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I planned to share the information with my family later and see if they remembered seeing the name. For some reason it stuck with me, and I couldn’t shake the feeling that there was something more there.
My shoulders were tense as I stepped out into the afternoon sunlight. I closed my eyes and craned my neck, hoping to ease the tension that balled between my shoulder blades. It was more than just the cramped basement that created the ache.
I scanned down Main Street before I pulled out my phone.
Cat Fact 217: Aoshima is a Japanese island where cats outnumber humans six to one.
I needed to speak with her—to hear her voice and know that things between us were going to be okay. I hated the fact that I was so consumed by her. People looked to me for answers. I was the man who could fix problems and get results, but with her, I was helpless.
Daryl Hall
I’m sorry.
My molars ground together.
No problem.
Can I call you tonight?
Whenever you’re free.
I spent the next several hours trying everything I could to stop thinking about Sylvie King. It was fucking hopeless. When the phone rang, I fumbled it trying to answer.
“Hello?” I coughed, trying to cover the tightness that crept into my voice.
“Hi.” Sylvie was quiet, her greeting barely above a whispered hush.
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just hard to get some privacy around here.”
I grunted a response. Despite being adults, we were sneaking around like a couple of teenagers.
I knew the reality was I would take her in any version of this life I could have her. She was unusually quiet, and the heaviness of the day before hung between us.
She knew what she wanted. She had made so much clear when she was sure to reiterate that sex between us was a one-time thing.
“So yesterday was...” A whoosh of breath came over the phone.
“Yeah.” I wasn’t exactly sure how to finish that statement.
Amazing.
Confusing.
Life-altering.
Complicated.
I pressed my fingers into my eyes to relieve the pressure. “I was a little bummed not to hear from you this morning.”
Her soft laughter was like balm to my soul. “Well, I didn’t hear from you either.”
I smiled at her sass. She wasn’t wrong. “I stared at my phone for a while, but in the end decided to give you space. Every time my phone pinged, I was hoping it was you.”
Sylvie laughed again. “God, we are so dumb, aren’t we?”
I grimaced but suppressed another laugh. “Yeah, I guess you’re right about that.”
