by T. K. Rapp
I most definitely have a new pet.
“When did it happen?” Callie asked.
I stopped to face her, taking pity on the girl who clearly had no boundaries. “Callie, we’re strangers. This is not something I talk to people about—especially not someone I met literally five minutes ago. No offense.”
“But,” she stammered, “you’re the one who brought it up.”
I shook my head and smiled as I looked at her. “You got me there.”
“You just don’t look like someone who would be cheated on.”
“What does that mean?” I asked.
“I just meant . . .” She paused, trying to find the words. “I’m sorry. I’ll leave you alone.” She turned to walk away, and I felt sorry for the socially awkward and inappropriate girl that had decided to talk to me.
“Look Callie, I’m sorry. Honestly, I didn’t expect you to ask so many questions, and obviously I wasn’t prepared to answer any. I just needed to get away and start over by myself,” I said as sweetly as I could muster.
“So you came out here to find yourself?” she asked as she slowly started walking toward me again.
I knew there was no way to get out of this. Whether it happened at that moment or months down the road, I would end up telling her the whole sordid story. Maybe I could look at it as therapy. She was a stranger, after all.
We walked through the wooden double doors of String Beans and headed to the counter. A young girl with piercings in her nose, lip, and a gauge in her ear smiled. I’d seen her before and was mesmerized by her bright purple pixie cut. I’d only seen her once the week before, but she was friendly. I glanced at her nametag—Busy—and smiled.
“Welcome to String Beans. What can I get started for you?”
I stared at the chalkboard writing that listed the specials when Callie spoke up. “Wow, did those hurt?”
Busy looked past me to acknowledge Callie, her smile still in place. “Not too bad.”
I looked over my shoulder at Callie, who was still staring at Busy’s face, and cleared my throat. “I’ll take a number three and a green tea, please.”
Busy nodded and began making my order. I handed her my money and walked over to my new favorite chair so I could get comfortable. Callie was still at the counter talking with the barista, and I figured she would get something and head out, but she didn’t. I saw her look around the coffeehouse and I knew she was trying to locate me. I slumped deeper into the chair, hoping to hide, but as I stole a glance over my open book, she spotted me and came waltzing over.
Jolie wants me to make friends—here goes nothing.
“So what brought you out to L.A.?” I asked, setting my book aside and moving my things from the empty chair next to me. Callie smiled and took the seat I offered.
“Fame,” she said with a dreamy look in her eyes. “Back home, I had always wanted to be famous, but there was no way that was going to happen—not in my hometown. Sure, people know me there, but in a place like Burning Oaks where there’s only two thousand people…everyone’s name gets around.”
“So you up and left. Just like that?” I asked, impressed with her passion.
“Yeah,” she sighed. “Momma and Daddy weren’t thrilled, but I’m twenty-one, and I’d already spent too much time doing nothing and going nowhere. I didn’t want to go to college, so they gave me the money they had saved up and told me to go for it.”
“Sounds like you have pretty amazing parents,” I complimented, and she nodded. “Have they been out here to see you?”
“Not yet. I don’t want them to visit until I have something solid—big, even—lined up. I don’t want them to think I’m a failure,” she admitted, looking disappointed.
“It’s only been six months. I don’t think you can consider yourself a failure.”
I was glad to see her smile return…then she spoke again, bringing the conversation back to me.
“So the divorce drove you away, but what brought you here?” she asked, focusing on me.
“Honestly? I’m not sure,” I said and leaned back in the overstuffed chair. “Will, my ex, and I were both into music. He had a band and I, well, I stopped doing anything of my own, music-related, to help pay rent. When I caught him cheating, I took care of some things and got out of town the first chance I got. I couldn’t go back home and my best friends live too far away. So I ended up here with no job prospects, no friends, and no clue what to do next.”
“It’s been a couple of weeks, right?” Callie questioned and waited for my nod. “So…job?”
“It’s not much, but part time at the bookstore,” I said. “I really need to find something else.”
“Okay. And what about friends?” My eyes met hers and she raised her brows, nodding eagerly.
“Maybe,” I laughed, ignoring the way she pouted her lips.
“Any clue what to do next?”
I shook my head and closed my eyes. “Callie—I don’t think I’d be here right now if I had that one figured out.”
She laughed and patted my leg. My stomach let out a growl and Callie’s eyes widened at the noise. I could smell the fresh banana bread that Busy was setting out, and I knew another embarrassing noise was about to make its way out. I was going to open up a piece of gum to stave off another round when I spotted him.
He was watching me with that cocky grin, daring me to flinch, but I righted my posture and held his stare.
“Which one of you ladies had the chicken Panini?” Wyatt asked as he got closer, his eyes still locked on mine. He knew it was mine. Every time I went in, I ordered the same thing—it was too good not to. But he was making a point since I hadn’t been by in a while.
I snorted, loud and cringe-worthy. I couldn’t help it. Still, he walked over and set the plates on the small table and waited for me to say something.
“Thanks, Wyatt,” he said aloud, talking in a feminine voice as he carried the conversation for the both of us. “No problem, Vi. Busy asked me to bring these out to the two girls in the back.”
“Thank you,” Callie said, smiling up at Wyatt. He turned his attention to her and grinned.
“Viola made a friend,” he said with a lopsided grin.
“Are you her friend?” Callie asked.
“We’re acquaintances,” I interjected.
“Wyatt. And you are?” he asked, extending his hand.
“Single,” she said. “I mean, Callie. Not single. I mean, I am single, but my name is Callie. Someone tell me to shut up.”
“Shut up,” I said, laughing at her bumbling.
She looked over and her cheeks looked as if someone had slapped her across the face.
“Nice to meet you, Callie,” he said before returning his attention to me. “How’s it going?”
“She needs a job,” Callie said casually, to my mortification.
“Thanks,” I muttered, looking up at Wyatt and shrugging. “I still have a little time before I have to find something.”
“I actually know someone looking for an assistant now,” he said. “The lawyer I used to transfer ownership of this place just moved into a building a few blocks away and it was too far for his last employee. I can give you his number if you want it.”
“Actually…” I wanted to argue and turn it town, but the sooner I found a job, the better. It was on the tip of my tongue to say something snarky, but the truth was, I had bills I needed to pay—and though it wasn’t my dream job, I needed something. “Yeah, that would be nice. Thank you.”
He nodded and walked away, leaving me with Callie and questioning why it was that I’d decided to let her stick around.
“He’s into you,” she said.
I almost got whiplash with how quickly my head turned to face her. It was one thing to think it myself, but she put it out there in the open. For Callie, it was simply a matter of fact.
Each time she spoke was like nails on a chalkboard, and it had nothing to do with her accent. Her lack of boundaries of any sort was beyond my
comprehension. And there she was, spouting even more insanity.
Into me?
She must have been out her mind; I barely knew the guy.
“Don’t play dumb.”
“What part of ‘married’ did you not get?” I asked, annoyed with her words.
“You said it yourself: he cheated on you. Maybe you need to rebound.” She leaned over to see if she could spot Wyatt, but when she didn’t, she sat back in her chair. “He would be an awesome rebound.”
“And how would you know that? You just met the guy,” I said.
“You don’t want?” she asked, offering me a chance to keep him for myself, and I shook my head. It was too soon. Way too soon. I was never of the mind to get over one guy by getting under another. Maybe that was where I went wrong. But in this case, it really was just a matter of timing.
“So you’re cool if I try…” She stopped talking as Wyatt walked back over and handed me a piece of paper with a name and number scrawled on it.
“I called him up and told him to expect your call. Nice man, pretty easy to talk to,” he said. As I took the paper from him, his finger grazed mine, causing my heart rate to accelerate.
Not. Cool.
“Thank you,” I managed to scratch out. His lip quirked up into a smile, and I felt myself shrink under his gaze.
“Anytime,” he said. As he turned to walk away, he looked over at Callie. “It was nice to meet you.”
“You too,” she breathed out, and watched as he disappeared around the corner. Her chair made a screeching noise as she dragged it and positioned herself to face me. “Yeah, like I said, that guy is into you.”
I scoffed and looked up at the ceiling before meeting her eyes. “I thought you wanted to try—you know.”
“I was hoping if I said that it would make you step up. Guess I played that hand too early.” She laughed, bringing her sandwich to her mouth and taking a big bite. She closed her eyes and all but melted as she chewed.
“Need a room?” I asked, raising a brow in question. “I can give you some time alone.”
“This is amazing,” she moaned and I couldn’t help but laugh. “I can’t believe I’ve never been here before.”
“Six months and you’ve never been here?” I asked, stunned. “But you knew where I was talking about before.”
“Yeah, I pass it all the time,” she defended. “Had I known there was a cute guy and awesome food, I would have been here sooner.”
“Why didn’t you come before now?” I questioned.
“It seemed too hippie and mom-and-pop-ish—everything I left back home. I’m a big-chain whore,” she said before taking another bite.
“Stop. No. That sounds so wrong,” I said, stunned by her choice of words, even though I knew what she meant.
She shook her head, her mouth still full as she chewed. When she finally swallowed she looked at me and sobered. “Yeah, you’re right. I’m totally a small-chain whore after this,” she said seriously.
I ignored her and left her to her multiple foodgasm as I started to eat my own sandwich. I glanced at the piece of paper that Wyatt had left and opened it up to read the name, and laughed at his handwritten note. Along with the phone number for Mr. Bateman, the lawyer, he wrote his own message:
Vi’s new friend count: 2?
I craned my neck to get a view of the counter where Wyatt stood, and found him watching me. I felt my body start to warm when he caught me looking for him, and despite my efforts to look away, our eyes locked.
Damn.
His lips turned into a smile and I felt my own rise in response. I could do the friend thing; you can never have enough of those, right? I lifted the paper in my hand and nodded, watching as his smile disappeared and morphed into something sexy and intense.
This isn’t going to end well for me. Or maybe it will.
Chapter 7
“What was that all about?” Callie asked when I turned around.
“Huh?” I answered lamely. I knew what she was talking referring to, but I didn’t want to explain anything.
“You and the hot available guy,” she said, looking toward him.
I followed her gaze and found him looking in our direction. I quickly turned to face her and shrugged, finding her wiggling her fingers at him.
“Will you stop it?” I muttered, swatting at her hand. “He’ll come over here.”
“Nothing wrong with that,” she giggled. “Maybe you need to talk to him a little more.”
“I’m not ready,” I stated bluntly.
“How long’s it been again?” She smiled.
“Almost seven months. Hardly time for me to jump on the first guy that pays me any sort of attention. I’m not exactly desperate.”
“Seven months is a long time…and no offense, but it’s gotta suck finding your husband in bed with someone else.”
“Yeah. It does. Thanks for reminding me.” The dull pain in my chest turned sharp at the memory of walking in on Will.
“I’m sorry,” Callie said, her brows pinched in worry. “My mouth always gets me into trouble. I’m not trying to upset you.”
I nodded, unable to say anything in response, and took another bite of my sandwich. A folk tune was playing overhead and I allowed the sounds of the other patrons drown out my thoughts.
“Do you think you’ll get back together?”
“You don’t stop, do you?” I asked.
“Sorry.”
Callie looked down at her own food and started to eat when I decided to answer her question.
“No. We won’t get back together. For several reasons, but the biggest one being that it wasn’t the first. I know that we didn’t have the perfect marriage. We were young and didn’t realize how much effort it really takes to make it work. I’ve had a little time to think at night and I don’t think I was happy for a while. But I wanted to be happy. So I did my best and played my part.”
“If all that’s true, why not get back out there? I get that you’re hurt, but maybe your ego is a little bruised too. Meeting someone else might be what you need.”
“For three years, I’ve been someone’s wife. I’d like to figure out what I want first, and if there’s someone out there that fits the profile, sign me up.”
“And Wyatt?”
“Okay, Callie, we need to work on your boundaries.”
She smiled sheepishly and went back to her food. It was a blissful thirty seconds with no sound coming from Callie but the occasional after-moan.
“I’ll help you find yourself. And maybe you can help me learn to keep my mouth shut?” she asked. From the smile on her face, she genuinely thought it was a great solution. Me, not so much.
If you don’t have boundaries now, you never will.
Still, I found myself saying, “You’re on.”
***
Our visit at the coffee shop was short-lived. As much as I enjoyed my time sitting and reading, having Callie with me and Wyatt looming around the corner made it clear that wasn’t going to happen. I wanted to leave and enjoy some alone time, but I wasn’t surprised when she walked back to the apartment with me.
I was surprised when she didn’t let me go to my place. We were stepping off the rickety elevator when she spoke.
“Have you met Dallas yet?”
“Is this a person?”
“He’s awesome. I’m so in love,” she gushed.
“Really?” I asked, intrigued with her limited description.
“Yeah. Too bad he’s gay,” she said. “Well, too bad for me, anyway.”
She pulled me toward a door, three down from my own, and knocked some strange beat before stepping back. A brown-haired man that was a little too pretty for my eyes opened the door and moved aside to let us in.
“Hey, Dallas,” she said flirtatiously. “I wanted to introduce you to our new neighbor.”
He looked me up and down, taking in my long flowing skirt and tank, before smiling.
“3B?”
“Yep,” she a
nswered.
“Does 3B have a name?”
“Yeah.” I smiled. Knowing that Dallas was gorgeous and gay took the pressure off and that made it easy to answer him. “Viola.”
“What brings you to L.A.?” he asked, closing the door behind us and walking to his couch. I started to follow, but stopped in my tracks when Callie spoke.
“Her husband cheated on her,” she said, and then looked at me. “Crap. That’s one of those times I should watch my mouth, huh?”
“Yep,” I muttered and then looked at Dallas and shrugged. “What she said.”
“Sorry about that,” he said sweetly. “How long?”
“Eight inches, maybe,” I answered quickly.
Dallas’ jaw dropped open slightly and then he laughed. “I like you.”
I smiled and glanced at Callie who looked like she was still trying to figure out what I meant.
“I think he meant…how long were you married?” she asked giving me a concerned look.
Dallas scoffed and rolled his eyes, but I answered her anyway. “Three years.”
At that admission, there was the distinct sadness I’d grown accustomed to creeping in the way it did when I talked about Will.
Will it ever stop stinging to admit that?
“I’m pretty sure she doesn’t want to talk about this.” He smiled and then patted the seat next to him.
Yep. I love this guy.
“So what are you two up to right now?”
“We just finished lunch and I was going back to my place until Callie dragged me over.”
It was a beautiful Friday afternoon, and I wanted nothing more than to return to my apartment and relax. But it seemed that my two newest friends had other plans. Maybe their distraction was exactly what I needed, because the seven months I’d spent after leaving Will were filled with tears and moping. I didn’t want to be that person forever.
“I’m going down to Mood Swings to get a drink tonight. You ladies care to join?”