You been starring in my dreams

 Melvin guessed he'd have to be satisfied. At least at the moment.

How many weeks had it been? Or was it months now? Not something he'd share with anyone, how he'd come about to know Caitlin's whereabouts. But he knew where she worked. Hell, how many times had he been standing right in front of her, and she never looked up. 

Somebody could have killed her by now if they had a mind too.

She didn't look like the type who needed a lot, like the girls who wanted him. Fakers, Melvin called them. No way was he giving those party animals the time a day. Hell no, to being trapped in a situation where he had to pay for every damn thing, take them shopping all the time.

Anyway, he needed a challenge and Caitlin was his project to get him through the holidays and on into 2020. Damn, pandemic. It kind of put him off at first but then the mask made it so easy. He could be standing right next to that soulful girl and she wouldn't even know it.

So many days he wondered what she was thinking about. True, she was not the happiest girl in the world, but she was a good listener and he knew the little things meant a lot to her.

He hoped he didn't disappoint her. But he probably did. Honest to god, a little weed was best when used at home alone. It was a bonus that she wasn't uptight about shit like that. She was cool. And she hadn't let on to that Harry Styles shit either. Another plus.

But what if he was just a new flavor of the month, it made him sad to wonder if she'd be a bitch. Weren't they all in the end? He wanted to stay calm. He needed to be calm, but he'd always been a mess even when he was a kid. He still hadn't grown up even with a real job.

Thank god, the pizza place ran its self. It was still going strong. Carry-outs and deliveries never let up. Melvin knew he should be happy, but it always felt it was one more obstacle to leap over and the thing was he was waiting for somebody else to give the OK, the story of his life.

"So..so what did she say?" Melvin asked Cori as soon as he got to the afternoon shift.

"Who?" Cori looked at him blankly as he tied his apron on and went to check on the dough in the heavy-duty machine.

"Who do you think?" Melvin winced towering over the kid who looked like a lost puppy.

"Oh..oh, Caitlin?" He told him she left for work before he got up.

"Do you even know her?" Some help Cori was, thought Melvin.

"Yes." Cori winced, "Kind of, she's you know kind of quiet. Stays to her self."

Melvin nodded wishing he could pump him for answers, but Cori was here to do his job and that's what he did.