She studied me before she smiled. “Hunter says his thirties are the best.”
“He says that because he is in his thirties,” I chuckled. “I’m sure having you and Romeo helps.”
“Maybe it’s time you started dating again?” she suggested.
“Nope, I’m good for now,” I said, shaking my head, remembering my last relationship and the constant drama I had with them and the ones before that…
“Fine, well, as much as I’d love to stay a little longer to convince you to date, I have to head to the stadium and finish a few things before we head out to Tampa this afternoon.” Valencia stood up, putting her jacket on.
“Boo, you whore,” I said, doing the same.
“I know, working sucks,” she said, rolling her eyes. “But at least I get to travel with my men.”
“You could be a kept woman,” I grinned.
“I would go crazy, staying home all day.” She wrapped her scarf around her neck. “I need shit to do, plus I love my social media job.”
“I know, you’re damn good at it too,” I said, grabbing our cups and plates to bring to the counter where the cashier gave me a dirty look, but I smiled.
“Alright mamacita, see you in a few weeks,” I said, pulling her towards me as we walked out.
“Yeah, maybe we can do it sooner,” she said, hugging me tightly.
“Yeah, just let me know,” I said, squeezing her back. “Have a safe trip! Enjoy the warmth in Tampa.”
“Oh, I will.” She kissed my cheek before walking away from me.
It had started to snow as I walked back to my apartment, and I enjoyed the whimsical feeling as I started planning out my day. The doorman, Jack, gave me a smile as he opened the door and let me into the warm building when I got another prickle of awareness. I turned around quickly since I had never experienced it so close to home before, and a sinking feeling made me feel even more exposed.
“Beau, are you ok?”
Jack startled me. “Uh, yeah. I thought I had forgotten my phone at the restaurant.”
“Hate when that happens,” he said, as I walked quickly into the building.
The ride up to my condo was a blur. I took every safety precaution when I streamed to make sure no one could trace my IP address. Was I just becoming paranoid or was this fan getting too close for comfort?
I walked down the hallway when I noticed a box at my door. It was unusual for packages to be left at my doorstep, but I picked it up on my way in. The package didn’t have a label on it or a return address. I grabbed a pair of scissors, and opened the package to find a plush kitten. It was black with a collar that saidBeau on it. It gave me a bad feeling. I lifted the toy out of the box and out fell a note.
From your biggest fan.
I dropped the note, stepping away from the package. My heart rate accelerated, blood whooshed in my ears as I felt like I might throw up. This was getting out of hand. I needed to get out; I needed to leave before something terrible happened.
2
iris
My phone rang once againas I drove to work at The Boozy Bandit. I didn’t need to look at it to see who it was. My husband had suddenly taken an interest in me and since I was a petty woman, he would have to work to speak to me. I had spent the last year trying to get to know my husband, trying to figure out how I could get myself working at the farm, but after the wedding, it was like the entire Yarbrough family had ghosted me.
A sinking feeling hit me every time I thought about it. The two times I had tried going to the farm, the workers told me I needed to speak with Mr. Yarbrough. They didn’t specify which one, but none of them were available and I was feeling like the entire family had swindled me.
Now that Nash was calling me frequently, it meant he needed something. So, he could fucking wait, or maybe I would just ignore him like he had ignored me. Even his texts sounded desperate going from, “Call me ASAP” to “Wife, answer your damn phone or call my father.”
The Boozy Bandit was busier than I had expected for a late Thursday afternoon, but I wasn’t going to complain. I had beentrying to save up all the money I could, for what I don’t know, but I knew I wanted a home or maybe I could do something with that money for my family’s farm.
“Hey, Iris,” Sandy, one of the other servers, said to me.
She was the only nice one, every other woman here was catty and acted like if every man didn’t like them the best, it was a goddamn tragedy.
