Page 18 of Tangled Emotions

I felt like I was hyperventilating, and I noticed the water getting cooler on my back.

Chuckling, I washed up again and rinsed my mess down the drain. Not the first time I’ve ended up in a cold shower. But I hoping it’s the last.

Once I shut the water off, I made quick work of drying off and slipped into some boxers to sleep. The sheets were cool and soft and smelled like fresh lavender. I twisted my body to flip off thelight and grabbed my phone, noticing a new message from an unknown number.

Hi! This is Edie’s phone and I’m all alone in the diner without her

Maybe you could play the part of a hero and deliver me to her?

If that were my baby sister, I’d probably have killed her by now, but Evelyn was doing me a solid.

I rolled back out of bed, threw on some clothes, and almost bolted from the house.

Edith

Through the window, I watched him carefully put the food in a bag on the side of his motorcycle. Then he looked around and swung his leg up and over the bike. The way his jeans clung to his legs almost made me drool.

He lifted his head, and I felt like he was looking at me as he reached for the handlebar. His arms looked like a bodybuilder’s, and I saw them ripple and move under his shirt.

He popped on a helmet and did whatever motorcycle guys do to start their hogs, and off he went.

“His name is Frank.” Evie spoke softly next to me after he’s out of sight.

“Ugh. How long have you been there, Evelyn?”

“Long enough to appreciate that slab of man meat.” She handed me his ticket with money and smiled. “Frank says you should call him.”

“How do you know?” I turned to glare at her.

She shrugged with a giggle. “He wrote you a note.”

I snapped the paper from her hand. “Isnothingprivate?”

“Are you serious? It’s on a ticket, Edie. I cashed him out. He left you a forty-buck tip.” She swung her ponytail and went to the back, grumbling. “Lucky bitch.”

Giggling like a schoolgirl, I looked down at the note.

Hey Sweet Thing,

Here’s my number. Gimme a call if you need a break from life.

Frank

“Sweet thing? Who does he think he’s kidding?” Shaking my head, I put the note and my money in my pocket and looked at Dad. “I’m outta here.”

“Make good choices, daughter.” He lifted his cup of coffee at me with a smile as I walked backwards out the front doors.

Across from us, on the opposite corner, sat the Bearded Barrel Brewery and Pub.

It’s on the opposite corner of our restaurant, and my best friend Ronnie worked there. She paced outside on the sidewalk and looked like she’s about to throw down.

“What’s eatin’ you?”

She stopped and looked up with a sour look on her face. “Before I was sleepin’ with my boss, I could lift all the heavy shit I wanted. Now that we share a bed? I’m a delicate flower.”

“Ronnie, you knew Paul was like that. He just never felt he had the right to tell you not to do something.”

“Edith.” She stomped her foot. “Whose side are you on?”