Page 6 of Vas

Silence descended between them for a few beats—him staring at her and her staring right back—until he finally released her wrist and she dropped the money on the table.

“Thank you,” she said softly, knowing it had probably taken a lot for him to give in.

He didn’t reach for the money, but he did dip his head in a slight nod.

“Can I get you anything else?”

He shook his head.

Relieved that was done, she was about to leave, but before making the commitment, she shocked herself by blurting, “What’s your name?”

From the way his head whipped up and the slight widening of his eyes, Anna got the feeling she’d surprised him more, tightening the knot of anxiety in her stomach.

Flustered, she rushed to explain, “I mean, you come in here all the time. I think of you as Mr. M because…” Her cheeks heated. “Well, you don’t need to know why,” she rambled, definitelynotcomposed. She took a fortifying,calmingbreath and tried again. “It would be nice to have a name to go along with the face.”

He remained silent for so long, she didn’t think he was going to answer. Embarrassed, she mumbled, “Never mind.”

She turned to leave when she heard him say, “Vas.”

She quickly turned back around. “Vas?”

Feeling encouraged at his grunt of acknowledgement, she continued, “I’ve never known anyone with that name before. It’s unusual.” Her eyes widened at what might be construed as an insult, and she amended, “In a good way. I mean, it’s nice. I like it.” She stuttered to a stop, waiting for him to comment. When he didn’t, she plowed on. “I’ve noticed you have a slight accent. Where are you from?”

“Russia.” He stuck his fork in his pie and took a bite, all the while, not looking at her.

Russian! Obvious to her once he’d said it. She stood there, feeling awkward, not sure if she should stay or go. She wished he would say something else because she was out of ideas to continue their conversation, but after a few seconds of silence that felt like hours, she finally gave up. “Okay, well I’ll leave you to it then.” She made to turn but stopped one more time. “Oh, my name’s Anna, by the way. Just in case you wanted to know.”

He didn’t respond, just pointed at her chest with his fork and dipped his head toward her.

She looked down and gave herself a mental head slap. She wore a name tag. “Right. I guess you knew that already.” When he didn’t respond, she mumbled, “Okay then, have a nice night.”

She hastened away, embarrassed, all the while kicking herself for opening her mouth. Why couldn’t she have just left well enough alone? She blamed Tiffany for putting fanciful thoughts into her head. Thoughts that shouldn’t have even been there to begin with.

She saw the teens’ order was up. Thankful for something to do, she took it to their table. Watching the young man and woman as she approached, she couldn’t help but smile as they sat with their heads bent together. Anna could see the girl’s expression, the brightness of her eyes and the grin on her face, as the boy talked. Ah, young love. She remembered that feeling.

With a will of their own, her eyes moved to the left, landing on Vas. His shoulders were slightly hunched as he concentrated on his plate, his pie half eaten. She wondered at his thoughts as he sat there all by himself. Was he thinking about a girlfriend? A wife? He didn’t wear a ring, but Anna knew that didn’t necessarily mean he wasn’t married. Her stomach rolled at the thought. Not that it had any right to. It wasn’t any of her business. Right? She snorted under her breath. Right! Because she wasn’t interested.

And she’d keep telling herself that until it was true.

The teens broke apart, looking guilty, when she set their plates down. She gave them a smile and told them to holler if they needed anything else. Technically, it wasn’t her table, but, as usual, she had to pick up Gail’s slack when they worked a shift together. She only wished she could pick up the tips as well, but funnily enough, Gail always materialized just as the customers were about to leave. If Anna didn’t hate confrontation so much, she’d complain to the woman, but the last thing she wanted was strife with a co-worker.

Movement drew her gaze back to Vas as he stood, her heart picking up speed at the play of muscles beneath his tight tee-shirt and the flexing of his forearms as he hefted himself from the table. She half expected the hard Formica to crack beneath the force of all the power he exuded. His back flexed as he reached into the front pocket of his jeans, and her eyes were drawn to the worn denim that hugged his ass—and rather nicely, she wasn’t ashamed to notice. His step was purposeful as he made his way to the door, not clumsy or lumbering for such a large guy, as if even gravity was afraid to mess with him. Not once looking back, he stepped out, being swallowed by the darkness—becoming a part of it.

Foreboding glued her in place as Anna watched the door long after it closed, rubbing her arms where goosebumps had sprouted.

The evening cleanup took forever. Gail was nowhere in sight as Anna mopped the floors and prepped for the following morning, making it after midnight before she was done. Flying solo had taken so long, Steve had even finished cleaning the kitchen.

“Where’s Gail?” Anna asked as she walked out of the back room, coat and purse in hand.

“She left about a half hour ago.” Steve shook his head. “That girl’s just about worthless.”

Anna grunted as she pulled the zip up on her jacket. She wasn’t touching that comment with a ten-foot pole. Gossip and complaining only led to problems. She knew that firsthand.

Steve eyed her. “You ready?”

Pulling her keys from her pocket, she held them up. “Yep.”

Stepping out back, Steve headed to his motorcycle as Anna made her way to her car. There was a mugginess to the air that smelled like rain. She picked up her pace, hoping the heavens didn’t open up before she made it home. Her tires had a few more months’ life left but she didn’t trust the balding rubber to stop on oil-slicked, wet streets.

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