My alarm goes off before the sun comes up. I'm out the door long before Anna gets up, so I don't get a chance to see her. I hop on the bus and take it to the other side of the city. I'm lucky to have this job, even though I kind of hate it.
Early mornings, the constant arguing with the shippers about the freight we're supposed to get, it’s all so repetitive and annoying. But it's a check I can use right now. I've got enough saved up that this money takes care of my sister's portion of the rent until she's back on her feet.
Jed walks through the office dragging a pallet of pack-aways all wrapped in plastic. “Hey man, you look like shit,” he says.
“Yeah, I didn't get much sleep last night.”
“Another late night?” he asks, flashing me a half smirk and bouncing his eyebrows.
“Not like you're thinking. I just couldn't sleep.”
“Sure.” Jed draws out the word and nods as if we're sharing some secret code.
“I'm serious. Do I look like I spent all night fucking?”
He shrugs his shoulder, giving the jack handle a hefty pull. “You could have fooled me. You have that just got laid glow.”
I ball up a piece of paper and throw it at him. “Glow. I don't glow.”
Jed laughs as he slaps the paper away. “You grabbing breakfast from the food truck at break?”
“I don't know. Maybe.” I go back to reading the clipboard in my hand. “I might head home instead today.”
“Maybe you should bring whatever girl is on your mind breakfast.”
“What?” I ask, looking up at him from my clipboard.
“You know what. Who is she? What's her name?”
“I don't know what you're talking about.”
“Bullshit you don't. Who is she?”
“There is no she, asshole. Why don't you go bring that to the warehouse before they start calling me looking for it.”
He grins as if he's caught me in a lie, and tugs the pallet of boxes down the hall. Am I that easy to read? How the hell can he know that I'm thinking about Anna?
I shake my head and try to focus on work. It's hard as hell to do anything without Anna popping into my head. I still have over an hour before break time. I'm not sure what time she's working today, but I really want to see her.
I remember that Betty gave me Anna's number just in case I needed it for anything. I take my phone out of my back pocket and send her a text.
Morning. How did you sleep?
Who is this? Anna shoots back instantly.
It's Dash. My sister gave me your number.
Ohhh, okay. Sorry, I didn't recognize the number. I slept okay.
Good. I didn't. I kept thinking about how we almost kissed. My thumb hovers over the send button for a second. I'm not sure if I should send it, it might be too forward for her.
Fuck it, I think and send it anyway.
There's a long pause. She isn't texting back. I let out a heavy breath and hang my head. I should have listened to myself. What the fuck was I thinking?
My phone vibrates, making me grin immediately.
You and me both. It came close.
Not close enough.
I'm not sure we could have been much closer than that.
I think we could have. My bed has plenty of room for two.
You're a pretty bold guy.
Is that a bad thing?
Not necessarily. I gotta get back to work though.
Where you working again?
Giovanni's, but I really can't talk. I'll see you later, she types back.
I slip my phone back in my pocket, feeling pretty good. She could have struck me down instantly, but she didn't. This gives me some hope that she feels something too. A pull. A tug. The slightest shred of something. It's there.
The bell rings, and I abandon my post. The food truck in the parking lot is open, so I grab the best dish on the menu to go.
“Hey! I thought you weren't eating here today?” Jed calls out to me as I'm jogging away.
“I changed my mind!”
“Where the hell are you going? You only have thirty minutes, you know!”
“Don't worry, I'll be back.” I jog around the corner to the bus stop and hop on the bus before its doors close.
I take the bus to the small restaurant where Anna is working. There's a couple at one of the tables, and a few people just getting seated. The restaurant is fairly new in the city. It hasn't been around as long as some of the others. I have no idea if it'll make it or not in the long term.
Most of the places around here have either been here for decades or they constantly change into something else. That's how the restaurant business goes. You either make it or you don't.
But in a place like Boston, if you don't catch the local crowd, you'll never last. Giovanni's Bistro is still in its infancy. Only time will tell if it survives.