Page 20 of Vas

To be fair, I think most people know about those places. I would like to visit them one day though.

Vas just stopped short of replying that he’d be happy to take her. What the fuck was he doing? The lightness in his chest from a moment ago evaporated. Anya was stirring up feelings he had no business having, nor ones he wanted. He needed to end the conversation before things went any further, and really do it this time. Typing quickly before she could distract him again, he said,Got to go. They are calling my flight. Have a good night.

Vas, unlike Anya, had no trouble lying.

Chapter 8

Anna’s gaze traveled to the empty booth for the hundredth time that night.

The booth Vas usually sat at.

Almost closing time, it was still unoccupied for the third night in a row. Three nights she knew Vas had been home for. She wasn’t sure what to make of that.

She’d finally broken down and messaged him the day before. Nothing clingy, just a quick text asking if he’d made it home okay. She’d yet to hear anything back even though the wordreadunder her message clearly announced that he’d seen it.

She tried not to let the fact that he hadn’t texted back or stopped by the diner bother her too much, rationalizing that he was probably busy after being away for a week. Though the simple fact was, his disregard did sting a bit.

Okay a lot.

She thought they were on the road to becoming friends.

And Anna didn’t have many of them.

There had been a time when she had, but after the cliques in high school and the subsequent drifting apart during the college years, between school and work and then more work to pay for school, Anna never had a lot of time to hang out and have fun.

She’d had a couple of closer friends at her old job—or so she’d thought—but when the shit had hit the fan and she’d been left holding the bag, everyone’s true colors had been shown. And they’d been pretty fucking dark. Now, her only friend was Tiffany and as they never spent any time together other than at the diner, technically, she was really just a work acquaintance.

Closing duties done and sweaty from giving the floor a vigorous mopping, Anna made her way out to her car after saying goodbye to Steve. It started up on the first try—if a bit grudgingly as per the norm even after the tune-up Vas had given it—and she was home within twenty minutes. She noticed the guy in the sweatshirt loitering in the forecourt again. He’d been around a lot the past several days, and she’d grown less leery of him, figuring if he meant her harm, he’d had plenty of opportunities to execute his evil intentions.

He gave her his usual chin lift as she passed, and she gave him her now upgraded response—a small smile and head bob—before she unlocked her door and stepped inside.

After the plants were attended to, she ran a hot bath, pinned up her hair, stripped out of her clothes, and slipped into the hot water. She closed her eyes and sighed. But soon the silence got to her. Being left alone with her thoughts for too long was never a good thing. Sitting up, she leaned over the rim of the tub to reach her pants that lay on the floor, pulling her phone from the back pocket to turn on some music.

She didn’t make it as far as her music app, her thumb instead clicking the text icon and subsequently Vas’s name. Then she typed out a text and sent it. She couldn’t even blame being drunk for her stupidity.

She stared at the screen for a full five minutes before giving up that she’d get a speedy reply. On the plus side, the message hadn’t been read, so he wasn’t ignoring her again then. He was either away from his phone or, the more likely scenario, asleep—it was one o’clock in the morning after all.

Getting drowsy herself, she did a quick scrub then climbed out of the tub, and got into bed, falling asleep almost as soon as her head touched the pillow and not waking until she heard a leaf blower blasting outside of her bedroom window.

Blinking to get her eyes to work, she squinted at her phone to read the time. Eight a.m. About an hour earlier than she would naturally wake up after working a late shift but close enough she wouldn’t be falling back to sleep. Especially since, now awake, her bladder was making itself known.

She was proud of herself for waiting until the coffee was brewed and one cup consumed before looking at her phone. No awaiting text from Vas. Sitting back on the couch, she stared down at the screen, her heart sinking. Her message had been read but not answered.

She tossed her phone on the cushion next to her and almost immediately, it rang. Startled, her eyes flew to her phone but it wasn’t Vas’s name that filled the screen but a number she didn’t recognize.

“Hello?” she answered warily, prepared for it to be a telemarketer.

“Hey, girl.” Anna recognized Tiffany’s voice and recalled she’d given her friend her new number but had neglected to add Tiffany’s number to her own phone.

“Hey. What’s up?”

“I noticed you’re not on the schedule today and neither am I. Thought maybe you’d like to grab lunch. Maybe do a little shopping?”

Slightly thrown as they’d never done anything outside of work before, it took her a few seconds to process the request and respond. “Um, sure.”

Tiffany’s laughter came over the line. “Sorry, I know my calling is out of the blue, but I have a gift card for Dillard’s that’s burning a hole in my pocket and Luke refuses to go to the mall with me. I’m desperate for a shopping buddy.”

“Sure. I can meet you there. What time?”

---