Page 40 of Walk on the Wilde Side
"I suppose I can scrape together enough for pizza bites and beer, but none of it's gonna taste as good now."
eighteen
Nev
It was a slow day at the shop, so I took extra time to mop floors and wipe counters. Mona went home with a headache, something that happened a lot, unfortunately.
My phone rings as I'm putting away the cleaning supplies. It's Kinsley. "There's nothing in the fridge, and no offense but I don't want you to bring home sandwiches."
"Gee, as the town's premier sandwich maker, I don't know how that could possibly offend me."
"See, I knew you'd be offended. That was why I tried to shield myself with the words 'no offense.'"
"What do you have in mind? I assume there's a plan to go with this long diatribe."
"My diatribe has an important point. Wait, what's a diatribe?"
"Never mind. Doesn't really fit the context anyway. Should we go to that little Italian restaurant, the one with the cheesy meatballs? I could use a nice dose of garlic bread, too."
"Hmm, sounds like someone is past the early, I-couldn't-eat-a-thing stage of a breakup and is now entering the fuck it, pasta-smothered-in-garlic stage."
"No breakup stages. Dane only called me once today, so I consider that an improvement. I just feel like fattening food."
"Good then let's go to the Gold Rush for pizza bites and beer." Harry, the owner of Gold Rush, makes cheesy pizza bites once a week and people love them. He charges a reasonable price for a tray of small squares of bready, cheesy pizza. "Then you'll get your garlic bread and your cheese fix all in one delicious bite."
I sigh. "Not sure if I'm in the mood for the noise and socializing that goes with those pizza bites, but before you resort to calling me fuddy duddy and grandma, I'll go."
She pauses. "Wait, is that a yes?"
"I'll go. Those were the two main words to my own diatribe. Thought those would be enough. I'm just closing up, and I've got to shower away the smell of red onion."
"Yay, fuddy duddy is going out for pizza bites."
"So much for me trying to get ahead of the insults. See you later."
It's that time of the day where the sun is setting on the horizon, and the shadows in town are long and frail like gossamer. I turn off the lights in the front of the shop and walk to the windows to pull down the shades. It takes me a second to notice the tall, lanky figure standing casually next to the bus stop. He's got his hands in his pockets, and he's staring directly at the sandwich shop. A customer maybe, someone who got to the shop too late, and now he's trying to decide what else to eat.
His deep-set eyes notice me standing in my own set of shadows. Our gazes meet and clash. Something about it feels violent, intrusive. I back out of his sight and realize I have to retrieve the breath his dark stare stole from me. I wait a second and then move just the slightest bit forward, only enough to see the edge of the bus stop. He's gone. I breathe a sigh of relief and return to the window to pull down the shade. His face appears in the window.
I scream and yank down the blind so hard it bounces back up. His leering face stares in at me as I snatch it again and pull it down. This time it sticks. I double check that the door is locked and race to my office. I shut the door and lock it. My heart is pounding so fast I can't get a rational thought in my head.
I pull out my phone, and it takes me only a second to decide who to call. He picks up on one ring almost as if he senses my urgency through the phone.
"Nevvie?" His deep voice immediately soothes my frayed nerves.
"Zander." His name cracks out of my dry throat.
"Nev, what's wrong?" Now that same urgency comes through from his side.
"I'm at the shop, and there's someone—" I stop, realizing I don't even know how to describe what happened. Am I making a big deal over nothing? It's not something I usually do. That's more Kinsley's thing.
"There's someone?" he starts again.
"I'm overreacting. I'm at the shop alone, cleaning up, and there was this guy standing outside?—"
"I'm heading over there right now."
"No, that's all right. I'm feeling kind of silly about the whole thing."
