Page 3 of Right Number

I turned my phone facedown again and decided I needed to grab a soda from the fridge to help me think. I took my sweet time going to and from the kitchen and when I came back to the table, I flipped my phone over to see four new messages.

“Are you still there?”

“Did I push things too far?”

“Forget I asked your name. I shouldn’t have done that.”

“At least tell me if you’re going to ghost me.”

I stared at my phone for a moment as I tried to decide what to do. If I was going to jump out of the conversation, now was the time to do it. I set my soda down and picked up the phone. “Why would I tell you if I was going to ghost you? Isn’t the purpose just to disappear? You know, like a ghost?”

Mason’s response was immediate. “Ha! It made you respond!” It was followed by a string of smiling emojis.

I could feel the corners of my mouth as they tried to turn up into a smile. “Did you ever consider Susan might have given you the wrong number because you’re too clingy?” I wrote back. As soon as I sent the first message, I fired off a second one. “BTW if you’re an emoji texter, I’m ending this right now.”

I took a sip of my soda as I waited for his response. I could see the bubbles showing he was typing something. When the message came through, I laughed so hard I almost shot soda out of my nose. It was a meme. One of those overly obnoxious, incredibly stupid memes with a wide-eyed kitten staring up at you saying “I’m sorry. Please forgive me.” It was so unexpected and weird I couldn’t stop laughing.

Once I’d composed myself, I sent my reply. “I didn’t realize I was texting with a child.”

“Are you always like this?” Mason sent back.

“Awesome?”

“I was thinking more like sarcastic.”

“Meh. I may be a little extra today. It’s been a royally shit day.”

“Want to talk about it?”

I didn’t hesitate as I fired back my response. “With a stranger? No thanks.” I didn’t like talking to people I knew about feelings and things that were bothering me. No fucking way was I doing it with a stranger.

“Well, I’m not a total stranger. You know my name is Mason and that I’m given wrong numbers by women I try to pick up in bars.”

I chuckled. The guy had a sense of humor, at least. I moved from the dining table to the sofa in the living room. I grabbed my favorite fuzzy blanket and wrapped it around me before I sat down. I was at another one of those points where it would’ve been easy to just jump out of the conversation and go on my merry way. Instead, I found myself trying to craft some kind of semi-witty response to send back to Mason.

“Fine. My name is Not Susan and I like…” I paused as I considered what to write. My mind was blank, a sure sign I was overthinking. I decided to just close my eyes and send him the first three things that popped into my head; after all, it’s not like what I sent him really mattered. He was just some guy who’d been given the wrong number. When I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, I immediately pictured three things. “I like hot coffee, rainy days, and fuzzy blankets.” I read over my response before hitting send. All three of those statements were highly accurate.

“How do you take your coffee?”

I had to admit I was impressed how quickly the response came through. The guy could type lightning fast. “Cream, no sugar,” I responded. I immediately sent a second message. “How about you?”

“I don’t drink coffee.” He included the emoji that was a red circle with a slash through it followed by the coffee cup emoji. Before I could ask what type of absolute crazy non-caffeinated person he was, a second message came through. “I’m sorry your parents named you Not Susan. That must’ve been tough growing up.”

I quickly forgot about the anti-coffee insanity and was laughing out loud as I heard the front door open. I honestly couldn’t think of the last time anyone, with the exception of Bree and Sarah, made me laugh so much, especially a guy.

“Hey, Anna! Are you home or did you just leave a big pile of your shit by the front door and run out?” I heard Bree shout from the front door.

I looked up from my phone. “No need to shout! I’m right here.” Our apartment may have been decent-sized, but the living room was right next to the front door. Depending on where you sat on the sofa, you could easily see who was at the door.

Bree turned around and gave me a big smile before she came over and flopped down on the sofa next to me. “Sarah told me you were having a bummer of a day. I’m sorry about your new sweater. I think that calls for chips and margaritas tonight. Did you just get home?” Bree didn’t seem to even take a breath between sentences, which was pretty typical for Bree.

I shook my head as I glanced down at my phone. The last message from Mason made me smile again. I looked back up at Bree. “I’ve been home for a little bit… Why?”

Bree raised an eyebrow and pointed at me. “Then why are you wearing a sweater with a giant stain on it?” I looked down and could feel my cheeks start to flush. I’d been so wrapped up in texting with Mason, I’d totally forgotten about the stained sweater I was wearing. Bree waved her hand towards the back of our apartment where the bedrooms were. “Go change, Anna! If we hurry, we can take advantage of the two-for-one drink special!”

“I don’t know…” I trailed off as I caught myself glancing down at my phone again. No new messages, but I had to admit, I was in a remarkably better mood after my text session with Mason.

Bree crossed her arms and pretended to give me a stern look. “I refuse to accept any answer other than ‘yes.’ Sarah’s already there saving us a table. Go change and let’s get going!”

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