Phoenix Rising (Phoenix of the Heart) Read online

appreciate him flirting with the other women on the board. Why would he do that when he knew I would be reading his post? I sat back in my chair and huffed, “I don’t get it.”

  “Dump him, girlfriend. He isn’t worth your time.”

  I wasn’t ready to give up on Jim yet, but I also wasn’t willing to be hurt again. “He’s got some good qualities, Ang, but I do think he needs a taste of his own medicine.”

  I was a firm believer in tit for tat, so Angie and I spent the next fifteen minutes coming up with flirtatious responses to all of the men who posted to me. I even continued Jim’s charade by responding to him as if we’d never met.

  “That should teach him,” Angie said with a cheeky grin.

  I was sucking in an especially long lo mein noodle when I saw the screen change to something new. I almost choked. “What did you do, Angie?”

  “I didn’t do anything,” she protested.

  “You must have touched something! What button did you push?” I started to panic. “I don’t know how to get it back.” I threw my hands in the air. “And this is why I hate computers!”

  Suddenly words appeared on the screen.

  Hello! It’s good to see you.

  I had no clue what to do or who the heck was typing to me! After a minute, more words appeared.

  Are you still there? Just type an answer, then hit enter and I’ll be able to read it.

  Whoever it was could read my mind.

  “What’s going on, Beth? Who is that?”

  “I don’t know. I suppose there’s only one way to find out.” My heart was racing as I typed.

  Hey, who are you?

  It’s The Keeper. I’m sorry, didn’t mean to startle you. Just wanted to type in person—so to speak.

  Angie nudged me. “Who is The Keeper?”

  “He’s the guy that runs the BBS. Ugh, what do I say to him? This is so weird!”

  “Don’t ask me, you’re the computer expert.”

  “Yeah, right…”

  I didn’t know we could type to each other like this.

  It’s called “chat”. A person can do it when they are using the computer that runs the board. I’m in town for a couple of days and was hoping you would call so I could chat to you like this.

  I wanted to say something witty, but my mind was not cooperating in the least. “Help me, Ang.”

  “How can I help? You’re the one who knows this guy.”

  “I don’t know him! Heck, I just got on the board yesterday.” I realized he was still waiting for a reply, so I typed the only thing that came to mind, groaning as I did it.

  I’m embarrassed. I’m a slow typer and…this is a little awkward for me.

  Don’t worry. I didn’t type fast when I first started. As to feeling awkward, it’ll get easier the more you do it. I was planning to respond to your latest email, but since you’re online, we can chat instead. So I read that you’re a teacher of little ones. I admire anyone willing to deal with a bunch of bratty kids. Ha Ha… But seriously, it’s awesome that you want to make a difference.

  I appreciated his compliment.

  Thanks. (smile)

  And I must say that you sound beautiful. The combination of red hair and green eyes is perfect. Is that why you call yourself Phoenix, because of your hair?

  “Ooh,” Angie teased. “He’s flirting with you!”

  I felt the heat rise to my face.

  Yep, that’s why I’m called Phoenix.

  Well, I’m 6’4” with brown hair and brown eyes. (A typical brownhead I suppose)

  Angie poked me in the ribs. “A guy with a sense of humor. I like him, Beth.”

  I rolled my eyes. “Give me a break, Ang.” However, I secretly agreed. I liked his sense of humor, too.

  He’d kept typing.

  You asked what I do for a living. Well, I’m a salesman for a company that writes software for businesses. We sell to businesses all around the US, so that means traveling on my part. I enjoy seeing other places, so it suits me fine. But it does mean I don’t get to meet people where I live because I’m gone so much. That’s where my computer comes in.

  I was starting to get the hang of the chat thing, and smiled as I typed.

  That sounds interesting. I would love to travel around the country like that. But what do you like to do on your free time?

  I enjoy the outdoors. Whenever I have the time, I like to backpack. So besides dancing, what you like to do?

  Angie took over the keyboard before I could stop her and typed:

  I must say you sound like the perfect man: tall, dark, and handsome.

  He didn’t type anything in response.

  “Angie! Why did you do that?” I slapped her hands away. “I can’t believe you just did that!”

  “Oh, come on, Beth. I’m just having a little fun,” she teased. I pushed her chair far away from the computer before sitting back down. Thankfully, I saw he’d typed something back.

  Ha Ha, that’s quite a compliment. Thank you. Hey, have you heard I’m throwing a party for The Lighthouse?

  I frowned at Angie. “Thanks a lot. Now he thinks I’m hitting on him.”

  The imp just shrugged her shoulders with a naughty gleam in her eye.

  What could I say that would not sound as if I were trying to pick him up? I stared at the blinking cursor for several seconds.

  Yes, I remember reading about it.

  Are you planning on coming?

  Angie squealed, “It looks as if someone wants to meet you, Beth!”

  I hadn’t considered it, Keeper, since I just joined your BBS yesterday.

  Please, don’t let that stop you from coming. I wanted to make it an early Christmas party, but I don’t have any decorations. How pathetic is that? :^(

  “Hey, what do those symbols at the end mean?” Angie asked.

  I pushed her hands away from the keyboard. “I don’t know any more than you do.”

  “So why don’t you ask him?”

  “No way! I don’t want to look like a total noob.”

  “A what?” she asked innocently, as her fingers inched towards the keyboard again.

  I blocked her access, huffing. “You wouldn’t understand. The guy probably thinks I’m a complete idiot as it is…” I couldn’t think of anything clever to redirect the conversation, so I just typed what came into my head.

  I only have a few decorations myself.

  I was simply stating a fact, but he must have taken it the wrong way based on his response.

  So do you want to help decorate the place?

  Angie hugged me from behind. “I think he’s asking you on a pre-date! Isn’t that cute?”

  My heart started pounding. I was digging myself into a hole with this dang chat thing. I complained, “This is all your fault, Ang. Now what am I going to do?”

  “Take him up on it. It’ll be like a blind date. Oh Beth, it’s going to be fun! I’ll even go as your chaperone.” She squeezed me enthusiastically.

  I’d only known this guy through typing to each other, but I had to admit I was intrigued with the idea of meeting him in person. For better or worse, I let my curiosity rule the moment. “Angie, if this turns out badly I’m going to make you pay dearly.” Adrenaline started kicking in as I typed.

  Do you mind if I bring someone?

  The Keeper didn’t even hesitate.

  Please do, the more the merrier.

  “Ask him when,” Angie whispered in my ear as if he could hear her. I hunched over the keyboard to block the keyboard from her.

  When should we come over?

  How about Saturday, say around 2:00 PM?

  I swallowed hard. There was no turning back now…

  Sounds good.

  See you then, Phoenix. I’ll give you directions to my apartment in the next email.

  The screen changed back to the posts on General. I was shaken from the unexpected encounter, and logged off instead of reading the rest of the messages.

  “Remind me to never let you n
ear my computer again,” I scolded, turning off the beast so she could not cause further damage.

  Angie’s eyes were positively glowing. “I have a good feeling about this, Beth. Just you wait.” She bit down on her egg roll and chewed it with a self-satisfied grin.

  I called Jim later that night to tell him about the outing. I wasn’t looking at it as a “pre-date” but as a chance to meet the SysOp before the BBS party. “Hey, you want to join Angie and me around 1:00? We can meet at my apartment and drive down together.”

  “I can’t. The firm has a hairy case coming up, so they’ve asked the team to come in this weekend to prepare for it.”

  “That’s a shame. Would you like me to cancel?”

  “Hell no, I’ll knock off around six Saturday night and swing by your apartment to pick you up. We’ll go out for dinner, and you can tell me all about it.”

  I was a little surprised that he still wanted me to go. “Guess I’ll see you Saturday night, then.” I paused, hating confrontation, but needing to be upfront with Jim. “Did you read my last post on General?”

  “I sure did!” Jim sounded thrilled instead of angry. “You’ve got quite the following already.”

  I was thrown off by his reaction. “You don’t care that I flirted with everyone on the board?”

  “No, why would I mind? It’ll make it more exciting when we show up at the party together.”

  I didn’t care for his answer and suddenly wondered if it was all just a game to him.

  “I only did it to get even with you. I don’t like you flirting with all the girls.”

  Jim chuckled lightly. “Beth, are you actually jealous?”

  His laughter put me on the defensive. “I think it’s a pretty normal reaction. I don’t see what’s so funny, Jim.”

  “I’m touched.” He laughed again, setting me on edge. “No, really, it’s nice to have someone as attractive as you feeling jealous over a guy like me. I’ll stop if it will