Page 37 of Crash
He threw her a knowing smirk over his shoulder before walking back out to the garage bay. If Quynh could melt into the earth, she would have. She smacked her head on the table.
Of course, he did. How embarrassing!
She needed to be on her best behavior. There’s no use falling for someone when there was no future for her here. There weren’t any health clinics nearby she could even work at if she wanted to find a job.
Not that she was entertaining the idea or anything, but she needed a new job. Her bank account would run dry, eventually. She might as well explore all of her available options. For the first time in her life, she was at a crossroads. The next choices she made would determine what the next few years of her life would look like.
Do I want to find a new job and stay in the same city? Or venture outside of my comfort zone and move to a new town? What was really keeping me in the city?
Quynh was no city girl, but she’d taken the job right after getting her degree. It seemed like the deal of a lifetime when she received the job offer. She always dreamt of working in the city and having an equally active sociallife, hoping to find a place where she belonged. Plus, there were countless lonely people looking to connect in the city, so she was bound to find at least one friend. Or so she hoped.
However, things didn’t exactly work out the way she imagined. She ended up working too much to have a social life. Most of her classmates relocated far from their university, which made it hard to stay in touch. Most days, though, she rarely had the energy to go out to the local bars. Instead, she preferred to spend her downtime curled up on the couch with a spicy romance while Pickles kept her company.
The most important question she needed to ask herself, though, was also the most difficult to answer.
Am I happy with my life? My career choices? Am I too old to change? Or am I capable of having a fresh start?
So many questions. So many variables.
Quynh knew with absolute certainty that being around Griffin sparked something new inside of her. The exhilarating feeling of being alive. For most of her life, she was treading water. Just barely holding her head above the surface to keep her from drowning under the impossible expectations she’d set for herself. And waiting for something amazing to happen to her.
She was always waiting.
Maybe it was time she stopped waiting for life to happen.
Is this my opportunity? Or am I being naïve? What if Griffin was only interested in sex? What if things didn’t work out between us? Am I putting all of my eggs in one basket?
Get yourself together, Quynh.
She didn’t need to answer anything right now. All she wanted to do was enjoy whatever this was.
One thrilling step at a time.
eighteen
QUYNH
Quynh was out of breath by the time she made it to Griffin’s house. She ran upstairs to change into leggings and a loose sweatshirt, but Pickles demanded to be fed immediately. She’d stopped to feed the dramatic Maine Coon and tried to freshen up in the bathroom, but her hair was looking rather limp, so up her hair went in a messy bun. This was the best it was gonna get. She didn’t want to keep the boys waiting on her.
The front door opened by the time she was on the porch. Rover’s excited barking probably alerted Griffin to her arrival.
Griffin looked her up and down before stepping aside to let her in. Giving him a small smile, she went to walk inside and was almost knocked over by the giant dog.
“Oof!” Rover’s giant paws landed on her abdomen.
“Down, boy!”
Rover sat down at Griffin’s command.
“You’re a big boy, aren’t you?” she said as she kneeled down, petting the drooling animal behind his ears.
Rover’s excitement was contagious. She never had a dog in all of her life. Her mother and aunt worked a lot, and there wasn’t any room for pets. When she graduated from nursing school, she thought about getting a pet, but the idea of leaving it to itself for long days didn’t sit right with her.
Pickles sort of fell into her lap. She just moved into her apartment, and the loneliness was oppressive. She overheard a coworker, Joe, lamenting about having to get rid of the giant Maine Coon as he was moving for a job and could not take the cat with him.
It was barely a fully formed thought before she’d whirled around and told Joe she’d take the cat. She hadn’t even asked for any pictures. She’d rather take in the cat than have Joe put the poor cat up for adoption. Or worse, leave the cat behind.
Joe was so relieved to find a new home for Pickles. Several weeks later, she was a mother to a grumpy Maine Coone cat who wanted nothing to do with her. It wasn’t exactly what she had envisioned when she volunteered to adopt the cat, but she had no regrets. He was relatively low maintenance, though the litter box was an unpleasant experience. Thankfully, he came completely litter-trained, neutered, and vaccinated.
