The days that followed were a blur. Did I really give the guy my actual number?

Lana glanced at her phone every two minutes, replaying the incident in her head. Nothing was threatening about that weird thief in wolf's clothing. Truly, nothing bad had happened. He took barely forty dollars worth of junk and something else that Lana was just trying hard to stop thinking about.

But the man was so non-threatening that the cashier didn't even notify the police, deciding it didn't warrant the effort to file a report. Lana and the other woman happily agreed when they conversed about what to do. No one was in the mood to go through an endless amount of questioning that night.

The other woman even added fuel to the poor-judgment fire by including, "He was even quite nice actually. You might want to consider going on a date with him if he's handsome too."

That's stupid... right?

On Lana's way back home, she decided to call her best friend. "Hey girl, what's up?" Chloe said in her familiar sing-songy voice.

"Hey Chlo, what are you up to? Are you still prepping for the show?"

"I'm just finishing up now."

"Are you free to come sleepover tonight? I need to tell you about something big that just happened to me."

"Oh my gosh. I knew it would happen."

"What?"

"You caved and bought the air fryer."

"Oh no, not that. Well, actually yeah, I technically did that, but this is much bigger! Just come over, okay? And bring wine."

"Okay, can do. I'll be there in a jiff."

***

Chloe gasped after every sentence as Lana recounted the full story. They had already finished three-quarters of a 'Two Buck Chuck' Merlot bottle and half a Trader Joe's chocolate truffle snack box by the time Lana finished.

"You poor, poor thing! That is so awful! I'm so sorry you had to go through that!" Chloe bounced up and gave Lana a big hug. "But also, I must say I never thought you would ever be into bad boys. You are really turning over a new leaf, and I'm proud of you girl."

"Ha, ha, ha, very funny," Lana replied dryly.

"Imagine he texts you, and you find out he's actually the decent guy that he said he was, and he had a momentary lapse in judgment. And then you guys fall in love and live happily ever after and have cute, exotic babies."

"I think you watch just as many romcoms as I do."

"So, do you think you're going to report him when he texts you?"

"I thought of that, but we just sort of called it a day at the store, and it would be weird to say, 'Oh yeah, hey police, this thing happened a couple of days ago and I'm only just reporting it now.'"

"This is all very, very weird. I mean, you're a babe so of course he would ask for your number, but what is he thinking? Like, wouldn't he know you might report him if he did text you?"

The thought did occur to Lana, and it made her stomach turn. No text from Strange Thief Man means no box. Part of her hoped that he would reach out and that she could test out her key on it. But another part of her, the more comfort-loving part, wanted to just forget about the whole thing and continue living in peace.

"So, what do you think you'll do if he texts you? Are you going to go meet up with him?" Chloe's eyes grew wide as she spoke.

"I have no idea. What would you do?"

"Oh girl, don't you put that on me. You know what I would do. It's really about what you feel comfortable with."

Lana knew exactly what Chloe would do. "You would go meet up with him?"

"Hell yeah, I would! It sounds like a fun sexy adventure with a potentially handsome stranger."

Lana laughed and shook her head. "Sometimes I wish I was as carefree as you, but I think I would be sick to my stomach if I ever did something like that."

"I always say it: you gotta live a little to get a lot."

"Yeah, okay. Well hopefully, if I ever do meet the guy again, I'll just know what to do. In the meantime, let's just forget about it and talk about something else."

The rest of the evening was spent chatting and watching TV. Chloe's eyes gleamed every time she talked about her art show, which was coming up fast. She had spent over a year prepping for it. She gushed about the clientele attending and the money they had to spend—unlike Lana who was just going for moral support.

***

After a few days and still no text from the mystery thief, Lana accepted the fact that she would never get the box back. What's the point in hoping? It had been one week since the Goodwill incident, and she wasn't holding her breath for a guy to risk jail time to talk to her.

All her coworkers were already filled in on what happened. It became a running joke during the week for someone to run up to her register holding up a finger gun and yelling something like, "I'm stealing these three tomatoes and a bottle of milk! And give me your number so I can steal your heart as well!" They'd all laugh, including Lana. She really didn't mind and acted along, batting her eyelashes dramatically to play the Sexy Hostage role.

That Saturday morning, Lana was on register duty. It had been a typical busy weekend, and her work wife, Rosie, was stocking vegetables across the room and talking to a familiar man.

As soon as she saw who it was, Lana blushed and cracked a smile. It was Jack—the customer who came in a few days prior. He was talking and laughing with Rosie in the produce aisle.

What are they laughing about? Eggplants?

Lana quickly looked back at the items she was scanning as Jack made his way to the line forming at her register. Lana unintentionally sped up the pace. She barely said two words to the two customers that were in between her and Jack.

Why would he choose my register to check out when the lines were shorter on Lanes One and Two? She forced in a deep breath and slowed back down to her normal pace. Be chill.

Jack placed his basket on the wooden shelf. "Hi, Lana." He smiled.

"Hi, um, Jason was it?" Lana replied with a smile, trying to keep it cool.

"It's Jack actually, but close guess! Glad you somewhat remember me," he said sincerely.

She could never forget his perfectly chiseled face even if she wanted to. "Oh yes, sorry, Jack. It's good to see you again. How did the mustard work out for you? Are you here to return it?" Lana teased. She looked up at him and was delighted to see he did not look like a zombie. He looked amazing, actually— refreshed and like he had just had a rejuvenating week that restored his sleep to a level of normalcy. The dark circles were just a faint memory, and his gorgeous eyes were in clear view. Crap, stop staring at his eyes, Lana.

"It worked out great. Thank you for the suggestion last week. It was so good that I've actually decided to come shop here again." Jack continued warmly.

"Good. I'm glad you didn't have to return it and experience the shame that came with that."

He laughed. "So. Funny story. I just ran into your coworker Rosie over there and we had the most interesting conversation."

Oh God, what did she do?

"She mentioned that you guys made a deal. If I were ever to come back in here, you would give me your number."

Lana stopped scanning and looked up. She vaguely remembered saying something like that, but it was very offhand. She never expected him to show up again.

"Did I? Oh, I don't really remember that, sorry." Lana started again but then paused when reality dawned on her. "She already gave you my number, didn't she?" Lana glanced over at Rosie, who was blowing kisses in her direction.

"She did, but I would really like it to come from you. I haven't saved it yet and decided to come over and ask you myself. I'd love to take you out to dinner tonight."

Lana gaped at the man before her. Twice in one week, a guy asked for her number. One in a hostage-y way and the other in the kindest, sweetest way.

It was a bit overwhelming, you know, being so in demand by men all of a sudden. But Lana had never done this before. She typically dated within her friend groups after knowing the guy for some time. She reasoned that this was adult life, after all. How else was she supposed to meet men? If not at work or by being held hostage at a thrift store?

And besides... Goodwill Guy never even texted me. So, what's the harm in going on one date with Jack?

"Hmm. Okay, that sounds fine. I'll go on a date with you tonight," Lana replied with a mixture of hesitancy and excitement.

Jack beamed. His smile made Lana's insides turn. "Okay, great. Should we say dinner at six thirty?"

"That's perfect!" Lana said instantly but then quickly realized, "Oh crap, wait. I forgot I have a thing tonight."

"Oh, okay. No worries. We'll find some other time then," Jack responded assuringly, yet Lana still detected the hint of disappointment in his words.

"No, no, it's not like that. I would like to go. I just have my best friend's art show. She's been prepping for it for over a year, and I'm going there to support her."

"Ah, okay. That sounds like fun. Again, no worries. We can always connect some other time."

Lana paused for a moment. "Do you like art?" Did I just ask that?

"Love it. My favorite is from best friends who are artists that have been prepping for it for over a year."

"Well, what a coincidence!" Lana said playfully. "Why don't you accompany me to the art show tonight? It's just like a casual thing. It opens at six at the Lincoln Hotel."

"That sounds great. I'll see you there," Jack said as he paid for his groceries and left the store with one last million-dollar smile.

***

As soon as Lana's shift ended, she glanced at her phone on the way out to see the text from Jack and, like a giddy schoolgirl, beamed at her phone while reading it:

Jack: Hey Lana, this is Jack Hanscom. Looking forward to our date tonight!

She decided she needed to tell Chloe; otherwise, she would flip if she saw her with a date without warning.

Lana: Heads up, I'm bringing a date to your art show tonight. No, you don't know him and no, it's nothing serious. Love you and can't wait to see the show!!

Lana was still smiling about her text from Jack as she continued walking to her car. Her phone buzzed, and her smile faded when she held it up.

Unknown: Stopping by Goodwill anytime soon?

***

What do we think about the characters so far? Any thoughts? Click the little vote star icon if you think Lana should text the unknown number back! ♥️