Gaskets

It was a typical working day when she arrived. Beautiful brown hair, recently cut into a quite fashionable look and eyes of deepest midnight blue. In a workplace filled with men, she was even more so striking than she normally was. However, he was late as usual, so he didn't see her grand entrance, nor did she take any particular interest in his.

He did however notice her, seated quite uncomfortably at a desk towards the back of the office, clearly bored out of her mind and annoyed with the air conditioning. Being new, she had still to receive instructions from their supervisor and was stuck gazing into space for the time being. He decided he'd best get formalities over with and introduce himself.

"I'm Gajeel." He thought he'd been subtle in checking her out. She had quite the rack on her, and if the rear matched as well as he thought it would, he was going to have trouble not stealing a couple of looks during her time her. Perhaps she'd be boring though, a lot of woman were, not that he was one to discriminate against bimbos. He shook of his curiosity knowing he'd definitely be sure to find out later.

"Cana." She stated simply as he rushed down stairs to the machine shop. Now, the one thing Cana Alberona could not be called, was an oblivious woman. She'd seen the dark haired man's gaze linger upon her torso, much to her amusement. While she wasn't the only female in the office, she was definitely the youngest and only one that was single. However, Cana was not going to play around with any men, uncharacteristic on her part. The plan was to finish her internship with as little drama as possible and to prove herself worthy girlfriend material to a boy back home.

However when they did eventually start talking, both knew there was trouble brewing. Both Cana and Gajeel were quite obviously single, shared common interests and were checking each other out blatantly. So when Cana, well known to hold her liquor, found out that he had only recently started drinking at a staff party, she immediately coerced him into having a shot with her. There was a moment when their eyes met, where she actually thought he'd make a move on her. However, when he didn't, she was more convinced than ever that she could keep this relationship platonic and eventually friend zone the raven haired man. After all that was the best case scenario for her.

She should have seen it coming when he made his move days later. It was hot as hell, not that Cana minded, she loved summer. However, he dragged her on a frustrating wild goose chase looking for gaskets and by the time the two of them got to the third floor storage area she wasn't expecting anything, and was feeling both hot and tired. So when she'd thought he'd found more of those gaskets, she could sear they'd counted at least a good hundred by now, she walked to him with an exasperated sigh wondering which lunatic moved the gaskets to the corner.

She really should have realised, being up there the previous day she knew they weren't any more. She neared him frowning as she did not see anything. Perhaps a part of her realised he was pulling a move but didn't feel like acknowledging the notion. Cana usually could read situations such really well, an insight she picked up from card games.

"There aren't really gaskets here. Gi hee" She looked at him in surprise before he grabbed her hand pulling her body against his, "there is something else though."

Then his lips crashed against her and she felt herself responding, despite her surprise. His hands immediately groped her ass. In her mind she knew that she was crossing some major lines, but boy could he kiss. It had been so long since someone had kissed her like this. However, Cana remembered the guy back home, the one she needed to prove herself to be worthy of, and immediately pushed him away.

"I can't there's someone I like."

"I didn't know, sorry."

"We not dating, but I really like him, I can't." He looked at her incredulously, and for a second Cana wondered if she'd perhaps lead him on by kissing back. She hated giving mixed signals and receiving them. She'd feel horrible if he'd actually like her for real and she'd done that. Her worry was quickly forgotten, as his response clarified his intentions.

"This is just a hook up." And once again he took her by surprise, kissing her more passionately then before. It wasn't a phrase Cana hadn't heard before. She was well known for being a little on the wild side. Majority of the guys who craved her attention did not want to date her, and those that did were wary and paranoid she'd slip up. Not that Cana would ever cheat, it was one thing she despised completely. Now, seated on Gajeel's lap enjoying the way his lips felt against hers and how his hands were creeping up the back of her shirt, she felt insanely guilty. There was someone she wanted to take her seriously and it was not the, admittedly attractive, guy she was making out with.

"Stop," She gasped for air as he misinterpreted her command halting his hands explorations but continuing his assault on her lips. Cana struggled with herself internally, why was he so good at kissing? This had to stop.

"Wait," she mentally cringed at the way it sounded less like a command and more like a moan.

"You say that, but you really haven't stopped kissing me."

It was the last straw for Cana, as she forced herself of him. She was perfectly content with the idea of single people hooking up, however she knew full well that 'we hooked up because we were single' was not going to look great while she was trying to get her act together. Plus, she felt awful about it.

"This makes me feel guilty." She didn't apologise, but felt extremely awkward. He too, got to his feet, red eyes locking with hers.

"I'm not gonna force you. Next time you'll ask." She smirked at that knowing that she would never ask, not him for sure, there was no potential for anything real here. She turned her heel and left him, lips swollen and hair messy, however she didn't care. Cana Alberona was a work place enigma. Nobody would think anything amiss if she'd vanished for an entire day, never mind a half an hour.

She really did feel bad though. She wasn't one for mixed signals. She knew Gajeel Redfox was not the man for her. And at that moment, walking out that door, she truly thought that was the end of it.

However deep down, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, there was a sneaky suspicion that things rarely end so simply for a girl as complicated as she was.

This actually is based on a real event in my life. I was, and still kind of am having writers block for one of my stories. I'm hoping the guy in question actually reads this someday just for the lolz. We kind of managed to keep a really strange friendship/fling going, despite his rather flamboyant escape from the friend zone.

For those of you that don't ship Cana and Gajeel, I don't either and this isn't exactly a story of love or romance. Its for those of us who find ourselves in a place that's purely attraction and hasn't yet crossed over into infatuation. It's a touch of reality on a situation that anyone can find themselves in. When you cross the line with someone whom you know better than to cross any lines with and somehow its not the worst nor the best thing that can happen.

Do review!