Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 33777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 33777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 169(@200wpm)___ 135(@250wpm)___ 113(@300wpm)
2
Maddie
The overly handsome man stares at me, his brows pulled together with a perplexed expression on his face. Okay, it’s probably more of an annoyed expression if I’m being honest. Still, he says nothing even when the cabbie asks where we’re headed.
“Wait. Can you hear?” I ask, signing to him with my hands. His eyes drop to my fingers. My nails are each painted a different color. That happens a lot to me. It’s hard to pick one color when there are so many to choose from.
“I’ll drop you off first.” He finally speaks. His voice is smooth and rough. How that’s possible, I don’t know, but I like it.
“That’s sweet. You sure? I kinda hopped in and kidnapped your cab and you,” I tease. He doesn’t even crack a smile. Tough crowd.
“Address?” the cabbie asks again. He now sounds as if he’s getting a bit annoyed too.
“Sorry.” I fumble around for my phone. “I have it right here.” Or I had it. I dig through my giant bag to find my phone. “Slippery little thing is always sliding to the bottom of my purse.” I laugh. “Hold this.” I pull out my smaller bag that I keep cat treats in and hand it to the handsome stranger before passing my Kindle over and then my giant water container. “It’s empty. I tell myself every day, ‘Maddie, today you will hydrate.’ You know people are always saying you should drink lots of water, that it’s good for you, but all it seems to do is make me pee more. But since it’s my new year's resolution, I’m going to get on it. I swear.” I know I’m probably rambling, but that’s par for the course where I’m concerned.
“It’s February.”
“Really?” I pause in my search for my phone. “I guess I should start with filling the thing with water at some point. It’s cute though, isn't it?” I take the container back from him and spin it around to show him the adorable kittens on it. They’re playing in a field with a rainbow in the background.
“The clock is running,” the cabbie says, reminding me that he’s still waiting for me to give him an address.
“Let it run,” the man holding my Kindle snaps at him. His tone is so firm that even I sit up a bit straighter.
“You’ve got a good voice. Have you ever thought of being an audiobook narrator? I sent a test script once, but I never heard back. I bet you’d get that job.” My phone starts to ring, lighting up inside my bag, making it easier to find. “Got it!” I announce as I pull it out from my bag. “I have to take this. It’s my best friend, and she’ll just keep calling until I answer,” I inform him. “Yo,” I say, putting the phone to my ear.
“Maddie! Where are you?” Caroline asks.
“You always have access to my location,” I remind her. Not that she needs the reminder. I don’t think she’s really calling to ask where I am but why I’m not where I’m supposed to be already.
We've been sharing locations since she left three months ago. She’s traveling across Europe, living out her dream of being a ballerina. I’m really happy for her, but I miss her like crazy. Life isn’t the same without her in it every day. It’s lonely.
“You have an interview that starts in five minutes.”
“I know. I’m trying to find the address, but I lost my phone and I couldn’t get a cab because it’s raining cats and–” I stop talking when Caroline rattles off the address I’ve been searching for. I’m not the least bit surprised she knows it. I repeat it to the cab driver.
“What would you do without me?”
“Never get any of the jobs?” It had been her idea to put an ad up for being a cat sitter. Now she’s kind of taken over, responding to the emails and such. She says I ramble too much, so she does all the leg work, setting everything up. The only thing I have to do is show up.
It’s kind of like a dog walker, but I pop in and play with your cat for an hour and such if you’re on vacation and don’t want to leave them at a kennel. Some of my clients aren’t away, they just work a lot of hours and don’t want to leave their fur babies alone for long stretches of time. It’s an awesome job. Well, it will be if I can keep getting work. Right now, I only have a handful of clients, but I’m trying to grow my portfolio.
“Call me after. I think you’re going to love Rodger. He’s a handsome one.”
I jerk my attention back to the man in the suit when I hear a crack.
“Hey, you’re going to break my Kindle!” I make a grab for it, but he’s got a death grip on it. “It’s brand new. I got it for Christmas.” He releases it to me.