Unknown (Unknown Identity #1) Read Online Free PDF Page A

turning left into her kitchen that was small enough that she couldn’t do anything really fancy, even if she actually wanted to. Her bedroom and bathroom were accessible off of the living room, and were small enough that there really wasn’t much she could do with it. But, thanks to the gods of Pinterest and sheer boredom, she had made it her own and drawn the attention of Amber and Josie.
    “Leslie!” Josie called out, excitedly rushing through their apartment and heading across the hallway to follow Amber into Leslie’s apartment. “So, how was it?”
    “How was what?” Leslie asked, furrowing her brow and looking over her shoulder at Josie and Amber who were already raiding the wine she had and grabbing glasses.
    “You’re all dressed up,” Amber added. Clearly they had been conspiring about what could possibly have drawn Leslie out of the apartment so well dressed. It was fairly common that Leslie, though she had a phenomenally toned body, only believed in wearing things she referred to as comfy clothes. There were always exceptions to this new-found rule in her life and that was when she went to the gym. For Amber to make the money she did in tips, she needed to be irresistible to the men at the club, so she would frequently go with Leslie to the gym, dragging along Josie, who thought of exercise as something torturous to someone like her who was given the glorious gift of a high metabolism. All in all, Leslie had simply dressed as she always had once upon a time, and this was obviously a cause of note for the two spies across the hall. “Was it a date? An interview? Oh shit, are you moving out?” Amber’s mind darted to a million scenarios.
    “No,” Leslie laughed. “Just taking care of some business.”
    “I’m not buying it,” Josie said with certainty in her voice. “Who is he? Is he that cute Asian guy from the gym?”
    “Samurai?” Amber asked with a sad, defeated tone in her voice as her shoulders slumped. “I knew that he was checking you out and not me.”
    “Shut up,” Leslie shook her head. “He was watching you non-stop.” She grabbed a Mickey Mouse cup and let Amber fill it with wine. “What are you two doing today?” She glanced at the clock and saw that it was only two in the afternoon.
    “Work,” Amber made a snarl.
    “Nothing,” Josie said, glancing over to the wall where Leslie had built shelves with her own two hands. The shelves were lined with books that she had picked up while living in New York. She’d built those shelves, intending to fill them up, and when she finally had she built more in the living room. Essentially, she’d lost her security deposit, but Leslie wasn’t going to sweat a thousand dollars.
    Leslie watched Josie, knowing she was looking for a hint as to what she did for a living. Josie didn’t buy the article writing gig. Leslie was surprised that Josie still hadn’t noticed the letter of acceptance on the one shelf next to her diploma and degree that she had strategically laid down between plaques. She hadn’t hung it, as it reminded her of the day of the funeral when she’d taken it down from her old house.
    “What’re your plans?” Josie asked, distracting her from the past.
    “I don’t know.” Leslie took a long drink of wine. “I should work, but I’m not feeling it today.”
    “Come to the club,” Amber begged. “Please, please, please! You never come and Josie always ends up bored at the end of the bar, getting hit on by guys while she doodles. Everyone’s miserable because you won’t come.”
    Leslie let out a long sigh. She had never gone to Amber’s club, and for good reason. There was something about a dimly-lit cavern with lots of strobing lights, black lights, and a DJ blasting her ears that made her feel exhausted already. While she had been invited a hundred times over, she’d always found a decent reason not to go, but it was hard today to think of one today.
    She was going to have to start living her life again