Page 54 of Flirting with the Stranger

“Stop holding out on me. Who is she?”

“Her name is Hollyn. She worked with my mom at the bakery. I met her when I went up there after my mom passed.” I decide to keep the stripper part of the story to myself.

“Is she hot?” Jason wiggles his eyebrows.

“She’s not hot. She’s absolutely breathtakingly beautiful. The type of beauty that lights up any room she enters. For the first time in a long time, a woman has made me feel again. She makes me want to be a better man. Not just for myself, but for her.”

“That sounds depressing. Keep that shit away from me.”

“But it’s not. She sparks new life in me. And every day it gets better and better.”

“Hard pass. You keep all that lovey dovey shit to yourself. Why are you in town then if your girl isn’t here?”

“I have two job interviews set up for tomorrow.”

“Why here? Shouldn’t you be doing those in Harbor Highlands? Where your girl is.”

“Yeah.” Why am I here? I’ve only been in town for four hours and I’ve spent every minute thinking about Hollyn. I don’t want to be here, yet here I am. Not being near her is a sad and lonely place. “Thanks for meeting up and having a beer. I think I’m going to get home and prepare for those interviews.”

“It was good seeing you. Don’t be a stranger. Also, for what it’s worth, I never saw you look like this when you were with Josie.” Jason stands at the same time I do and stretches his hand out. I grip his with mine and give it a shake. We say our goodbyes and then I’m out the door.

Luckily, traffic is light and within twenty minutes, I’m pulling into the parking lot of my apartment complex. When I reach my apartment, I unlock the door and push inside. As soon as the door shuts behind me, I take in the living room. Everything is the way I left it, yet something feels off. All my belongings are here, but I’m the one that doesn’t belong anymore.

I toe off my shoes and leave them by the door, ambling into the living room and flopping down on the couch. I pull out my phone and see I have no new messages. I press the button for contacts and scroll to Hollyn’s name. My finger hovers over her name for a few beats until I exit out and shove the phone back in my pocket. Even when I was dealing with everything with Josie, I never felt this conflicted. Granted, that situation was more betrayal. And maybe that’s why I’m at a crossroads.

Once again, do I give up everything to be with the girl and pray I don’t get burned again or sell the bakery and continue living my regular life? I sit in silence. All my thoughts and feelings bull rush me all at once, but there is only one thing that stands out. My head falls to the back of the couch and I close my eyes. The only future I see, the only future that holds any meaning, has Hollyn in it. When I think about it, my regular life is pretty fucking boring. And I don’t want boring anymore. I want something thrilling and exciting. Unpredictable.

In the short time I’ve been with her she’s been all that and more. Fuck. I’m falling for her. And it’s not just sex, even though that’s phenomenal, but I enjoy being around her. Her presence alone, jolts me back to life. She makes me want to be a better man, any way possible. I dig my phone out of my pocket again and pull up Hollyn’s number, only this time, I send a message.

Van

I miss you.

Not waiting for a reply, I rise to my feet and make my way to my bedroom, stripping off my shirt along the way. When I’m inside the room, I tug off my jeans and crawl under the covers. As I lie on my back, staring up at the pitch-black ceiling, my phone buzzes. I jump out of bed and pull it out of my pants pocket and see it’s a message from Hollyn.

Hollyn

I miss you too.

A wide grin takes over my face. With a simple text message, she can light up my day. I’ve never felt as much happiness as I feel when I’m with her. Instead of continuing with the text conversation, I want to see her face. This time when I pick up the phone, I FaceTime her. After a few rings, she picks up. Her head rests against the pillow, she isn’t smiling but she’s still beautiful.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean what I said. There’s a lot going on.” My chest tightens as I wait for her response.

She sits up and sags against the pillow. “I’m sorry too. We’re both under a lot of stress and accusations came out. To answer your question. No, I’m not sleeping with you so you keep the bakery.”

My shoulders sag in relief. “I don’t know why I asked that. It just came out.”

“No. It’s a completely valid question. Things are complicated. But I like you. I enjoy spending time with you. That’s why I’m sleeping with you.” Her warm smile lights up the screen.

“I like you too. More than the fat stack of cash.”

She softly giggles. “Good to know.”

“I wish I could wrap you up and fall asleep with you in my arms right now.”

Her eyes soften as she tilts her head. “I love falling asleep in your arms. But it’s getting late, and you have your job interviews tomorrow. We’ll talk later.”

I steal a glance at the clock and she’s right. Seven in the morning will come soon enough and I should get some sleep, even though I would much rather stay on FaceTime with her. “Sweet dreams, cupcake.”

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