Troubled Coworker - Ch. 1.4

** Writers note: Sorry I'm late!!! Oh, and I just want to apologize for the dark pictures. I try to lighten them a bit normally, but didn't get these done before loosing my PC. Sorry! Also, with the new expansion, the full moon nights are VERY dark, there are a few pics that I've had to edit because of that - and they look a little weird, but I tried lol. I'll just try avoiding outdoor pictures on full moons. **

 

 

I've been saving my money to upgrade the house. It's been good couple of months, promotions have helped me along the way, I had saved up quite a bit. Most of the money I put into a new living room set, and wall covering. I did the kitchen as well, the wallpaper and a new dining table. I got a bigger size, although I don't see having that many people over, but you never know. I bought some curtains for every room too. It's definitely starting to feel more like a home to me. Now I just need to expand my bedroom. I'm starting to feel a bit cluttered in there.

Well, most of my days I spend working, or studying something, but I do get to go out sometimes. Mostly out fishing, but I have become a regular at the local diner too. I go there frequently after work, and for lunch on my off days. Sometimes I go with a friend or two, but mostly by myself. I came to realise the other day that there are more guys in this town than girls. At least it seems that way to me.

"That's a nice big one." Velina said from the bench.

Rosetta started. She had been so wrapped up in her own thoughts as she waited for a bite, that she hadn't seen her coworker arrive.

Velina laughed lightly at the look of shock on Rosetta's face. "Sorry to interrupt your mind."

Rosetta noted that Velina's eyes looked a little glossy, it appeared that she had been crying. Or maybe trying not to. Rosetta walked over to the bench and asked to sit down.

"Sure, if you've got nothing better to do."

Ignoring the snide comment, Rosetta smiled a little at Velina. "What brings you here? You're so far from home."

Velina looked down at her lap. It was then that Rosetta realized that her coworker was wearing what appeared to be a wedding dress. Her eyes opened wide. "What a lovely gown Velina. What's the occasion?"

"Oh. It's our anniversary, mine and Logan's." She replied sadly.

Rosetta hesitated to get into this woman's life any further. Velina was never what someone would call 'friendly' toward Rosetta, she was always a pretty sarcastic, stuck up witch. Looking into her face though, Rosetta couldn't help it.

"So this is a bad thing? I'm sorry you're having such a bad day when it's supposed to be a good one. What's with the misty eyes?"

Velina looked like she was about to snap at the woman for invading her privacy, but suddenly that look faded and was replaced with defeat. "You might think this silly, or not worth the grief I appear to be putting out."

"Velina, if it's meaningful to you, it's not silly."

"Well. It's just," Velina screwed up her face in a twisted type of frown, "Logan cut his hair." She hesitated just a moment before saying, "No, he didn't just cut it. He completely shaved it off. I have always loved his hair, then he goes and shaves it off. Why would he do that? After he got off work, he and I were supposed to meet at the Bistro for a nice dinner, but when he arrived looking like he did, I just couldn't. I hate it so much. I left him there and came here. He'd never look for me here. As you said it's 'so far from home'. I just hate it. I want to smack him for it, but it's his hair I guess he can do what he wants."

Rosetta waited until she was sure Velina was done talking, or venting as the case may be, before putting in her two cents. "Well, Velina, you have the right to be upset. I get that. I would probably do the same thing, and think the same things. Then you have to remember though, that's it's just hair. It will grow back. It might take a while, but before you know it he'll have it back the way it was. Or maybe not, maybe he'll find a new hairstyle that he likes, and you'll like it too. Either way you will get used to it. I promise. If you love him, then you love him all the way. Right?"

Velina smiled a little. "Yeah, I guess so. As much as I hate to admit it,  you're probably right."

 

That evening I went to one of the local pools for a swim. I had gotten out of the pool and was lounging in the chairs when I saw David approaching. Suddenly I felt a wee bit uncomfortable being so... exposed in his presence. I stood up to greet him, but before I knew it, he jumped into the pool and asked me to come in with him. I was basically dry, and ready to leave, but I joined him anyway not wanting to be rude. He told me that he often comes at night for a moonlight swim.

We did have a lot of fun that night, him and I. We splashed each other and played marco polo, we did contests with each other too. Mostly he won, but I beat him a couple of times with holding our breath. It was so nice to see him smile. Weird to see someone swimming in seemingly formal clothing, but he's always been a little crazy like that. That's one thing I like about him. He's so not 'vanilla' as they call it.

Eventually I had to go though, I couldn't stay there all night with him, I had to work. I told him so and he told me that I better get home and get some rest. I might be crazy but I think I felt him watching me as I got out of the pool and dried myself off. I wondered if he might be harboring feelings for me that he won't voice. Maybe he's just nervous to let someone in, not much different than myself.

The next day after her shift was over at the Science lab, Rosetta thought she might visit Micks Master Karaoke for a while. A drink my help settle her nerves after a stressful day at work. Her boss was getting on her about rushing the experiment that they were working on, not wanting to spend much more money on it. She had tried to tell him that science can not be sped along, especially when it involved chemistry, but of course he didn't listen.

She hadn't gotten through the door yet though when a man  named Simon introduced himself. He started talking to her, and she to him. She couldn't help but find him attractive, and actually smiled to herself when she started to picture him without so many clothes on. Her mind drifted to how long it had been she she'd been in the company of a man for that reason. A while. Longer than she liked to admit.

"Rosetta? How about it?"

"Oh yeah, sure, dinner. The diner? Great. I'll buy." She stammered, she hadn't been paying much attention, but her mind had absorbed that he had just asked if she would join him for a meal.

"Oh, no way. It's on me. After all, I'm the one who invited you." Simon said with a wink.

Simon got his car and pulled it around for her to get in. Rosetta's jaw nearly dropped. She knew that he was probably well off, just by his clothes, but with that car he must be rolling in it. Then she smiled inwardly at the whole 'compensation' thing that expensive cars like that stand for.

The two of them enjoyed each others company over dinner, Rosetta half expected Simon to hit on her, or suggest they do something afterward, but he didn't. The food brought out was a little on the cold side, and that made Simon pretty upset. The fact that the order was also wrong didn't help the situation. When they were done Simon told Rosetta to go ahead out, that he wanted to speak with the manager.

Rosetta left the diner wondering what Simon was going to do. When she left she ran into a guy, nearly making her fall over. She hadn't been watching where she was going, due to thinking about dinner. She turned to the man and apologized.

"I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to."

"Oh, don't worry, you didn't hurt me. I hope you didn't hurt yourself either. Ms...?"

Rosetta shook her head, "Rosetta, Rose. I really am sorry, no I'm not hurt. Thank you."

"Well Rose, nice to meet you. I'm Logan. I guess you just came out of here, how was your dinner?"

Rosetta looked up at the mention of his name. She noted his lack of hair, and figured that this was Velina's husband.

"Um, actually it wasn't that good, but whatever. Normally it is. They must have someone new in the kitchen or something." Rosetta noticed Simon coming out of the restaurant. "Logan, it was great to meet you. I've heard about you from Velina, at work. Anyway, I have to go now. Maybe we'll meet again. Goodnight."

Logan smiled at her as she walked away, "Sure, goodnight."

"Well, how'd it go?" Rosetta asked.

"You didn't have to wait for me, you could have gone home." Simon said. "It went okay though, I just wanted to let them know that something wasn't right is all. No big deal. I have to be off now, it was fun Rosetta." Simon hugged her in a friendly way and turned to leave. "Have a great night."

Rosetta nodded, "You too. See you again sometime." She called a taxi and headed for her house, it was getting pretty late and she had to work in the morning, though it was only for half a day. She was just going to finish up that job she'd been working on, then leave for the rest of the afternoon. Rosetta had made plans with Sonia to go swimming.

As she was riding home her thoughts drifted to Nicholas. It had been a while since she'd seen him and she actually found herself missing him. Not enough to call him or go visit though. Just enough to remind her of his spot in her subconscious.




To be continued...

The Best Girl - Ch. 1.3

My phone rang just as I was leaving work one day. I was happy to see David's name on the caller ID, so of course I answered it. He was back in town after having been gone for the weekend and wanted to meet for dinner. After I hung up with him I called a taxi, then, of course, I changed out of my ratty work clothes and into my normal wear. It had been a while since I had seen David and I was pretty excited to meet with him again.

Rosetta and David sat down in the diner and ordered their meal. They talked about anything and everything. David even started opening up about himself. He told Rosetta that he moved (with his brother, sister-in-law and their two babies, also his parents) here when he was still a teen, a very late teen, but still a teenager. Rosetta found out from him that a guy named Logan was his brother, and Velina was actually his sister-in-law. Soon after he moved here he had celebrated young adult birthday and moved out of his parents house. Then pursued his dream of being a magician.

"So, why did you get such a.. small house?" Rosetta asked.

"Eh, I.. let's not talk about that right now." David knew she wanted to say 'run down' but was being nice. He changed the subject. "Hey, you ever fished in the graveyard? I know you told me before you like to fish. I'll take you there one day, it's fun. Awesome fish there too."

Rosetta laughed. "No I haven't, sounds like fun though. Pick a day."

We sat and talked for hours, just the two of us. Both of us got a steak, fries, a salad, soda and all that was followed by dessert too. It was a wonderful strawberry shortcake that we split between us. It may seem like a lot of food, but over the period of time we were there, it really wasn't overfilling.

David is such amazing company. His quirkiness always keeps me on my toes about what he's going to say or suggest next., or even what he's going to wear. Nearly everything he jokes about makes me laugh. I don't even have to fake interest in what he's saying. When we stepped outside, I was actually surprised to see that it was dark. Time really flies when you're having a good time I guess.

When I got home I noticed that the mail had come. Usually I'm a stickler for paying them right away, because if I don't, I'll sure forget them later. I hate dealing with late fees or bill collectors hounding me, so, even though it was near midnight, I paid them right then.

Rosetta had seen someone moving into the house right in front of her own on a Tuesday morning, but she respectfully gave until the weekend before going over to welcome the new neighbor. She felt a little odd welcoming someone when she still considered herself new, but she had nothing better to do anyway. That and she was hoping to find a new friend, especially one that lived so close to her.

The lady's name was Sonia. Rosetta had found out she moved from Lucky Palms. She wanted to get away from the heat of the desert, and this small country town seemed to be the perfect place to do that.

Sonia and Rosetta stood in her living room talking about where each of them had come from, and why they left. They spoke of what they might be looking for in the new place and when they thought they would find it. Sonia was looking to settle down and start a family, where as Rosetta was mostly into work and study, but looking for friends as well. Rosetta did admit that she was lonely at times, for a boyfriend of sorts though, and should probably start looking for someone she could be interested in.

"Good luck juggling all that!" Sonia joked.

Rosetta chuckled with her. "Yea, it does sound like a lot when I say it out loud. It hasn't been too tough so far."

"That's because you haven't added a 'guy' into that mix yet. Wait until you start trying out for relationships."

"I guess you have a point there," Rosetta conceded, then she laughed. "I guess I'll have to find time and a guy who doesn't mind not having me available 24/7."

"What are the guys like around here anyway?"

Rosetta told Sonia almost everything she knew about people in town and the goings on in Hidden Springs. She did warn her that some people are more overwhelming than others, or a little nuttier than others but everyone was friendly and happy to help wherever they could. She also said that a lot of people around here tended to be 'huggers', as in they almost always gave you a hug when you departed company.

Sonia is a great woman, she and I talked so easily and became fast friends. We talked of everything new and old. A big topic of ours were the dreams of what we really want. We split an entire carton of ice cream between the two of us while we chatted. We shared our hopes and fantasies, Sonia told me she wanted to have five children in her life time. That would be pretty impressive. I never really thought about children, how many I would want or anything. We got in a slight disagreement about whether discipline was good for children or not. It was nothing serious of course, but pretty soon we were having it out with a pillow fight, laughing with every flying feather.

After a while we decided to go out on the town. I had been at her house since about 7 am, and it was early afternoon by the time we left. Neither of us had a car, so we took a taxi.

Since the ice cream had worn off, Sonia and Rosetta went to an early dinner, they both had the same thing - chicken and a salad. During their dinner chat, Sonia had mentioned that she needed some more clothes. Rosetta was quick to tell her about the salon around the corner from the diner and happy to volunteer to be the judge of any outfit that Sonia picked. Sonia laughed, and agreed to go get a makeover. The two of them had a laughing good time trying on fun and ridiculous clothes, in addition to normal wear. They both left with a couple of new shirts and pants. Rosetta had also gotten a new formal dress.

David met me after work again. It was a really nice surprise. It's always so nice to see him, I know I'll have a great time whenever David comes around. We hang out quite a bit actually, but it really is hard to get to know him. He doesn't really talk about himself that much, just like when we met. I don't know. I would love to know more about him, but he seems to be trying to put his past behind him, so I wont bug him about it.

David told me about his day, which is actually another thing he never does, and I was happy to hear about it. He had gone to practice that morning and was helping out other performers, he told me that one of the Acrobats he works close to had gotten injured and would be off the stage for a bit. That was when he told me that there was a show tonight at a karaoke bar, the acrobat that was injured had gotten a replacement for the show she was supposed to have put on. David wanted to know if I could go with him to watch the performance. Naturally I was happy to, I'd been trying to catch a show all week, that and it was in his company. He drove us to the bar, thankfully he didn't ride around in a limo like his sister-in-law, I would have been embarassed. He drives a nice blue truck. He even opened the door for me, how sweet.

When David and Rosetta got to Mike's Karaoke bar, it was already pretty crowded. They took a spot in the back and waited for the show to begin. There were three performers in total, one singer, one magician and an acrobat, in that order. The acrobat was best, and he was the one that had replaced David's friend. He did stunts that impressed even David. Rosetta was surprised at how a man his size was able to bend his body as he did, folded up into a pretzel or keep balance so well.

The acrobat stood on a ball and balanced himself while he rolled all over the stage. He juggled flaming batons, which made Rosetta kind of anxious. She leaned forward as she watched and expected him to drop them or burn his eyebrows or something. He also had a large hoop up on stage but never used it during the performance.

At the end of the show David turned to Rosetta. "Well? Did you like it?"

"Oh yes, it was very cool. I enjoyed it a lot. That guy made me nervous with the fire, but yeah it was great!" Rosetta looked at David and saw his smile. It was so genuine, so clear and open that she realized she was getting a peek into his life. Into what he enjoyed the most. It was also in that moment that she became conscious of the fact that she was very close to falling for him.




To be continued on the 21st...

New friends - Ch. 5.2

It's been a few months now, since I moved in. I've worked five days a week with not much time to do other stuff during the week. Life may be busy lately, but I really love it.

Just like fishing, I like to read. I have always loved reading outside in the natural light, and I found a great place to do it too. There is this abandoned looking house close to my work that has a bench there. I frequently visit after work to read a book, or just sit and relax. I only have a few hours before nightfall to have some fun or whatever I want to do.

One night I got quite a surprise. I had decided to continue to sit there after it got too dark to read, I watched the sunset and the moon rise. It was the first time I had done that in this town, and it was beautiful. It happened to be Friday, and I don't work weekends, so I didn't mind staying up later than usual. As I was sitting there, listening to the crickets chirp and the wind blow through the trees, a car pulled up and a man got out. Well, I hesitate to say 'man' because he almost looked like a teenager, he seemed so young. He started toward the abandoned house, but then saw me and stopped. I stood up when he started walking toward me.

Rosetta was nervous about the guy approaching her, it was night and she was alone. Also, she only just now started to think that maybe the house wasn't as abandoned as it seemed. She thought maybe she'd get in trouble for trespassing.

"Hi. I've seen you sitting out here a few times this week. Though usually not this late." The man said. "Since you're still here, I figure I should introduce myself. I'm David."

Wow, his eyes are so captivating and beautiful, even in the dark I can see that plainly. "Um, I'm Rosetta. I'm sorry, I don't mean to intrude, I just like to sit here and read. It was just such a lovely night, I thought I'd stay for a while. I'll go then, again I'm sorry." As she was just about to walk off he held out his hand and stopped her.

"No, no, don't be silly. I was going to invite you inside." He said, gesturing toward the house.

Rosetta looked at David. "You live here? Really?"

David laughed, "Yes, I know it's a little run down. I have my reasons for choosing such a house. Anyway, come inside. Wouldn't want you to get eaten up by anything."

She shot him an odd and questioning look. "What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"Mosquitoes mostly, but maybe a vampire bat too."

So I went inside with him. We talked for a while, about where I came from, how long I'd been here, where I worked and basically everything about me. I don't know why he wouldn't talk about himself much, anytime I'd ask something, he'd skirt the question and pop another one on me. He overall seemed like a very... strange person. But oh so cute. He seemed rather young to me, but from everything I could tell, he was about my age. His last name was Fuller, so I deduced that he must be related to Velina somehow, but didn't ask.

The only thing he did tell me about himself was that he was a magician, and wanted to become the best, before he got too old. He hardly worked here in town but was known as David the Daring wherever he put on a show. We talked for a few hours actually, before I bid him goodnight and headed home.

That night, I didn't dream of Nicholas at all, just David and his beautiful eyes. What is it with these Hidden Springs men, they just bury themselves into my subconcious and take root? Not saying that I mind so much, just curious.

The next day being an off day, it was a day to play catch up on the cleaning that needed to be done in the house. Scrubbing the counters, the stove, the shower and toilet, also the sink. The garden hadn't been fully tended in a few days, so Rosetta caught up on her gardening as well. Bills were waiting in the mailbox, she paid those.

Even though the house was small, cleaning it seemed to take forever. The garden, since she wasn't too experienced took a good bit of time as well. Rosetta had about 11 plants growing now and they seemed to be coming along quite well. She had slept in that morning, and in addtion to all the work, it was 4 o'clock in the afternoon before she knew it. Since she had finally finished all her chores at home, she tried calling David to chat but there was no answer. So instead she went fishing.

Just a few days prior, she had located the second pond that the mailman had told her about in her first week. It really was a beautiful and peaceful spot. Full of flowers, plants and animals. It even had a small bridge.

This had quickly become Rosetta's favorite spot to be when she had extra time. Most times, no one else was there. It was as if she was the only one who knew about it, but knew that couldn't be true. A place like this did not go unnoticed. This particular day actually, she was proven correct in her assumption. After she cast her line, she saw through the bushes that Nicholas was there as well. Her heartbeat quickend.

Damnit. Why do I have to do that whenever he's around? I can't help it. He's just so...enticingly sexy and I think he knows it. That's why he's so sure of himself. Oh good spirits help me control my urges. I don't know if I could control myself alone in the woods with him, if he got close. On the other hand....

Cassidy came slightly into view just then and then smacked Nicholas. She called him a jerk then walked away, toward her house. Rosetta was pretty sure that neither of them had seen her yet. She assumed then that Cassidy and Nicholas were still on the rocks. She started to put her fishing pole away and leave when she heard his voice call her name. It only took a second for her to imagine that same voice, saying her name under her blankets in bed. A small sigh escaped her lips before she shook her head to rid herself of the thought. She promised she wouldn't get in the middle of Cassidy and Nicholas. Rosetta turned to greet him.

The next day was Sunday, and Rosetta, after she tended her garden, had planned to go somewhere quiet to read a book that her work had given her to study. She thought orignally about going to the pond that she loved so dearly, but she had just been there the night before, and decided to go to the bench next to where David lived instead. When she arrived, she found a puppy already there. She smiled and pet it, scratched behind it's ears and pet it's belly, where she discovered that it was a girl.

"Do you mind if I sit here and read cutie pup?" Rosetta asked.

The puppy barked her response, and Rosetta laughed. She sat down and started to read, but it wasn't long before the yapping from the pup got too annoying and she couldn't concentrate. She pet the pooch and went to the performance park nearby. Hoping to see a good show. Unfortunately for her there was no show playing at that time. Rosetta wondered if there would be one later.

"Hello gentlemen, mind if I interrupt?" Rosetta had approached a group of guys sitting on a picnic blanket.

All three of the men looked up in sync, and a brief stunned silence. Rosetta looked back at them and noticed that they all had the exact same eyes. She figured that hey must be related. The oldest one stood up to greet her. He was very handsome and that didn't get past Rosetta.

"Hello, my name's Bruce Chesterfield. These are my sons Dennis and Scott. Don't worry about interrupting, we weren't talking anything important. How can I help?"

"I was just wondering if there was going to be a show tonight." Rosetta asked.

Bruce told her that there wasn't, then the two of them fell into chatting. He was a very interesting man, he moved from the city, just as she did, wanting to be closer to nature. Just like her. He really loved the outdoors, and anyone could probably always find him out there. He had a career with the police, and overall, seemed like a perfect guy. So naturally, Rosetta asked if he was single. Much to her dismay, she found out that he was seeing a woman named Laila.

"Well, Rosetta, it was great to meet you. Be safe out there, and have a good night. My sons and I have to get going. See you around." Bruce actually gave her a quick hug before leaving. That startled Rosetta, but she enjoyed it none the less.

My first harvest came in this morning! Well my first big one anyway. The first thing I planted, the apple tree, has given me apples for a couple days now, but the rest of my plants finally matured and sprouted some produce. I am thrilled that the plants lived long enough to do so, also, can't wait to make an Autumn salad with all my fresh ingredients.

At work, I've gotten a few promotions over the last month that I've been there. I believe my title is now 'Carnivorous Plant Tender' or something crazy like that. This will be my first day working in that department though, so I don't really know what I do yet.

I've been talking to David on the phone lately, he's a really awesome guy and, including his random crazy talk, I have come to really like him. He's fast approaching my best friend. I invited him over to my house the other day but he said he was working and was out of town. He said that was the reason I hadn't seen him around for a couple of days.

When Rosetta got off of work this day, she was very surprised to see Nicholas standing there waiting for her to come out. She smiled.

"Well beautiful, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." Nicholas said with his little secretive smile.

"Hi Nicholas. It's nice to see you too." Rosetta had come to get used to that line, he said it every time they saw each other, without fail.

Nicholas stepped closer to her. Rosetta's palms got cold and sweaty. No matter how much she tried, she still couldn't stop this reaction whenever he got near. Lately she'd been trying harder than normal too, because she was quickly becoming more and more interested in another man.

He put his hand on her shoulder. "Come on Rose, go do dinner with me. I know you're hungry - me too. So let's go eat."

He was so close that she could smell him. He made her hungry, but not for food. She blinked away her thoughts. "Sure, yeah let's hit the diner. I really need some chocolate, I think I'll get a milk shake."

Nicholas had ordered chicken tenders, french fries, a side salad and a bowl of fruit for his dinner. Rosetta duplicated his order adding a chocolate milkshake, but with the tension she carried and the butterflies fluttering in her stomach, she only finished the fruit and shake. She did get the rest of it boxed up for later though, to eat when her hormones were back in check.

"Well, hey, thanks for dinner Nicholas. It was great. We'll do it again sometime soon." Rosetta stammered, her heart racing. Half of her prayed that he would invite her home, the other half hoped he never would.

The secretive smile that she was beginning to know so well, played on Nicholas's lips. "Of course we will Rose. I hope your..chocolate craving has subsided," he chuckled.

Nicholas then pulled her into a friendly hug. Rosetta tried to keep most of her body off of him, so kind of leaned forward to accept the hug, keeping her butt sticking out a bit. It may have seemed easy, to someone on the outside, but emotionaly it wasn't so easy for her. She wanted so much to give in and slam herself up against him, then start kissing him all over. On the other hand, she didn't. This was getting very frustrating.

It was that moment that she decided to swear him off completely. She wouldn't call him, and would not accept calls from him. That was it. At least, as much as she could she would ignore him, they were neighbors. After all, she couldn't see herself in a relationship with him, and she really didn't want to be the one thing that kept Cassidy and him apart. They seemed like a good couple. Even though they fought a lot.

Nicholas hailed a taxi to take Rosetta home, and saw her into the car. He waved before it pulled away, then drove himself home.

Rosetta came home to find a deer munching on one of her plants. When she stepped out of the taxi she shouted and started waving her arms around wildly, trying to frighten it off. Unfortunately, this deer was highly used to people, and didn't scare easily. Rosetta dropped her hands in defeat, but pulled out her cellphone.

The next day, contractors came to fence in part of her yard so she could keep the lovely wildlife from her plants.  Rosetta made sure to tell them to install a fence that she could lock as well. She also hired some professional gardeners to move all of her vegetation to the new area.

While Rosetta was gardening just a day or so later, a deer (she wasn't sure, of course, if it was the same deer) showed up and examined the new fence. It stared at Rosetta for just a moment before bounding off into the woods that it had come from.

"Ha. You won't be getting at my vegetables anymore deary." She said as she plucked a potato from the bush.




To be continued on the 14th...