Page 10 of An Anomaly of Sunlight

A deer darts out of the trees, pulling me out of my head. I slam the breaks, skidding to a stop just before clipping it. Glancing in the rear view and finding no one behind me, I allow myself a moment to catch my breath.

The silence is loud. Hell, I never even turned any music on.

No matter. I’ll let my thoughts keep me company this morning.

I try to remember more of the dream as I slowly press the gas pedal down again. All I can dredge up is a scene as if the wolf jumped on me. No… more like into me? My sight became clearer then. The water impossibly colorful, like the earth had flipped, and it was the auroras I stared at instead.

I shake my head to clear it and pop on my left blinker. I’m almost to Burrow’s, and I don’t need to be distracted by giant wolves and fantasy lands while I’m trying to learn how to operate this register.

Unfortunately, I just need a completely new brain at this point. Because as soon as I push the wolf out of my head, Skyler settles back into it.

Will he be training me? Will I get to know him better? Would he ever talk to me outside of work? He’s incredibly handsome. It was impossible not to notice the muscles rippling beneath his shirt. His hazel eyes and dark hair, the one wispy curl falling on his eyebrow. His smirk when he told me what time to be here this morning is burned into my memory.

Okay. Time to derail that train of thought.

I bring Delilah to a halt inside the white lines, next to the only other car in the parking lot, a black sports car. Squinting to see if anyone is behind the counter yet, I catch Skyler gliding toward the doors. I chew on my bottom lip. That means the car is his. Which decidedly makes him more attractive.

I peep at my dash to check the time, but I don’t need the clock to know that it’s eight a.m. sharp as Skyler begins unlocking the doors. Quickly, I give myself a pep talk.

I am brave.

I am smart.

Most importantly, no inappropriate thoughts, jokes, or gestures.

I’ve got this. He’s just a guy — just my boss. Another thing I need to repeat. This time until my body believes it. Skyler’s gaze meets mine as my feet touch the sidewalk. An unknown amount of time passes, or perhaps it freezes entirely.

The atmosphere is charged between us. His eyes pierce straight to my soul, as if they can see the broken pieces. I study them, flecks of green woven between the browns. Bright with life that could trickle between the cracks and bloom light in the darkest parts of me.

“Good morning, Amethyst. I’m delighted to see you showed.” His voice breaks the spell. I find it hard to catch my breath. “Is a new hire showing up so strange?” I ask. With a chuckle, he holds open the door for me, “Practically equivalent to seeing a unicorn in a field full of deer.” I quirk a brow, wondering who would go through the trouble of getting a job if they didn’t intend on showing up for it.

“There’s also the ones who take the job, but start showing up egregiously late, like the other associate scheduled this morning.” He continues, stepping behind the faded black counter. He shakes his head, then motions me over to the register. I stop at his side and he grins at me.

Suddenly there’s a herd of butterflies in my stomach. “Anyway, don’t let me scare you off on your first day.” He slides his fingers across the register, punching a few keys as they pass. “This is how you’ll clock in and out.”

I trace the pattern of keys he pressed with my eyes, making sure I understand. It seems simple enough to remember, just follow a rectangular shape. Two keys over, three down, two over again. Nodding, I turn to him, but he’s hunched over writing something down.

Just as quickly he turns his attention back to me, handing me a note. “This is your employee I.D. and password. We do have to change the password every six months, which is super frustrating, but corporate, you know? I’ve had a running variation of Hellscape101 for the past few years.”

Covering my mouth as my laughter turns into a mortifying snort, I tap the buttons he showed me. That takes me to a screen asking for the I.D. While typing in the numbers from the note, I add to the conversation, “I definitely know all about corporate.” I recall the unpleasant memories of how after taking the contract deal, I pretty much lost all of my creative freedom.

“They have the brains of a goldfish. Make decisions in ignorant bliss with no knowledge of the outside world. Or in this case, inside the store.” I scoff, then turn to Skyler for my next directions, only to find him staring at me with such an intensity, I lose my words momentarily.

“Where have you been all my life.” My breath hitches as his words come out not as a question, but a statement. I’m drawn to him in a way I don’t understand. It’s a terrible idea to think of him as anything other than a colleague. But Skyler looks at me like I’m the answer to a long-lived prayer.

And not only is it easy to fall into the fantasy… I want to. Worse yet, I don’t want fantasies. I want certainties. I want to know what his skin would feel like against mine. What sounds he would make if I —

No. It doesn’t matter what I want at present. What I need is a few sessions of therapy. Some time to figure out who I even am anymore. I need to protect my heart and my body too. Skyler could be a vampire. That thought is like ice water.

I don’t know him, and yet, I feel safe with him. Clearly, I need to have a crime show marathon. I sound insane. Stranger danger is still a thing, Amethyst. Even outside of kindergarten.

“Sorry I’m late!” A new voice breaks me out of my thoughts. Skyler glares at the newcomer, a stark contrast to the way he looked at me only moments ago. “Sorry would be acceptable if it were five minutes,” he glances down at his watch, “you are forty-five minutes late, Nitasha!”

She looks in my direction with deep brown eyes, unphased and unamused by Skyler’s chiding. “Name’s Nitasha,” she eyes me up and down, and I feel like cattle up for auction, “but you can call me Nita. All my friends do.” She winks, following up with, “And you are?” She doesn’t wait for an answer before sitting on the bagging area of register two, pulling a compact mirror and lipstick tube out of her purse, and applying it.

I’m equal parts appalled and impressed by her behavior. She’s... bold. “I’m Amethyst, it’s my first day.” She doesn’t even turn my way as she clicks her tongue, still looking in her mirror as now she fluffs her blond hair, two pink strands framing her painted porcelain face. A thud from behind has me spinning on my heels.

It seems we have our first customer. The woman on the other side of the counter reminds me of my grandmother. Short gray curls, a fluffy, patterned sweater, and slippers. I can’t wait until I can unleash my inner grandma someday.