Page 61 of Dark Verse

“Yeah.”

“Why?”

“After the show the other night, we were chatting, and I mentioned I had a hang drum and that old hammer dulcimer. She was interested in seeing them, so I invited her over on her next day off.”

“Okay…” I say, sensing there is more.

“And…”

“Just say what you want to say, Via.”

“I don’t know.” She looks away thoughtfully. “I like her. And more importantly, you like her. So, I guess I want to hang out with her and get to know her outside of work.”

I suppose that makes sense. They’ve all taken their turns at worrying over my romantic endeavors or lack thereof. I haven’t always made the best choices on that front. In fact, I’ve often made the worst choices.

“She hadn’t mentioned coming over,” I say.

She and I texted late into the evening last night. We talked about everything under the sun, but she never said she planned to finally come over to the house. So far, Ven’s outright refused, citing the fact that we were keeping things just between us for a while.

“I told her I’d let you know.”

I stand. “Okay. When is she coming over?”

“Fifteen minutes, give or take.”

“Octavia!” I run my hands through my hair to smooth the locks out. “You couldn’t have told me this in the morning?”

She shrugs, completely unapologetic.

I leave the room quickly, changing out of the old sweats I had been in into something more presentable. With no time to brush my teeth again, I pop in a couple of mints on my way out of the door. I know there is a bus stop two blocks from our house, and that is exactly where I find Venny when I turn the corner.

She’s just stepping off the bus. The hem of her blue dress catches a sudden gust, and Ven catches it before it blows up. Readjusting the strap of her bag, she turns, seeing me at the same time.

“Oh hi!” she says, obviously surprised to see me.

“Hello, sweetheart,” I respond, giving her a kiss.

“I wasn’t expecting to see you here. You didn’t have to walk all the way down here just to meet me.”

I shrug. “I didn’t want to miss a single second with you.”

“God.” She rolls her eyes, leaning into me with her whole body. “That was so cheesy, but it’s working.”

“Good.”

I take her hand and lead her away from the bus stop towards the house.

“How are you today?” I ask.

“Honestly, ready to be in some decent air conditioning. The unit in my apartment isn’t working right, and by midday it’s hotter than the devil’s booty hole in there. Thunder thighs and heat do not mix well. And don’t even get me started on the boob situation.”

I chuckle. “Please do.”

I can’t help but slow my pace so I can look at her longer than my first glance. What I mistook for simple blue at first glance is actually a gradient from dark blue to almost pure white. Her hair is partially pulled up, with several of her long, straight braids curled to frame her face. I’m suddenly very glad I took the time to change out of my threadbare old joggers. I would not want to look like I just crawled through the streets while she’s looking like this.

Ven bursts out in laughter.

“Stop that. You’re staring at me.”