Every Bookshop Needs a Cat (Fleckney Fields Series, Book 2)

Terrible Telephone Trouble

Part 2 out of 2 for tonight :)

K. <3

***

She received the first text from him three hours later. She was paying for their candy floss, when her mobile beeped in her handbag. She could see only the beginning of the message on her locked screen: I'm awake. Feeling much better. Thank–

Anya smiled, passed her ball of spun sugar into Varya's other hand, and opened the message.

I'm awake. Feeling much better. Thank you for everything. I'm glad you went to the fete. Hope Varya's having fun. You should try the candy floss.

It might have been the excitement of wearing a new cute dress, or all the sugar they'd consumed by then; but she suddenly felt uncharacteristically cheeky. Her first selfie showed just her eyes above the fluffy pink cloud of the confectionary.

His response contained only one word. Yum. Anya giggled. She was just considering asking him if he meant her or the sweet, when his next text arrived.

Move the sugar blob away, though. It's blocking the sweet view.

"Mum, we're going to sign up for a three-legged race! Go, wait by the track!" Varya shouted to Anya.

Before Anya could answer, her two companions were gone, chatting and laughing. Anya had noticed the track a few minutes ago, on her way to the food stalls. She started heading in that direction, biting the sweet that she held in her left hand, her phone in her right one.

She was still internally debating whether to take another selfie, when her mobile beeped again.

I'm lonely. It must be my Anna withdrawal. I need a fix. What are you wearing?

Anya chewed her bottom lip, chomped off and swallowed a mouthful of candy floss - for courage - and snapped a picture. She fit only her head and below, her new dress down to the second open button.

She added a caption Yola gave me the dress as a present, sucked a shaky breath in, and hit 'send.'

It's a dress?????? Where's the rest???? glowed on her screen not even three seconds later.

Anya laughed - and cowardly looked around herself. Obviously, no one could guess that she was flirting over text messages, like a secondary school pupil, and feeling giddy and flustered; although the latter was possibly showing on her face.

She stretched her hand with the phone a bit further away from herself and hit the round button at the bottom of the screen.

Oh! I fancy the buttons! Will I be allowed to open them? and a winking emoji, jumped up on her screen.

No clever answer came to her mind, but she didn't want their exchange to stop. She nervously nibbled at the wooden stick, the only remnant of her treat - and that's when the idea came. She quickly took a picture of herself, reminding herself that there was no right or wrong way to play this game. And besides, it was Klaus. Talking to Klaus was easy. It was entirely possible that she'd turn out good at sexting him too.

I finished my candy floss, she wrote under a close up of her mouth and her teeth on the stick. I need more sugar.

She hit sent and squeezed her eyes, almost scared to see what his answer would be. None came. Anya stared at 'Seen' under her message. Three dots underneath it jumped up and down, showing he was typing. Then they stopped - and then they jumped again, and stopped again. The pause stretched; and she was a second away from freaking out, when the notification sound made her jolt and exhale sharply.