*Book one in the Again series*
After a heated argument lands him in the spare bedroom of his grandparents' rancher, late bloomer Leon Snyder finds his love life heating up after multiple unsuccessful run-ins with a mysterious girl. Despite his faile...
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Sitting in a corner booth, I shuffle between social media apps on my phone to pass the time. My break's half over; my feet ache, my boss has been a hemorrhoid all night, and our clientele has been just the same. Despite all of the nuisances, I can't seem to shake the smile off my face.
My date with Leon has been on a continuous loop in my mind since the moment I left him in the parking lot. Beginning to end, over and over again.
But now that I'm on my break and my brain isn't consumed with orders of chili cheese fries and hot tuna melts, I find myself reminiscing over our night together even more.
My blind date wasn't a complete bust after all, I think as I pull up my contacts and begin my search for Henry and Joyce's names. Tapping on their contact, I type out a quick text, thanking them for dinner and telling them I had a good time. I hit send.
Once the text goes through, I immediately realize there's a chance they aren't knowledgeable on how to use current technology or know how to send a text. My gaze rises to the upper corner of my screen to check the time. Eleven seventeen. Even if they did know how to work a smartphone, they're probably sound asleep at this hour.
I'll just call them in the morning, I decide and tap out of my inbox and onto Instagram.
My phone buzzes with a notification. A text from Henry and Joyce's number.
Who is this?
Katie. Is this Henry or Joyce? Or do I have the wrong number?
No, this is Leon. They must've given you my phone number instead of theirs.
I shake my head with a laugh and begin typing out another response. Of course they'd do this. They wanted Leon and I to get to know one another so badly, they gave me his number as insurance in case I hadn't followed through with our date.
OMG! They set me up. Well, thanks for tonight. I had fun. Good night.
No problem. It was great seeing you again. Good night, beautiful.
There was a red heart emoji at the end of his response, right beside the word 'beautiful'. I've been called beautiful plenty of times over text and in the comments of photos posted of me on social media, but I've never smiled as quickly or as hard as I am right now.
The alarm on my phone signals, notifying me of the end of my break. I return to work with an unwavering smile on my face.
***
The beginning of my shift had been slow and easy, an odd number of customers came in at a time to get milkshakes or a quick bite to eat. The middle of my shift was about the same. But now that I've reached the end of my shift, the part I dread most when working nights, when all of the rowdy ass drunks from the bar next door start piling in, my night takes a turn for the worse.
