New role play

Luke was just heading out of his office, or he meant to but couldn't help staring at his cellphone. In his other left hand was piece of paper with a number on it. A knock on the door broke his concentration and he looked over to see a coworker sticking his head in "What are you still doing here?"

Luke smirked and stood up, tucks the phone in his pocket. He turned off his lamp and finally answered "it's been one of those days, cases are long and feel free to stop me from whining about my life any time now."

His coworker, who was the first friend for him to make in this new town. Jenny was her name. He had just moved to Philedalphia, had to go where the job was and after years of university and masters in social work degree later, he was finally doing it.

Jenny looked at him, "You know I will, what are you doing tonight?" As they headed to their cars, "Meeting you for drinks clearly...?" Jenny smiled, "Smart answer, Joeys?" And she left as Luke gave a nod. He got into his own car, took out the phone again and that number. All this time, he was still thinking about the girl he met at college and here was her number, it was a small world when you run into someone who had the very thing you would like.

He was a confident guy but still sending a simple text was not so easy, it wasn't till he made it home after two beers "Hey....this is Luke. Yes from college. Be great to hear from you?" He looked at the text and grabbed another beer from his fridge, it was definitely a video game night

Vera Baker



Backed against the door of her tiny, one-bedroom apartment, she could do nothing but watch as he advanced, his wavy dark locks disheveled, his eyes feral. Truthfully, all she wanted was for him to close the distance between them. To say what she hadn't the nerve to say after all this time.

"You don't get to say that to me," he said, stepping closer, navigating the small space as if there were a minefield beneath them. Every inch he stole from her was a taunt, a test. Would she run or would she face what this was? "Not now, Celeste. Not after everything I've done."

Her heart was beating faster still, and damned if he wasn't breaking every boundary she'd carefully placed between them. When she spoke, her voice was every bit as small as she felt, watching Cade stalk toward her. "But Sarah-"

"Isn't you," he finished for her, his tone brooking no argument. "I don't know where you got this from, and frankly, I couldn't give two shits. I want you, Celeste. You."

"You say that now," she whispered, averting her eyes from his gaze. "You say that now, with the makeup and the jackets-"

"Without," he corrected her. "Without the makeup and the jackets and the camouflage. Without all of it. Sweetheart, I'll prove it to you. Is that what you want? Is that what it'll take to convince you?"

Yes. The word bounced around her head endlessly like an echo that wouldn't quit. She wanted nothing more, but her heart couldn't take the idea of him seeing what really lay beneath the layers of clothing. She'd give up entirely after that; she knew she would.

Before she realized it, he was standing before her, face to face, his eyes boring into hers. He had the power to look at anyone with such intensity, they wouldn't dare utter anything apart from the truth. And her ugliness, more than anything, was her truth. His work-roughened, yet tender hands, cradled her chin, his thumb rising to trace the outline of her trembling lower lip. She stilled underneath his touch. Despite it all, he was and always would be the calm to her storm.

"Let me," he pleaded, his deep voice sending a warmth through her like none other. "Let me prove it to you."

She didn't have time to weigh the pros and the cons. She wanted to trust him, and despite all she'd been through with every man prior, she truly did. He, Cade Matthews, was a different man entirely.

Swallowing down the last of her opposition, she closed her eyes and gave in.

"Yes."

"Is this sappy?" Vera asked aloud, to no one in particular. It was decidedly sappy. Her fingers hovered over the keys of her MacBook as she toyed with the thought of deleting the entire chapter and starting again. "Jesus, I'm practically writing about myself here."

The only answer she received was a quiet meow from beneath the desk, and before she could turn to find him, there came a thud and he appeared. Jinxy, her black and white striped American Shorthair, appeared beside her and stretched out his hind legs, finishing his yoga pose directly on top of her laptop. Either he was telling her to call it a day or the warmth radiating from the glowing keys was calling to him.

She was the ultimate stereotype, she realized. The cat lady who sipped coffee and wine and wrote romance novels in her spare time. She'd yet to be in love herself, but Stephen King had never killed anyone and he still felt qualified to be a writer. Surely she could conjure up all the feelings she'd imagine one would have.

She loved Jinxy, anyway. She dragged her fingers down his spine, laughing when it rose up to meet her touch.

And then he jumped and lurched away when her phone went off. If she weren't on her second glass of wine, she might've been offended.

The number wasn't familiar, nor was the text itself. She racked her brain for someone named Luke from college. She'd kept mostly to herself back then.

She slid her phone open to get the notification to go away, then considered. She knew how wrong numbers went. If she didn't let them know, they'd keep coming.

"Not sure you have the right number, Luke." She spoke as she typed, her mind still on Cade and Celeste and the steamy love scene that would ensue, and eventually hit Send.

Luke was in the middle of a level when his cellphone caught his attention, not liking the reply he quickly replied "Fuck, sorry whoever this is" and tossed the phone to his side. He sat in a bit of defeat, was he really looking to settle down? Almost 30...shakes his head thinking he was being an idiot.

Vera stared across the counter at the third difficult customer that day, this time a thirty-something lady who was dumbfounded that Vera had given herself free reign with some spelling adjustments on the going-away cake she'd decorated.

"You deliberately changed what I wrote on the note," the woman argued, phone in hand, a baby in the other. "What gives you the right?"

Vera's customer service smile wavered momentarily. "You're is a contraction, ma'am. Your is possessive. You're wishing your coworker "all the best in you are future endeavors."

The woman bristled. "You're insinuating I don't know how to spell? You put bows on cakes and overprice them and now you've got an English degree I don't know about?"

Vera swallowed. "Well... yes."

That did it. Vera may have come across as snobbish, but she wasn't about to tarnish the reputation of Baker's Dozen, the bakery she and her cousin Natalie had worked so hard to get on the map, with silly grammatical mistakes. That wouldn't placate the woman across from her, though.

"Redo the cake, Vera." She turned to find Natalie herself strolling in, tossing her bag behind the counter. "If she wants to look like an ass at the retirement party, let her."

As quickly as the lady had come in yelling, she left, her perfectly spelled cake in hand. The bell above the door jingled as she strode out, and Vera looked toward her favorite cousin with a grin. "I had two people today ask me if our donuts contain sugar, and now this. Thanks for that."

Nat grinned and gave her a pat on the shoulder. "Any time, boo."

While Nat busied herself with putting her things away, Vera looked down at her phone in boredom. Her sister Hannah was away for vacation, having taken the husband and the kids for a short vacation at Cedar Point. She missed having her here. Quickly, she went to the saved notes on her phone and copied off one of the many funny jokes she'd looked up and reserved for moments such as these. Stupid puns were kind of their thing, and the worse they were, the better.

Without much thought, she pasted a recent favorite and hit send.

My sister bet that I couldn’t build a car out of spaghetti. You should’ve seen her face when I drove pasta.

A little too late, she realized that the last text exchange she'd had was with some guy named Luke, and it was to Luke that the joke was delivered.

Snorting to herself, she saw the last one he had sent. Word for word, she replicated it and sent it on its way.

Fuck, sorry whoever this is.

Luke was getting into his car, warming up his hands rubbing them together. He was up early making a few house calls. The clients were always surprised to see a guy at their doorstep and not some elderly old woman. It's what set him apart. end of the day, the kids were taken care of and he was happy.

His cases were turning out to be pretty easy going, didn't see much cause for concerns. Before he drove off, he decided to check his phone for any emails and saw a text notification. He read it and then smirked slightly, "Not a bad thing to read early in the morning, thanks again whoever this is"

He shook his head slightly, exchanging messages with some stranger felt weird but he did it anyways. He drove off to grab some coffees and headed into the office, he really just had a little cubicle but he passed Jenny's on the way and saw her wall to wall with papers in her desk. She had two empties coffees already.

"How many cases do you have?" He said, looking at all the files. Jenny glanced to him, taking the second coffee knowing it was for her. She finally sat back and looked at him, "More than I need...I keep telling them that."

"I could use some more, I only have 3..." He said, reminding her and she looked at him, "You're still new, trust me I pointed out how helpful you are..." He nodded, " I do get good coffee..." Jenny smiled back, "You splurge on Starbucks..." He took a sip of his own coffee, "Only the best..."

He walked off, not even noticing Jenny watching him go. He sat at his desk, took out a file and got to work making his notes for the day and during the day he gets a few phone calls from clients.

It wasn't until Vera climbed into her car to head home from work that she saw the text from Luke. For some reason, she found herself smiling.

Obviously meant to text my sister, but glad you enjoyed!

It wasn't the smoothest response, but they were strangers. She couldn't be so lonely as to romanticize everything anyone did. Some things didn't need to be thought through a million times. It was the last text either of them would likely send to the other.

She placed her phone on the passenger seat and put the car in gear. It was time to feed Jinxy and finish the love scene she'd left on pause. At least Cade and Celeste were having some fun tonight.

Later that week, one of his cases took a turn for the worse out of nowhere. A couple planned to adopt a young boy but were decide against it. It was Lukes job to oversee adoptions and the homes kids are going to and everything was fine with this couple. Good home, great parents with good jobs...everything on paper.

He sat at his desk after getting off the phone with the group home the boy stayed at, he felt awful that kid not getting a home he was promised. He wasn't given much time when someone dropped off another file for him, a new case to take on since that one was over. This was his first official job in his field, years of studying and placements and finally he was doing it and he found it disturbing how easily changed from one problem to the next.

He opened the new file to see it was a client who had schizophrenia and required assistance. Luke was required to go assess him and set up the nescerray steps for care they may need. Never a dull moment.

He quickly grabbed his cell and texted exactly whom he meant to this time, "Anymore good puns?"

The text days later took Vera by surprise as she sat nursing a mug of fresh cocoa during her break at the bakery. Nat was hard at work mixing dough and fillings in the back of the shop while Vera read the newest Colleen Hoover novel on her phone.

When she saw the text, she grinned. She wasn't sure if this was a good thing or a bad thing. The name Luke sounded cute, but he could've very well been a creeper. Nonetheless, a pun was needed and she'd never deprive any poor soul of one when in need.

The one that came to her mind was one he might already know, but it was one of her favorites. Also, it would warrant another reply in order to close the joke.

And so, she texted back:

What do you call a snobbish criminal going down the stairs?

He was typing on his computer, hearing his text notifications and took the phone to read it. He replied "The criminal is not texting you that's for sure, if you're wondering" he didn't have a clue if this was a girl or a guy and knew he was being weird but needed the distraction.

Vera smiled. Well, that was comforting. Quickly, she fired back a response:

A condescending con descending! And aha, you've quelled a girl's suspicions. Can't be too careful nowadays, Luke.

She cursed herself as soon as the text was sent. Now he knew she was a girl, and did that come across as flirty? They were strangers. Was her anxiety deciding to hit her hard in this moment, or was she simply wrong to send it?

She told herself to get a grip and took a sip of her cocoa, wishing it were wine.

He was about to reply, interested this was a woman...a very funny one. He was caught off guard with his cellphone ringing and it happened to be an old mentor from years ago, they talked for awhile and told him how he was in Philadelphia of all places and doing the career he always wanted.

He hung up and headed out to his car, met up with Jenny again at the bar and more of her friends whom he started to enjoy spending time with. He had one too many and waited for his uber to show up, while he looked at his phone and read that pun again.

"You must be a comedian...." He texted, ignoring the fact it was 1am but hey it's a Friday night.

Once again, Vera sat in front of her computer, struggling with the English language. Cade, the ruggedly handsome character whose face and body took the shape of Jason Momoa's in her mind, and Celeste, whom she'd failed to plan out nearly as thoroughly because of reasons, stood in limbo, her leg slung around his waist, his hand fisted into her hair. She imagined Cade tapping his foot in wait, casting her a sideways glance from their alternate universe. 'Well? What next, Baker?'

The next text shook her from her stupor and she laughed. Jinxy looked up from chewing on his toy mouse, leaving kitty slobber on the edge of her desk. "He thinks I'm a comedian," she explained, as if he cared.

Pun in mind, she replied:

Nope, just a baker, rolling in the dough.

He got into his apartment 20 minutes later and looked at the text, "okay...I've got one then, you're bringing home the bread. And I'm done."


He laughed thinking this girl probably thinks your nuts and I feel a bit nuts but for some odd reason was compelled to text her. Now knowing it's a her. Work was getting crazy and he didn't know a lot of people here yet but of course this was the inner deep thoughts of a man's brain,

Why was she smiling at her phone like an idiot? She needed help. This Luke had her attention and it was a little sad how enjoyable she found their exchanges. If Hannah knew this was where her little sister would be in life at the age of twenty-six, she'd have gone through with her threat to set Vera up with an online dating account.

She'd tried it once and all she'd gotten for the effort were dick pics from every male in Ohio. No thank you.

She considered a pun in return, but her curiosity outweighed her silliness. She sent him a message a few moments later.

You've piqued my interest. How does Luke From College bring home the bread?

He was back to playing his xbox because enough with people today, he stuffed a chip in his mouth and looked at his phone, asking questions this one is he thought and may as well answer "Social worker...., you're up awfully late, bakers don't sleep?"

Her eyebrows rose when she saw that Luke was a social worker. All sorts of questions swirled around in her head.

She settled for the obvious answer.

No wonder you needed some jokes! I write in my spare time and I'm off on Saturdays. It's an exciting life I lead, Luke.

Way to talk about herself. She groaned. Without thinking, she followed up with a second text:

Things good on your end? I'm a goldmine of terrible puns for the social worker in need.

He looks at her reply, pauses his game and sits up "I also have tomorrow off, this is kind of weird texting a complete stranger but oddly enough isn't also..." He waited for the reply, playing his game but slightly glancing to his phone now and again.

Vera snorted. She was glad she wasn't the only one thinking the same thing.

I know, right??!

She set her phone down in the middle of texting and stared down at his phone number. Curious, she typed it into Google to narrow down a location. Philly?

She picked her phone back up and continued typing.

I won't lie, Luke. I just googled your #. Philly? What made you want to text a baker in Ohio?

He looked at this, "I thought your number was an old...friend from college, I clearly was given the wrong number and hey I know where you live now and I didn't have to google it."

Smiling, she fired back a response.

You also know I'm a writing baker female pun extraordinaire who's off on Saturdays. High time to murder me if you deem the travel worth it. Hope you find your friend from college! Unless you do decide to murder me, in which case I hope you don't. I'd fear for his/her safety.

Rambling aside, she went with it and watched the message change from Delivered to Read. She was so corny it was embarrassing.

He read it over and thought this we hilarious, "I can tell I'm talking to a writer with how much detail goes into your replies but trust me, I'm not interested in committing any murdees as it would require to move and leave my apartment..."

She was pretty sure that a smile was permanently etched upon her face since the first text that night. Replying was getting easier and easier, her guard lowering by the minute. He didn't know her, had never met her, had never seen her face. She felt free for the first time in years.

Duly noted. R&R trumps murder. I'm a homebody, myself, so the only people I kill are fictional.

She looked at the time. 2am and still texting a stranger. She wanted more than anything to know what he looked like, but she knew he'd want the same. Again, no thanks. She caressed her scar absently, feeling the raised ridges marring her face from the edge of her forehead, down to her right cheekbone. She wasn't cursing anyone with that image, but damned if it wasn't exhilarating to have such fun conversations with no expectations. Nothing had to come of it and nothing would. Just a girl and a guy and their love for the dumbest of puns. She liked it just fine that way.

---

Ever since the two called it a night, Vera found herself idly checking her phone, as if this Lukas character had somehow fallen in love with her humor, was somehow perfectly close to her age, was straight and decent, and perhaps hopefully blind as well. Blind, romantic, pun-loving Lucas would be the best birthday gift Vera could've asked for.

A week passed and she couldn't take it anymore when the perfect opportunity arose. She barely finished movie night with Sarah and the kids before she bolted out of the room, phone in hand.

Giddily, she texted Luke.

OK so I'm watching Despicable Me with my niece and nephew and I come up with the greatest pun known to mankind. Prepare yourself.

She couldn't wait for him to reply. She was too excited and too scared she'd forget. She followed up with another line of text.

I didn't like the Minions at first, BUT THEN THEY GRU ON ME! Hahahaha. I'm so proud of myself, Luke. You'd better be laughing.

"what's so funny?" Jenny said, watching now Luke check his phone at the bar and a smile formed across his face. He looked her, "Soem random girl I texted a few weeks ago, I had the wrong number and now she sends me puns..."

Jenny looked at him, "Youve never met her?" Luke just shrugged and shook his head, taking a drink of his beer "So, I told you how I went to Alan Roffs house and-----" Jenny looked at him, "I actually have to go." She stood up and Luke watched her do so.

"You're leaving early...it's not even 10 yet" he said, he called over to some friends at the pool table standing up. Jenny looked at him, "You know what, I can't help that you don't understand why I'm leaving Luke. Maybe think about it."

She turned on her heels and left, Luke looked after her very confused and spoke to friends about it. They had no idea themselves. He eventually got home, took out his cell and looked at the pub "That's a good one...."

Vera laughed, delighted that he found it funny rather than stupid. Either that, or he was being nice.

Thanks! I feel so accomplished. I want it written on my tombstone. It's my legacy now.

She couldn't figure out why he hadn't blocked her number by now. Surely she came off as a little childish. Damn that anxiety. She never knew which part of herself to trust: her gut or the nagging suspicion that everyone around her was tired of her shit.

All is well in Philly, I hope?

Luke looked at the reply and oddly enough felt comfortable continuing on, "Apart from crazy coworkers, it's normal days...how's the baking right?"