cares anyway, you don’t have a client until 11:30.
11:30? I thought it was 11!
Now, I’m remembering, I think he’s right. I was so distracted yesterday, Frankie was telling me something before I left and I totally spaced. Why does my life feel like such a mess?
Hawthorne
Schedule says 11:30. Casper can double check. Or Logan, he’s probably there already.
That’s because he practically lives at the studio.
Doesn’t matter now, looks like karma has decided to bless me with coffee after all! I should have probably saved that money to go toward the car fund in case it’s extra fucked, but I really could use a pick-me-up. Self-care matters.
After swinging through the drive-thru for an iced Americano, I flip on the radio to sing the rest of the way to work. No need to hurry if it’s just Casper and me . . . and probably Logan, but he usually stays in his office in the mornings.
I pull into the parking lot behind the shop in a spot next to Casper. Doesn’t look like Logan has arrived yet; he must be having a morning too. I grab my coffee and bag and climb out of my car, locking it up and heading for the rear employee entrance.
Inside, I make my way through the shop, nodding to Casper as I pass by the sterilization room. “Morning.”
“Hey,” he calls over his shoulder.
I set down my coffee and purse in my booth, heading toward the front of the shop to unlock the door and turn on theOPENsign. That’s when I notice something outside the right picture window.
“What in the hell?”
I spot a . . . black bear? I squint and continue my way toward the front.No, it’s a dog!Oh my God, who would leave their dog out here all on their own?
My eyes widen when I unlock the front door and step out onto the sidewalk, where I’m quickly made aware just howmassive this animal is. I blink a few times;it looks almost like Loki.
“Oh, you’re abigpuppy.”
Massive. With shaggy black fur and friendly golden eyes.
