Love is Always Write Anthology Volume 7

am her gay roommate." Zach threw himself out there, and hoped that the pizza man would take the signal.
    "That's cool." The pizza man said, as he took the money that Zach was offering. Leaning against the doorframe, the man removed his cap and brushed his hand through his hair.
    " Can I ask you a question? " He asked and then licked his lips.
    Zach stood there, waiting, hoping against hope that the man was looking for the right way to seduce him, carefully choosing the right words. "Sure."
    The man paused, licked his lips again, and spoke softly.
    "What is the easiest way to Woodbury from here?" The pizza man asked.
    Zach give him directions and then closed the door. Tonight is gonna be a long night, but at least I've got company , he thought as he opened the pizza box and pulled out a giant slice of supreme pizza.
    CHAPTER 9: The Meeting at Nine Lives
    Ann got up fifteen minutes earlier than her alarm. She didn't have to be awake until 7:00. Because her brain refused to shut up, she crawled out of bed at 6:45 after an hour of just lying there playing with her hair. She showered then slipped on her usual uniform, which was a pair of jeans and a firefly t-shirt. She hurriedly pulled her curly and fiercely red hair back into a french braid that ended near the small of her back. Slipping her keys into her pocket, she locked the front door and headed to work. Jumping into her Jeep, she turned on the ignition and turned up the CD player which blasted out some Ani.
    She was excited about planning the wedding. She had never thought she would ever get to the point where she wanted to be a Missus anybody. But Zach, her best friend and business partner, had made an off-hand comment one day that they should just get married and to hell with the rest of the world. They laughed but she immediately responded...in a more serious tone, why not ? It made sense, they balanced each other out. They both held the same belief that mono was a four lettered word that would have no place in their lives. The fact that they didn't have or want any type of sexual relationship didn't matter. Sure, they were cuddle buddies on occasion and always there with a hug or ready to give a much needed massage...but other than that, intimacy would never a part of the picture.
    They announced the news on April 1 st , and found as they told friends and family they laughed at first, thinking it was a joke. But it was not a punch line, no joke at all. She wasn't worried about her decision but her mind seemed constantly distracted by the fact that her friends were always unavailable.
    Now, here she was. Two weeks before she was set to get married, but she felt like something was off. And that thing, whatever it was had plagued her mind for days. She glanced in her rearview mirror and held her hazel-eyed stare for a moment too long nearly rear ending the midsized Honda in front of her. She made it safely to work and right as she was about to enter the airport, her cell phone rang. It was Leslie, one of her two self-proclaimed MIA best friends. "Hey Annie, how're you feeling today?"
    "Feeling like I'm heading into work." She liked Leslie just fine, but there was a bond between her and Zach that Leslie couldn't understand and was therefore jealous of. Because of that, she tried too hard, and Ann sometimes found it grating. What Ann wanted more than anything was to talk to Zach about how she was feeling. Normally, she would call him, or just drop by and spend a couple of hours organizing the what and why of her emotions. But this time she found she couldn't. She was sure he was dealing with his own anxieties so she didn't want or need to burden him with hers as well.
    "Hey Annie, what do you think about me dying my hair red?" Ann took a moment to imagine her five-foot-one friend with her usual brown shoulder-length hair and superimposed it with red. Although they had no physical traits in common, because they had spent so much time together people often assumed they were sisters. The mere thought of sharing physical traits on top of that made Ann cringe.
    "No. Absolutely not. I thought you were thinking about doing it blonde. Why the change?" As soon as Leslie started to answer, the call-waiting beeped in. "Hold on, I have another call coming in."
    Leslie squeaked out, "Wait! Can we get together tonight, to talk?"
    "Yeah sure. Meet me at Nine Lives at nine or so. I think I'm gonna need to get drunk tonight."
    Once she clicked over, she was instantly met with