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He drained the rest of his beer before retrieving another. With steady steps, he grabbed his cell off the island and walked to the living room. Launching Friendly Words, he tapped the screen and brought up the message thread.
You there?
Tilly was shutting things down to head to bed when her phone buzzed. Friendly Words was still up, so she saw the message waiting from Gage. She’d just been thinking about their chat. With how her evening started, it had been nice to end the night with nothing more than easy banter. And it was easy to talk to him. Maybe that was because of the anonymity...no expectations, no judgment, just two people talking. It was nice. Settling back on the stool, she replied,
I’m here.
Gage felt a sense of relief when her message popped up and dropped his ass onto the couch.
It’s getting late, but I have to be honest, I don’t wanna stop chatting. Does that make me sound like a stalker? Or a fucking weirdo? :P
Tilly chuckled reading his message because she was a weirdo, too, then. A conversation where none of the everyday bullshit got in the way. She started to type back, stopped, but then thought fuck it.
I don’t want to stop chatting either. Talking with someone where there’s nothing expected of me, nothing needed from me, just talking for the purpose of talking. It’s nice.
Gage completely understood what Tilly was saying. He typed out.
I couldn’t agree more. ;)
Tilly walked to the fridge for a bottle of water and settled back down at the island. She was laughing as she typed.
With that being said. I’ve warned my kids about talking to strangers on the internet. So, Gage, how do I know you are really who you say you are and not an alien trying to tap into my brain? Trolling a word game app fits with that scenario. ; )
Gage laughed, causing a sleeping Velvet on the chair to stir. She shot him a look of disgust before laying her head back down.
Well, Tilly, I could say the same about you. How do I know you aren’t sitting in a padded room, eating your own hair, while singing show tunes, huh?
Tilly laughed out loud, biting her lip to keep it down, so she didn’t wake her family.
Well damn. You figured me out. I thought I was being stealthy. Though, it’s not show tunes, I’m partial to commercial jingles.
Gage laughed harder this time, getting a muffled growl from Velvet. “Sorry, girl.” He apologized and added, “But she’s kinda fucking funny.” Velvet didn’t seem to care about Tilly’s humor as she rose, spun and laid back down in the exact same spot she had been.
Good to know. Although, tapping into your brain, I might like to do cause how in the fuck are you coming up with such high point words? Is it the hair consumption? Pic exchange?
Gage threw the last in there to settle Tilly’s nerves. He wasn’t there to make her feel insecure; he wouldn’t do that to anyone.
Tilly had just taken a sip of her water when she read his message and almost spat it out. All that hair consumption, he was funny. She wasn’t sure why, at his suggestion of swapping pics, she didn’t even think twice. Maybe because she was old school and liked knowing what the person looked like she was talking to.
I suppose the prudent thing, that would be a high earning point word, would be to exchange pics. Fair warning, as my kids like to say, I’ve only just entered the twenty-first century, my selfie taking skills are limited.
Gage smiled at the screen and typed out.
I’d say, ladies first, but if you’d like me to go first, I understand. As for my selfie taking skills, I suck. :P
Tilly grinned and replied,
I appreciate your gentlemanly ways with ladies first, but I think I’ll let you go first. ; )
For some reason, Gage didn’t want to look at her response. After he had sent the message, he felt a pang of guilt hit his gut. But what they were doing wasn’t wrong. And it wasn’t like he’d be burned at the stake seeing a pic of another woman. It made her human. Jesus, they were adults. But his heart rate picked up slightly when he snatched his phone off his thigh, waiting to see a pic of her. Instead, he read her message. He smiled. With that smile on his face, he opened his image gallery and started scrolling. He came across a few pics of himself that his daughter had taken when she’d stolen his phone last weekend. Only to leave fifty new pics of random shit on his phone. He chose the one where he was standing up against his truck, looking off in the distance. He opened his and Tilly’s message thread, typed out,deal, and added the pic along with it.
Tilly sat at the counter and was surprised at the rush of excitement she felt waiting to see a pic of him, to put a face to the personality. When the picture came through, her first reaction was to laugh. Smartass. There was no way that was him, not the image looking back at her. For one thing, he didn’t look forty-six. Sure his hair was peppered with gray, but his face was not the face of a forty-six-year-old. And to add to that, he was the most beautiful man she’d ever seen. Soulful brown eyes and a body carved from muscle. He did say he owned a landscaping business. The man in the picture certainly had the body of someone who worked hard labor for a living, but this man was sitting at home alone on his birthday. His wife chose her friends over him. She called bullshit.
A picture of yourself, Gage. There is no way that’s you. What did you type into Google? Because now I’m going to need to Google that too. I’m close on the alien thing, aren’t I?
Gage chuckled. He wasn’t full of himself in the least, but he knew he looked good for his age. If anything, the woman’s number on the crumpled up napkin sitting in the garbage at the coffee shop was proof enough.
I’m going to take that as a compliment, but that’s me. I’ll send you another, but I’ll make sure to tuck in my antennas.
