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After seeing Rylie again, I spend the next few days watching for her everywhere I go, but I never see her out anywhere. Now that it has been nearly a week, I am frustrated with waiting to run into her. I want to just walk into her shop and claim her as mine, because that is what I want her to be, but I know that will scare the shit out of her. Instead, I decide to accidently bump into her. Well, she will think it is by accident, at least.
As soon as I get off of work, I head over to her shop and end up waiting for nearly two hours before I see the lights go off. Shit! This woman must work all the damn time. I see the front door open, and Rylie comes walking out. She’s pulls her keys out of her purse and doesn’t bother to pay any attention to where she is walking, so I quietly walk over and block her path.
~***~
Rylie
My move to Melbourneis the best thing that has ever happened to me. Gayle helped me out as much as she could, and she comes out every few months to visit me. She even helped me with getting a loan to start up my own salon. I can now proudly say that I’m the owner of X-treme Hair.
Life is good again. I find myself smiling and I want to wake up every morning. I’m not going to lie, moving was hard at first, but I adjusted well. I am living my life the wayIwant to live it. I don’t have to answer to anyone and I can finally breathe without being afraid. Everyone in Melbourne is nice and laid back. There’s no drama and I feel comfortable where I am.
I haven’t had a date since I was with Caleb. I guess I’m just too scared to put myself out there again. All I do is work and come home to an empty house. I thought about getting a pet, but I’m always on the go and it wouldn’t be fair to bring an animal into my home and leave it here all day alone. I tried making some new friends, but it was hard starting over. Erika, my front desk girl, helped me with the transition. It is just Erika, Mel (a girl just over on vacation from Canada that needed work) and I in the salon for now. We bank every night, but our bodies go through a world of pain in the process.
I lost contact with Layla after the first year. She got busy with her life, and I got busy starting mine. I continue to send her Christmas cards every year after, but that is about the extent of our communication.
Surprisingly, I haven’t had a dream about Caleb in years, and I’ve finally been able to achieve a normal sleep pattern, which is exactly what I’m going to do as soon as I make it home to my comfy bed.
I’m closing up my shop and turn to walk to my car, when I run into something hard. “Shit, I’m sorry.”
I stumble back, I know that voice. I look up and notice it’s Derek. “What are you doing here?” I say sounding rude.
His eyebrows go up. “Uh, I live around here now. Fancy running into you here, Rylie,” he says with a grin.
“Um,yeah, nice to see you too.” I respond as I start to walk around him, but before I’m out of his reach, I’m pulled back by his hand after it gently latches itself on to my arm and slowly turns me around.
“Hey, want to get a bite to eat or something?” I hesitate at what he’s just asked, and he notices. “Just as friends.”
I think about it and decide that I may as well; after all, I am hungry. “Sure ok, just as friends.” Going out as friends is good. I can handle friends.
We make our way to a quaint little eatery a few blocks over. The building looks run down, but I’ve been in here a few times, and the food is amazing. We seat ourselves, seeing how the place is practically dead. I don’t even need to look at the menu. I order up a cheeseburgerwith extra pickles and mayo with a side of fries, also asking for a bottle of mustard for dipping. Derek looks shocked by what I order. “What? I love food.”
He smiles and asks for the same thing. “So, Derek, what brings you out this way?”
“Work, I got offered a better position out here. I jumped at the chance. I grew up in this city. My parents are still here, so why not.”
“What about everyone back in Perth? Do you keep in touch with them?”
“I talk to them every once in a while, but they are so busy now with their crew of kids.” He says chuckling.
Wow, everyone is happy there. I wish I could be happy for them, but hearing about all of them having kids hurts. “That’s great.” I say quietly.
“How long have you been here?” I say breaking up the silence.
“Moved here about a year ago. Been staying with my parents while I search for a house to buy. What about you?”
“I’ve been here three years now. I own a house over on Smith. It’s not much, but it’s mine.” I smile.
The waitress comes over and places our food in front of us. “Enjoy,and if you need anything else just call me over.” She says while twirling her red hair and smiling seductively at Derek. I shake my head. Seriously? Ugh, some women.
We dig into our food. Every time I dip my fries into the mustard, Derek makes a comment about how gross it is. I just chuckle.
I end up finishing my meal before he does, and when I go to pay for it, Derek gets to the check before me. “I got this.”
“Let me at least pay my share.”
“Nope, I asked you to come out for a meal, so it’s my treat.” I sigh and sit back in the chair. He wants to pay, fine. It saves me money.
He walks me to my car, back by my shop. “So, can I see you again?”
