4:45PM. I keep looking at my watch wondering how my day will end. Will he invite me out? He mentioned last night in one of our regular "harmless" chats in passing that we should have a drink sometime. The anticipation is making me restless. "I need a drink!", there he goes again. He's talking to my coworker Geoff while i glance on. Average height, average built, almond-shaped eyes, salt and pepper hair, cute smile. That's Nikolas, head of our outsourcing unit. He's basically my boss. For some reason, lately, I gravitate towards him and my body feels all sorts of weird ways whenever he's near. Oh and did I mention he's incredibly smart? And he's so funny he doesn't even know it. If you're funny and smart, that's it, we're having sex. I don't really care for chiseled guys. He's a decade older but it doesn't show. He looks very young and very attractive. If I look like that, the hell I'd care about my age.
"So are you game Serah?" Nikolas' question pulled me out of my reverie. "Sure, where?" I answered nonchalantly. I can almost bet I saw the corner of his lips twitch into a smile when I said yes. "Act cool and calm yourself Serah", my rational self said to my overthinking self. "It's just a drink. He even invited other people. So stop thinking this is about you". "Come walk with me, we'll reserve seats for them", he said to me. Trying hard to maintain my composure, I matched his stride until we reached the road outside our building.
"Stop!", I heard him say while he pulled my arm towards him as I almost get hit by a motorcycle. Electricity immediately coursed through my body. We are inches apart with my head almost to his chest. So close that I can smell him. He smells like soap - very nice. For a brief second I wanted to look up, curious as to what will happen then. But luckily, my sanity kicked in and I immediately pulled back. "So sorry," I muttered. "Be careful", he said sternly, as he kept walking towards the bar.
"Where do you wanna sit?", he asked. I'm an introvert so it's instinctive for me to look for areas where I will be least disrupted and obscured from all the human contact. I pointed to a corner table and debated with myself for a moment on where to sit. I decided to sit right in front of him. Close enough to talk, but far enough so I can maintain a certain level of distance to avoid being distracted by this charming man in front of me.
"So, how was your day?", he said. This is his usual line in our regular chats. I can't really recall how it started, but somewhere within the last three months, we started chatting online. I think I consulted about work once then someone mentioned Netflix and work chat evolved to Netflix chat. I learned that he's into music as well. So Spotify came into the picture. We discussed all sorts of stuff, from his weird non-mainstream music likes to my own music style.
"Do you know that R and B music is about sex? Just Google the lyrics." He said in one of our chats. "What?? All my life I loved R and B and now you've ruined it for me." I typed furiously. "Hey, I'm just saying the truth. It's basically music for foreplay". I can imagine him smiling mischievously torturing me to find a reply that is neither leading nor the brush-off type. This is our dance that I'm trying to figure out lately. Do I continue being all casual and cool and not interpret it as anything other than him being his usual charismatic self? Who am I kidding though. I'm hooked. That's the problem. I can try to rationalize all of these in my head but whatever his side of the story is, I need to rein myself back and be realistic. "Stop kidding yourself, you're not his type". Yup. Back to reality.
"T'was a long day", I replied. His furrowed brows are peaking over the menu while he's browsing through it. "Good. Do you like whiskey? Let's unwind". He ordered a bottle of single malt. "I like to pour my own drink", he volunteered, while he pour one for me. I rolled my eyes instinctively and he laughed. He knows I'm mocking him. The way he moves and acts is so upscale but weirdly enough, it doesn't intimidate me. I always make fun of him when he does this. I don't even try hard to be refined when I'm with him, and oddly enough, he doesn't seem to be bothered by it. I always thought these type of guys go for the prim-and-proper ones. Maybe he thinks of me as a one-of-them-guys. Ugh.
I closed my eyes as the whiskey burns slightly while it cascades down my throat. Whiskey is a tease. It fires up your senses just enough so you'll want more. I opened my eyes and I saw him staring at me intently but I can't read his expression. Immediately my chest started beating fast and I suddenly felt the heat rush up to my face. "What?" I interrupted the silence because I can't let him see how his gaze affects me. "Do you like it?", he asked. "Like what? This?", I waved the whiskey glass awkwardly to him. He smiled and I saw his eyes creased. My heart is racing and my mind is panicking. I wanted to come up with some snide remark or quip. He suddenly looked at the door and waved. The gang is finally here. Whew. Saved by the bell.