4th & Girl

“I am thinking about my future,” I said through gritted teeth. For fuck’s sake, when would they ever let up on this? The whole reason I’d dropped out of school was because I was finally looking at my future. I didn’t know what it was, but I was trying to figure it out. I wasn’t lazing around on my couch like a bum, and I wasn’t pursuing something they’d think was crazy, even if it was something that, deep down, I really wanted to do.

Like music.

What more did they want from me?

“Look,” my dad continued. “I know that being an engineer isn’t the most exciting job, but it will give you security, sweetheart. And that’s all we want for you. We just want to know that you’re secure.”

“I understand that, but this is my life we’re talking about here,” I retorted. “And, with all due respect, what I choose is my decision, not yours.”

My grandpa hummed his disagreement, and my dad sighed.

The men in my life were not the least bit happy with my choices, but hell’s bells, I couldn’t live my life for other people. I had to live it for myself.

I think I’d more than proven I could handle my own shit. Sure, my temp jobs weren’t anything to write home about, but they paid my bills.

And I sure as shit wasn’t running to my parents or Grandpa Joe for money.

I was handling it, albeit slightly messy and unorganized, but handling it all the same.

Appetite successfully gone, I took one small bite of pie and stood up from the table to set my dish in the sink.

Thankfully, my mom led the conversation to less stressful areas and started chatting happily about my dad’s and her vacation plans.

Which was great, but I knew time was a ticking.

Eventually, someone would lead that shit right back to me.

By the time Grandpa Joe started bitching about his new landscaper, I offered my goodbyes with a kiss to my dad’s and granddad’s cheek and a warm hug for my mom, and I headed back to my apartment.

I’d just barely stepped inside my front door when my phone chimed with a text message.

Unknown: Hey, it’s Leo.

Leo? As in the guy whose pee I knew on a personal level? As in Alma’s nephew? As in Leo Landry? As in the man I’d just spent two of the most awkward hours of my life having lunch with?

No way.

Me: Leo who?

Unknown: Leo Landry.

Unknown: And here I thought I was a little more memorable than that…

Me: LOL. Trust me, considering the circumstances we’ve found ourselves in, you’re memorable. I’m just a little surprised you’re texting me. How’d you get my number?

Unknown: Let’s just say I know a guy… ;)

I giggled to myself and typed out a response.

Me: You mean you know Alma.

Unknown: Or that too.

“Who are you texting?” Abby asked from the couch, and I damn near bobbled my phone out of my hands.

“Oh my God! You scared the crap out of me!” I leaned against the closed front door and put a hand to my chest. “How long have you been sitting there?”

She nodded toward my face. “Longer than you’ve been home. And way long enough to see you giggling and smiling like a total weirdo.”

“I am not.”

“You so are.” She grinned. “Who are you texting?”

“You don’t know him.”

“I didn’t ask if I knew him. I asked who he is.”

“Leo.”

She quirked an eyebrow and then freaked me out with the strength of her memory. “The hot football player from the piss test?”

“Yeah. Him,” I said quickly before she could start tossing out quippy lines about shit I didn’t want to hear. “Well, you’re never going to believe this, but you know that old lady I work for now?”

“The one who likes dildos?”

“She sells them, Abby,” I corrected.

“Pretty sure she likes them too,” she said with a grin, and I rolled my eyes. The last thing I needed was visuals of Alma and King Dongs, but Abby’d officially opened up the dam on painfully uncomfortable memories.

“Anyway…she is Leo’s great-aunt.”

“Seriously?” Her eyes widened as she kicked her legs up on my couch, crossed her ankles, and put her hands behind her head. “He’s the nephew she was low-key trying to set you up with?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Fuck.” She smirked. “I didn’t see that coming.”

Yeah, my sentiments exactly.

Startling me so much I jumped, my phone vibrated in my hands. Once I’d started talking to Abby, I’d almost completely forgotten I was in the middle of a conversation with Luscious Leo.

Unknown: So…I know we’ve had a bit of a rocky start in terms of introductions, but I want to start fresh. Are you free tomorrow night?

Me: Free? Are you asking me out on a date, Leonard?

Unknown: I am. And now I’m also asking that you never speak my full name again.

Me: LOL. In some weird way, I think it kind of suits you.