A couple days had passed by uneventfully for Regina, but she found herself texting Nick whenever she had some downtime. He'd started off as a nuisance, though she was glad that he'd been that way, having woken up to a good morning text from him every day and little pick me up's, she could feel the gray cloud that had surrounded her starting to fade. Her phone buzzed from its position on her desk, she smiled and grabbed her phone.
Have you eaten lunch yet?
Regina looked to see who the sender was, Emma, her mood fell slightly, but she shrugged it off and texted Emma back, No, too much work.
A knock sounded at the door, taking Regina by surprise, she hadn't been expecting anyone. She got up and went to the door, opening it to find no one standing on the other side. She looked down as she went to shut the door and noticed a nondescript brown paper bag laying there.
Regina knelt down to pick it up, while looking at it questioningly. She turned it around in her hands and saw a note attached to the other side. Enjoy J.
Regina couldn't help but smile as she walked back to her desk, bag in hand, ready to see what surprises it contained. Standing at her desk, she opened the bag, investigating it like it was a crime scene, slowly pulling out containers of all shapes and sizes. She placed each one next to the last, in a straight line across her desk and began to pull off lids.
Her smile grew as the dishes revealed themselves. A steak in one, baked potato in another, all her favorite toppings, each in their own container in a smaller chilled bag, grilled asparagus in yet another, and to top it all off, a giant piece of the most decadent chocolate cake she had ever seen.
She pulled out her phone and quickly typed out a thank you before digging in, realizing how hungry she really was.
Regina had to admit, this was one of the best meals of her life, and the fact that Emma cared enough to go to that extent surprised her. Sure, she'd known for a while that the blonde had a crush on her, she'd learned that a while ago, her mind drifting back to that night.
The two had gone out to a bar for drinks after work, just getting to know each other, early on in their friendship. They had been talking, laughing and joking about some things that had happened at work well into the night. Emma must have had a few too many drinks, at least that was what she'd claimed later, but at some point, she'd reached over, and placed her hand on top of Regina's that laid there on the table, loosely around the stem of the wine glass. She'd leaned in, as though she was embarrassed that others would hear what she said as she quietly admitted, "I uh, I really like you, and uh well, I'd like to take you on a date sometime, you know, that is, if you want to."
Regina had been shocked by this declaration, but she'd smiled as sweetly as she could and offered an apology, "I'm sorry, I would but, I have a boyfriend." She hadn't wanted to hurt the younger woman's feelings, so she said what she thought would hurt her the least, and there was no reason to add in that she was very much straight as well, and if she was honest, the idea of being with a woman kind of disgusted her. Emma immediately withdrew her hand, shoving both of them in the pockets of her jacket and collapsed on herself, mumbling a barely audible apology, that she hadn't known. It was true, Regina hadn't yet mentioned Robin, still keeping that wall up between work and personal, though the barrier was a little fuzzier with Emma than with others. And while the idea of being with a woman had disgusted her, she did feel the need to clarify Emma's attraction to women did not bother her, and she felt it flattering that the younger woman who was barely 21 at the time not only found her attractive but had developed a crush on her as she had crossed into her thirties.
The memory still made her smile, but the night had taken on a different tone, and though a year had passed from that point, she was sure the younger woman still harbored those same feelings, it was evident in the way she acted around Regina, especially in these actions.
It was in these few quiet moments that she had often pondered if she'd made a mistake in rejecting the blonde, musing about the life they could have had together, thinking she should maybe give it a shot, once she'd recovered of course, but she knew she'd never try, never want to jeopardize their friendship for something she wasn't entirely sure she'd be comfortable with.
She finished up her meal and placed the containers neatly back in the bag and returned to work. Determined to shake her thoughts, she focused on her stack of papers, contracts, budgets, final project approvals all things that would put anyone to sleep. Regina was already counting down the minutes until she could leave. Her phone vibrated and she grabbed it eagerly, hoping it was Nick this time.
Hey pretty lady, still workin' hard?
Always. It never ends.
Well, they're lucky to have such a hard worker. When you gonna take some you time?
When I get caught up.
And that'll be when?
Next week.
You sure? Won't more work just pile up? You gotta take care of yourself hun, I know that company's your life but it'll kill you if you let it.
Simple. Then I won't let it.
Something tells me you wouldn't, but still worry about you, working like this can't be healthy. How are you doing, really?
I'm fine, why wouldn't I be?
I'm not accepting that as an answer, but alright, I won't push you, just know I'm here for you.
I know, thank you. Are you still at work? You never told me what you do.
Heh, my job's boring, guarantee it wouldn't interest you.
Try me.
It can't be worse than mine.
Yours isn't bad at all, you run your own company!
Being in charge doesn't mean it's fun.
Seems like it should be, getting to set your hours, boss everyone around, make a lot of money, take vacation when you want. Not seein' many cons here.
I also have to fire people, constantly make sure everything gets paid, read over contracts, and put in a lot of work I don't get paid for. There's a lot more that goes on behind the scenes.
Didn't think about that. Still, can't be that bad can it?
No, it's not, but it does take time away from my family.
Oh, do you have kids?
Regina hadn't meant to bring it into this territory, she loved her family dearly, but she wanted to protect them, and she still wasn't sure about Nick. Sure, he'd been good to talk to, but one shouldn't just divulge everything to a complete stranger. She stared at her phone for a minute, unsure of how to reply, her bottom lip tucked between her teeth, she chewed on it nervously. So far their conversations had been about work, the weather, or some of their interests, but other than his name, she really didn't know anything about him. In fact, she only knew where he lived because she'd searched the area code. LA, it was safely across the country from where she lived, just outside of New York.
When she'd found that out, she had wondered how he'd managed to accidentally text her, but figured maybe his friend was from there, or somewhere where the area code was similar. And after a moment's hesitation, she decided to answer him truthfully, deciding he was across the country from her and he couldn't really do much harm from that distance.
I've got a son.
That's awesome! Me too.
How old is yours?
He's 10, yours?
Five. Just started kindergarten this year, too bad his dad wasn't there.
