The next morning, I woke up before him. I guess he knocked down his phone because all I can see is the darkness of the sheets. I hang up and pull out my laptop, placing it directly on my lap.
I open up my schools website and the program evaluation that lists all of the courses I have taken and need to take. After scrolling for what felt like hours, I finally registered for three summer courses. Two were online and one was in class only once a week. This still allowed me to go to work thankfully.
I text Ross then begin getting ready for work. I registered for three classes, they start in two weeks! xx
- one week later -
Ross and I have been texting all of the time, FaceTiming at night before bed. Sometimes we'd stay on the phone until someone wakes up to hang up or we'd hang up prior.
I throw on shorts and a t-shirt with converse as I get ready for work. As I head out, I grab a banana and my keys and start the journey to the bookstore.
"Thought you weren't in today," I say to Max as soon as I see his head bopping around the store.
He shrugs. "I wasn't supposed to. Mike asked me to cover someone's shift," he answers, leaning his hips against the wood by the register.
I nod. "Sounds good. Where is Mike?"
Max glances around. "Some girl came in here then they disappeared. No idea honestly."
"Hmm," I hum and grab the broom to begin sweeping. I hear laughter coming from the back entrance so I turn around. "No fucking way," I mumble to myself.
Max looks at me with his eyebrows raised. "What?"
"I know her, she used to work here. She's crazy," I reply. "Let Mike know I'm in the back sorting shit," I then go straight to the door to escape the main area.
Especially since she came to Ross' dinner after his mom's funeral, I don't even want to look at her. Mike knows we didn't end well, but still has her come by the store when I'm working?
I begin sorting the books, labeling the spines as need be. About fifteen minutes in, the door opens. "I need you on the floor," Mike says.
"I don't mess with Jamie, I'd rather not be around her in case a fight breaks out," I reply honestly, placing the book down onto the cart.
He shakes his head. "She left, you're fine. I'm sorry, didn't think she'd come by," he says then walks out.
I follow him out, trailing behind his footsteps. "Yeah, she showed up uninvited to my boyfriend's house after their mother died. So I'd rather be nowhere near her," I shrug, walking past him to check on Max at the register.
"The girl that was here did?" Max asked, clearly bored and wanted to talk to someone.
I nod. "Yeah, she dated my boyfriend years ago so she thought that made it okay to show up. Also tried getting me fired another time," I laugh, leaning against the counter.
"What's her name?" He asks.
"Jamie," I reply, looking around to see where Mike went. Not seeing him at all, I whisper, "I think she's seeing Mike? I don't know honestly."
Max laughs, his eyes trailing a costumer. "Gross," he replies.
I nod, my eyebrows raised and a smile on my face. I walk through the aisles and continue cleaning up as I was doing before. The shift went by fairly quickly and I spent most of it talking to costumers and cleaning/organizing.
About an hour before my shift would end, a woman comes over to me. "Hey," she says, eyeing me.
I automatically don't have a good feeling about this. "How can I help you?" I ask politely.
"I don't want to freak you out, but have you ever thought about modeling? I have a shop located in Denver and I would love for you to come model for our website and store. We sell everything - clothes, jewelry, phone cases," she says nicely. She has a paper in her hand as well as a hefty camera around her neck.
I furrow my eyebrows. "How do I trust anything you say and you're not a con artist?" I ask bluntly.
She laughs. She's around 24 I would say. She has long, pretty blonde hair and bright green eyes. "Here's my business card. You can do some research about my business and can email me with a decision. I came in looking for a book, but couldn't stop myself from approaching you. You're so hot!" She smiles and hands me the card. "I'm Kat. I'll be looking forward to hearing from you," she smiles again and walks away before I even had a chance to reply. Before she left, she stared at my name tag that only had my first name on it.
I hold her business card in my hand, staring at it briefly then sliding it into my shorts pocket. "What was that?" Max asks from behind me, making me jump.
"That woman wants me to model for her company? I don't know," I laugh and continue wiping down the bookcases.
He furrows his eyebrows. "Interesting. That's good for you though," he smiles and walks back to his register.
The last forty minutes of my shift, I was thinking about that woman. I was attempting to rack my brain of her company "Sleek Chic" to remember if I ever passed the store when I was in downtown Denver.
As soon as the hour hits, I'm out of the door and walking to my car. I pull my phone out as well as the business card. I sit down in my car, lock the door and begin my google search.
Turns out it is a real store and she is listed as the owner for it. With the models on the site, her name is also watermarked in the bottom right corner so she's the photographer as well.
I open my messages app and text Ross. Hi, I'm out of work. Wanna talk to you about something weird that happened to me at work today when you can.
Moments later, he responds. I'll be able to call you in an hour. We have a small show tomorrow night in some dinky bar in Long Beach. Last second opening so we are rehearsing a bit!!
I like the message then begin my drive home. As I put the key into the living room, I hear chatter. I open the door and smile at my two roommates.
"Wow, you're still alive?" Kayla yells from the couch.
I roll my eyes. "Yes, I'm sorry I've been MIA." I smile and join them on the couch, wiggling myself between them.
"Where were you? Work?" Liv asks, her hand in a bowl of popcorn.
I nod. "As always," I smile.
"Keeping yourself busy with Ross. How was he with the move?" Kayla asks.
I shrug. "I think it went well. He just texted me saying they got a small gig tomorrow and they're rehearsing for it now."
"Are you going?" She asks, her eyes wide.
I shake my head. "It's in California somewhere. And it's tomorrow. I'm currently here, 10 hours away."
"Do you work tomorrow? The following day?" Kayla continues to ask, Liv looking at us with her mouth full of popped kernels.
I shake my head. "No, but I start my classes. They start Wednesday. I work Tuesday."
She rolls her eyes. "It's Friday. You don't work until Tuesday?"
I shake my head. "No."
"When do you work next?" Kayla turns to Liv.
Liv hums. "I work Tuesday night," she replies, pushing more popcorn in her mouth.
"Let's fucking go to California. I'll drive if we leave in fifteen minutes," she says, jumping out of her seat.
I furrow my eyebrows. "Are you out of your mind? It's like ten hours away! It's 8:30 at night!"
Kayla shakes her head. "No, I'm not out of my mind. How about we leave at five AM? Does that work? A roomie roadtrip!" She yells. "You can surprise Ross even though he literally just left. You can see Rocky since you fuckers now start talking once he leaves," she says to Liv.
Liv smiles, pushing her bowl to the side. "I'm down. Hayley, you now have no choice. Majority rule! See you at 5 AM, bitches," she says and walks toward her room.
"Don't tell Ross, Hayl!" Kayla warns and walks to her room.
I walk into the kitchen, still very confused. I make myself a sandwich and scroll through my phone, waiting for Ross to call. I start making a mental check of what I should pack since we are having a spontaneous trip.
Will Ross be happy? Feel overwhelmed?
I'm interrupted by a FaceTime call ringing through. I click accept and smile as soon as I see his face.
"Hi, baby! What are you doing?" He asks, sweat dripping down his face.
I put the sandwich into view. "I'm eating my dinner," I smile. "How were your rehearsals?"
"Good. We are doing mostly cover songs tomorrow obviously, but it feels so good, baby. I'm excited," he rants as he pulls his shirt over his head and wipes his forehead with it.
I nod. "So where is it? Long Beach?" I question, my hand slowly sliding out in front of me to grab the pen and notepad we have laying around.
"Yeah. It's a bar called Ricky's and we go on 7 which is cool. We'll basically play as soon as their happy hour starts," he explains.
I write it down quickly and making sure to make it not obvious that I'm writing. "That's awesome, babe. I'm proud of you."
"Thanks! I wish you'd be there," he pouts and lays back onto his bed.
I frown. "I know. I'm excited to see videos. I know you'll do awesome."
"Thank you, bub. What'd you want to tell me about some weird girl?" He questions, biting down gently onto his lip.
I swallow the bite of sandwich I had in my mouth. "Some woman came in and asked me to model for her website and store in downtown Denver," I say.
Ross smiles. "How is that weird? You're hot."
"I don't know. It was weird how it all happened. The store is real and she owns it, I did my research. I shouldn't be freaked out, but I am," I admit and begin putting my dishes away.
He shrugs. "You're definitely thinking too much into it."
I nod and walk toward my room, closing the door behind me. "I know, I know." I lay down on my bed and look at his eyes who are staring back at me. "I really miss you," I blurt.
He smiles. "I miss you too. Are you going to cry?" He asks.
I shake my head. "No, no."
I'm biting down on my lip, smiling and blinking quickly. "Don't lie to me," he holds the smile on his face.
"We'll see each other in two weeks," I say. My birthday is coming up quickly and I hate it. "But we don't technically need to because I don't want to celebrate it."
Ross laughs. "I'm excited to see you and kiss all over your face," he smiles. I hear his dad call his name. "Ugh, I'm sorry, babe. Dinner is ready."
"It's okay. I have to shower then I'm probably going to bed early. I'm exhausted," I say, leaning up to head to the bathroom.
He pouts. "Okay. I love you so much. Talk to you tomorrow!"
I kiss the screen. "I love you, goodnight."
Ross kisses the air then hangs up. I jump off my bed and immediately head into the shower. Once I'm out, I pack a small bag with a few outfits as well as necessities.
I hope his reaction is a good one tomorrow.
-
a/n: I don't know where this came from but I ran out of ideas. I am stressed w finals and moving out my dorm. hope ya enjoyed x