Igniting Her

Chapter Four

I didn’t get to bed till almost 4:00 am, the six hours sleep I got does not feel like nearly enough, and my muscles are sore from how much I was running  around last night. The only good thing about working Friday nights at Chalky’s, is the tips. Sitting at my counter, with my largest mug full of coffee, I have already counted $150, and I am only halfway done. I will be set to pay my way tonight at The Occidental, maybe even buying a round or two for everyone. That is, if I can convince my body to function, suppress my social anxiety telling me to cancel and choke down the guilt telling me Jason would not want me to go tonight.

I texted Jason twice yesterday, once in the morning and once before bed, but he still hasn’t responded, which is not unusual for him. I was hoping I could talk to him about me going out and maybe he would tell me to have fun with my friends, it has been forever since I went out. I checked my phone for the millionth time, hoping I just missed the notification, but I didn’t.  I toss my tips into my wallet, no longer caring how much is there, it will be more than enough for tonight.

I look at the time, only 11:00 am, still nine hours away from when Ginger told me we were meeting. Throwing my phone in my pocket, I gather my toast and coffee and head up to my room. Richard did not come home last night, so I know he should be crawling his way out of whatever hole he spent the night in and be home at any time now. If I am going to manage forgetting my boyfriend has ignored me and be social tonight, I can’t handle a run-in with him.

Locking my door, I decided reading will be the best way to relax and recharge my batteries. What’s better than getting lost in some fantasy to forget the bullshit in your own life. People use movies or television to escape, I prefer a book, only dabbling in the other two occasionally. After placing my breakfast on the nightstand, I snuggle into my comforter and enjoy the warmth streaming in from my window. I can even hear some birds in the tree near my window. If this does not scream relaxation, I don’t know what does.

Lost nibbling my toast and delving into a world of horny werewolves and their mates, I almost drop my book when my phone vibrates violently. Jesus, my phone vibrates harder than my B.O.B. I mark my place in my book with a scrap piece of paper. People who bend the corner of the page are heathens. I check my phone expecting Jason, but find an unknown number instead.

Who the fuck is this? I open the chat and see that I already sent a simple “Hi” text to the number already.

Unknown: Hey, this is Lucas.

I am kind of feeling stupid for forgetting Lucas was going to text for directions to The Occidental. The practical part of my brain still wonders why he didn’t just use the GPS app on his phone to figure out how to get there. I hesitate over his number, trying to decide if I should save his number and chance Jason finding it on his next routine snoop of my phone. For the longest time, he would forget who Andrew was, and then proceed to interrogate me on why I had a man’s name in my contacts. I ended up labeling him BFF to avoid fights. My phone vibrates again and I decide to just respond and think about the contact information later. Maybe I could give Lucas a girl name? Or maybe label it the eye doctor or something?

Unknown: Are we all still going to The Occidental tonight?

Me: Yes, Ginger wants us all to meet there at 8:00 pm.

Me: Do you need the address or did you find it online?

Unknown: I was hoping I could pick you up and then you could show me how to get there. We are meeting your friends, so I would feel weird meeting up with them, without you.

It was understandable that meeting up with strangers would be weird, but a nagging part of my brain screamed that he knew me just as long as my friends. Really, Lucas and I were strangers, and it was probably a bad idea for him to know where I live.