New role play

Crazy coworkers? Well, that was a story that begged to be told.

Ah, no complaints. I'm born and bread for the business. Do elaborate on the craziness, if you wish?

"I'm not that much of an idiot but I also know dating a coworker is probably not the best idea. Now she's pissed at me. You tell me something, crazy customers claiming you spit in their food?" He sat on his couch, waiting for the reply.

She couldn't blame the coworker. She didn't even know Luke and was a little pissed she wasn't dating him, either.

Ah, not interested? Keep an eye on the crazy. Don't want to end up on Snapped.

She thought of the worst customer stories as of late, then remembered one from the previous morning.

I had an elderly woman watch me pull a fresh challah from the oven, then accuse me of pre-making it and sticking it back in. She wanted the freshest of the fresh, you see. And you also have the gluten-terrified ones who seem surprised that donuts contain sugar. It's mystifying. Nothing but love for my coworkers, though!

Luke laughed more and they spent the night texting back and forth interesting stories. He about clients but of course changed their names as he's to confidential and she spoke of customers. It was finally 3am and he realized he'd be up very late and had an early appointment at 10am.

"I feel like an ass keeping you up so late....., we have been texting for 3 hours straight. I've always wanted to visit Ohio as of right now. I get that its weird...in a stranger and I haven't sent a dick pic yet, if that's what you're waiting for?"

"Kidding" he added.

Vera's eyes grew wide as she stared down at her phone. Was he flirting? She was so bad at this, but she was pretty sure she was flirting. Uneasiness settled in her stomach. She actually liked this stranger, whom she'd never met nor seen, and she would never have the guts to truly face him. She was wasting his time.

"I need to get a grip," she groaned, reaching for Jinxy across the bed and scratching around his ears. He purred in return and rewarded her by coming closer, snuggling against her side. It was dark, the only light in the room coming from her cell phone, the battery nearing low power mode. Her eyes were strained, she was fighting sleep, and now she hadn't a clue how to respond.

I've had enough of those to last a lifetime, she texted back. Don't feel bad for keeping me up late! I'm sure you're tired. Next time we talk, I'll have all sorts of puns to make you regret befriending me.

Attaching a winky emoji to the end of the last line, she sent it out into the void and curled up against her cat. "What have I gotten myself into?"

---

Vera found herself sitting in the bakery on her break once again, poring over old text messages with Lucas. She was slowly getting addicted.

Nat appeared suddenly, back from rearranging the cupcake displays at the front of the shop, and plopped down in the chair across from her. "What's with you and that phone lately?"

Vera shrugged. She knew it would make her look more lonesome than she already appeared, but she hid nothing from Nat. "It's this guy I'm texting. I mean, it started as a wrong number but we've just been... I don't know. We don't even know each other, but at this point, it kind of feels like we do."

Nat blinked. Then she blinked some more. "You don't even know the guy?"

Vera turned pink, averting her eyes toward the windows behind her cousin. "It doesn't matter. We're never going to meet."

The chair screeched against the linoleum as Natalie slid closer, a devious grin on her face. "OK, sweets? This is either some serious stranger danger or the plot of the best romance novel ever." She beckoned with her fingers, nodding toward Vera's unlocked phone. "Let me see."

Ten minutes had passed before Nat said anything, before a single emotion flashed across her face while she read the contents of Vera and Luke's messages. Suddenly, looking up from her phone, she beamed. "I want to know what this fucker looks like, don't you?"

Vera rolled her eyes. "I can't do that. Then I'd owe him a photo in return."

Nat's grin was gone in an instant. "Keep talking shit about yourself, V, and I'll slap you sideways to Philly. You're fucking gorgeous." She slid the phone across the table until it slid off and into Vera's lap. "Come on, we've got two weddings to prepare for. You can sulk later."

Hours later, Vera was packing up her things when her phone buzzed with a notification. This time, it wasn't a message. It was Facebook. Lucas Reed has accepted your friend request.

She turned back around and headed toward the office, anxiety on overdrive. "Nat, what did you do?!"

A week later, Jenny admitting she acted jealous and Luke having to admit he only saw her as a friend..it was turning out to be a great week. He was stuck in his cubicle with his mountain of paperwork. He stopped when he received a text, reading it over and this girl was asking for his full name to add him to Facebook. He of course knew her name by now, it was Vera and she was a saved contact in his phone.

Gives over his full name to add him saying sure and also indicating which Lucas Reed he would be when you searched. He kept his focus on his Facebook account from then on, waiting for some notification and not till 5 did he see something.

People left the office saying goodbye and he ignored them, as he looked over Vera's profile. She had a lot of mention on her business more than anything else. He took a look at her photos and was pleased to see she wasn't an old granny. Dates of the pictures were a little old but yes, she was a cutie.

He messaged her on the Facebook messenger this time, "This only took a month of texting back and forth."

When the message came through on Vera's phone, she was still raging at Nat. "You can't do this!"

"Just did," Nat said, waving her off. "Have you even stopped screeching at me to look at the man?"

She hadn't. She was too mad. She was curious, yes, but more than that, she was mad. "That man now knows my place of business, the town I live in, has seen my old face-"

"It's still your face," Val interrupted. "Look, I texted him and asked to add him. He told me who he was and I did it. And hello, he's fucking hotness personified. Shut up and check your phone."

Val was brash and she didn't apologize for shit. Vera knew it was pointless to keep yelling about it. Infuriated, she slid open her phone screen and clicked on the Facebook app, then found herself going to his page. Holy fuck, Val was right.

Either it was PMS or her fear was legit, but her heart nearly stopped. Her voice rose three octaves by the time she spoke again. "This is a huge mistake. He can't look like that and be texting me."

Just then, her phone pinged with a text. Naturally, from the man himself. Nat grinned. "Guess he can."

She looked down and realized that she'd opened his Facebook message by mistake. There was no leaving the conversation now.

She wanted to apologize, to be honest and say that she hadn't sent him any requests, that her cousin enjoyed complicating her life and nothing more, but damned if she wasn't transfixed by the picture of that bearded, smiling man in the profile. He stood before a house in the middle of construction, a hammer held menacingly in his hand, and another man was at his side, pretending to cower, mouth open as if to scream. She wanted to laugh. All his photos showed such fun, such happiness. Why shouldn't he be happy? He was gorgeous.

She relented and texted back. It's really been a month? PS: Great profile photo. The other guy looks like a total tool, though.

Luke smirked at the reply, "He almost got a tool in the head and thank you. You have some good photos as well...from 4 years ago, not that I was looking. I was just happy to know you were not 85 or worse not legal age..."

Grew board of selfies, she texted back, still rolling with the puns. She joked when she was nervous. It was the only thing keeping her from crawling into the fetal position and screaming for hours on end.

And I'm glad you're not a murderer. I'm 26, and you?

Why was she still doing this? Her heart was racing as she flipped through his photos in wait of a reply. She was in way over her head.

When she looked up, Nat was grinning. "I can see you're really hating his photos. What an ugly, bearded, alpha mug. What a creep. Know what, just send him my way. I'll take care of him."

Vera narrowed her eyes. "You're married."

She shrugged. "Jack's been looking to experiment in the bedroom. He just didn't envision the plus one being a dude."

She felt oddly possessive of this man who didn't truly know her at all. She sighed. "I'm still mad at you. This thing won't last, it'll fizzle out, he'll find his old college crush he meant to text and she'll look like Margot Robbie."

Nat snorted. "Yeah, let me know how that works out. Send Luke my regards. Or nudes. Either one." She left before Vera could respond, and she sat down on the hard wood chairs, staring down at her phone. Pathetic as it was, she waited for his reply.

"Just turned the big 30....so beard felt appropriate. You're also quite hilarious, I'm waiting for the next pun." He sat back, the time was 6 and he was still at work. He grabbed his stuff and left, heading home as quick as he could. He grabbed his laptop as he waited for the pizza he ordered to show up.


He thought to himself how this was going to work, her profile said single but she was in Ohio! He couldn't stop himself from talking to her. The jokes he liked, it took his mind off things and it'd had been awhile since a girl really caught his attention in more ways than just looks.

Thirty wasn't bad at all. She liked it. She liked the beard, the long hair. She liked him. Against all rational thought, she could see herself being in a relationship with him. She could see him looking past the scars and seeing her for more than her past. Then again, she could also see him running for the hills. She knew what she looked like now. She could see it on the face of every customer who would rather look away and pretend they saw nothing than look her in the eyes.

Moment of truth: I steal most of them from the internet, she confessed. Puns are kind of a thing for my sister and me.

That being said, Spring is here. I'm so excited I wet my plants!

Laughing out loud, "I'll keep your secret and assume you came up with all of them. You need to tell me more about yourself, you bake and write..,what else? I get to ask questions and I will agree to answer ones you have for me..."

His phone went off, friends he's met from Jenny asking to go out and he replies that he's feeling sick, turns off his phone and waits for her reply.

Nothing made one feel more boring than having to summarize their lives and wishes and loves into a few sentences. She didn't know where to begin. She read, she wrote, and she baked. What else was there?

I live above the bakery that I co-own with my cousin Nat. I have an older sister, who's 29 and married, with two beautiful kids. She's a paralegal, her husband is a police officer. My whole family is basically involved in law. Dad is a judge, mom is a retired Literature professor who spends her time painting. I love my family more than anything; we're pretty tight-knit.

God, she was droning on now. She paused to ask about him, instead. How about you? Strong facial hair run in the genes?

Luke was impressed with what he read, "I'm not very close with my mom, I see her from time to time. Last I heard she was a waitress. Not going to bore you with my family drama but not close knit like yours which is nice to read....i live in Philadelphia as you know, moved here drom Boston where I went to school and spent most of time but I have lived pretty much everywhere..favourite would have to have been Vegas. For more than obvious reasons."

Vera felt a pang of sadness when she read his response. She figured his father wasn't in his life at all, and to not be close with his mother? Her mother was practically her best friend, her sounding board, her confidante. She couldn't imagine being without.

Hell, she'd take the hideous scar she was sporting over not having a mother.

I'm so sorry to hear that, she replied, wishing she had something better to say than weightless condolences but knowing that he wouldn't wish to drag the issue further. Can't say I'm well traveled, but Vegas sounds fun! I'm a mountain gal, myself. Boone, NC is a favorite of mine.

Her family had a cabin there. How nice it would be to return one of these days.

How nice it would be to show Luke.

Shaking off the thought, she sent the text and made her way out and up toward her apartment.

He read that and wanted to say more but wasn't sure. They seemed quite different but she was easy to talk to. He chose to go about his business and life.

He went a few weeks even without saying anything to her, reminding himself she is just someone he messaged and she lives far away, talking himself out of all of it. Why no recent pictures of herself he wondered?

He finally broke down and looked at his phone, he had a one night stand last night or tried to...it wasn't what he wanted. He decided to hit call, instead of text.

Vera was in the middle of a Walking Dead marathon when her phone rang. She expected it to be anyone but Lucas when she checked to see who it was.

Her anxiety skyrocketing, she jerked up in her seat and straightened her stance, as if he could see her from her blanket cocoon on the couch. Texting was easy. It was safe. She could rewrite and erase and rewrite again and he'd never know. Talking was different. Terrifying.

But as nervous as she was, she was curious as hell to hear what he sounded like. She bet his voice was deep and rich, as manly sounding as he looked.

Her voice way too high, she answered.

"Uh... hey?"

"Look, I get it's crazy me calling you but I needed to put a voice to the texting and..., is that screaming in the background? What are you watching?" He asks, curious.

She laughed, hearing his husky, confused voice on the other end. She'd been right - he sounded as alpha as he looked, and she sounded like a twelve year old dork who'd never talked to a boy in her life. In her defense, it had been quite a while.

"It's The Walking Dead," she answered him, no longer focused quite so intently on her favorite show. She reached to turn down the volume. "It's kind of my obsession."

She glanced at the clock on the wall above her television. "So what are you doing this fine evening?"

"the Walking Dead, seriously....do girls like you actually exist or only in Ohio? This evening I have been starring at my phone and thinking about what to text as it's been awhile..." He admitted, felt he shared a little to much but he wanted too.

She didn't know what to say after that opening. He'd been thinking about her. He was flirting and it was in real time and she couldn't duck away to type out a reply later. It was here and now.

"It has been a while," she said. "Wedding season is upon us and we're getting swamped. I can't imagine what kind of cases you're dealing with, either." She tried holding back the massive yawn that came, but she was sure he could hear her quiet sigh. "Puns are aplenty, though. I should text you more often."

He could hear the tiredness in her voice but needed to speak his mind, "Well, I won't keep you but I needed to say hey..." He concluded.

Vera didn't want him to hang up. His voice was soothing, comforting in a way that surprised her. She found herself protesting with a little too much fervor before he could hang up. "Wait! No. I like you - I mean, talking to you. Your voice. It's nice. Honestly, everything has been... nice."

She cringed. She was murdering this conversation.

"Trust me, it sounded better in my head."

They went to talking more from then after, calling every week so it seemed. Taking turns, he shared recent stories he dealt with at work even though half the time would say it's confidential and she would even say that for him. He laughed when she did that.

He spoke how he was seeing his mother for thanksgiving and how it had been two years since he saw her last. She was stopping by with her new boyfriend, a good man this time she claimed. Luke was well aware to just roll with it and not give his whole attention to it.

After the dinner ended, Vera was calling right away and they spoke some more. It truly was remarkable. He finally broke down and said, "Vera...i get some vacation from work in December for Christmas, not much, even social workers make surprise visits during the holidays and I tend to visit the group home I spent most of my childhood growing up, instead I really was hoping to check out Ohio. I know it's....but I don't expect anything, just simply a dinner and just seeing you. What do you think?"

Vera froze. This moment had been coming for a long time, and yet she still wasn't prepared for an answer. She wanted more than anything for him to come, but she was terrified all at once.

"I... Luke, you shouldn't waste your vacation visiting me. I'll be here to text and joke with. Too much time with me and you'll wish you'd stayed in Philly." She faked a laugh at her self-deprecation, wishing she'd had a better excuse. Or a better face.