SHAPES UNSPOKEN

- 5 -

HAPPY READING 🥰

Sean Britto

Good night gorgeous. I text with my new number.

I stare at my phone like a teenager waiting for his first crush to text back.

This is ridiculous.

I’ve negotiated multi-million-dollar contracts without blinking. I’ve stood in front of rooms filled with investors and politicians without breaking a sweat. But right now? I’m pacing my bedroom, barefoot, watching three little dots that aren’t even there.

Maybe she won’t respond.

Maybe she’s sleeping.

Maybe she saw my message and rolled her eyes.

Twenty minutes crawl by.

Then my phone vibrates.

Who is this.

A slow grin spreads across my face.

Your secret admirer.

I lean back against my dresser, enjoying this far more than I should.

Hmm, I wonder who could that be.

Oh, she’s playing.

I’ll let you dwell in the suspense for a while. How was your day?

I don’t talk to strangers. How did you get my number.

There she goes.

Technically we aren’t talking. We’re texting. And I have my sources.

How do I know you’re not the ghost of Christmas past or a stalker? As soon as I catch your source, it’s a bullet to the brain for selling out.

I laugh out loud.

I assure you, I’m neither. Just a lonely guy texting a beautiful woman. And I’m never revealing my source.

Is that so? Then why can’t you tell me who you are? Trust me, I’m a good detective.

Because the time isn’t right. And I want you to figure it out.

How am I supposed to do that when you haven’t given me any clues?

In due time, my beautiful Annabelle Inniss.

There’s a longer pause before she responds.

She’s processing that.

You know my full name. That’s not fair. What am I supposed to call you?

You know me as well as I know you. But there are a few things I’d like to know even more.

Sorry, I don’t give out information.

Do you have a boyfriend?

None of your damn business.

I chuckle, shaking my head.

Very feisty. I like it. I don’t have a girlfriend. I had a wife once. And that’s your first clue.

What clue?

To figure out who I am. Annabelle, I’d like to get to know you personally.

Not interested. I’m not looking for a man or a woman. I don’t even know if you are either one.

I assure you, I have all male parts.

Hmm. Sweet talker. But it’s not working, Mr. Male.