The day after Laura got to the city was spent unpacking and arranging her new apartment. Since her job was basically all online, she didn't need to go into the office yet; but she was going to go in the next day just to meet everyone and get a feel of what the company was like.
Since her job was in sports, that meant most of her work would be done during nights and weekends. Sports writing is a busy job but at least it's one of the few jobs in the world that doesn't require getting up early.
At 2pm, the cable guy came to instal her cable and Internet while she continued to unpack her belongings.
After the cable guy had left and her apartment was now almost completely unpacked, Laura ordered a pizza for dinner and flipped her tv onto the reds game.
After dinner, she called her dad and spent the rest of the night talking to him. They were both watching the game on their own separate tv's in two different states but it was almost like they were there together, sitting along the first base line at the reds stadium like they had done all those times in the past.
"Ugh that was so out." Laura told her dad over the phone as they watched the umpire call what they thought was an unfair play.
"I know! I swear this ump is a pirates fan..." her dad said.
She laughed.
"Well dad, it's getting late and I have to go into the city tomorrow morning for my first day of work." she said.
"Oh yeah, I'll let you go, sweetie. Good luck with the new job! I know you'll kick ass at it!"
"Thanks dad." Laura laughed.
"Goodnight Laur, sleep well. I love you."
"I love you too, Dad." she said before she hung up her phone and went to bed.
Her alarm went off at 7:30am; rudely waking her from a dream that involved a certain kind stranger.
Wait what?
Shaking those thoughts from her head, she got out of bed and went to take a shower.
She got out of the shower and combed her hair.
Now came the hard part: deciding what to wear.
Since she was a young, straight, white woman working in sports she needed to make the right impression.
She needed to appear professional and show that she knows what she's doing; she's not just some shallow girl who likes sports just because of all the hot guys.
Laura spent a good 30 minutes trying to figure out what to wear.
After 10 more minutes of ruffling through her entire wardrobe, she decided on a sleeveless yellow blouse, some jeans, and a pair of wedges.
After curling her hair and applying her makeup, Laura looked at herself in the mirror and smiled. She looked professional and grown up yet casual and laid back at the same time.
Grabbing her across the body, brown computer bag (which doubled as her purse now), she ran out the door and to the train station that was just a half a mile from her apartment.
She could hear the train approaching as she made her way up the steps to the platform as quickly as she could in her wedges.
She pushed her way into the crowded train as best she could with her small frame.
She finally made it in just as the doors slid shut and the train picked up speed again.
She walked down the isle looking for an empty seat. The train was very crowded for almost 10am. There were no empty seats.
She continued making her way down the isle when she finally spotted an empty seat.
She made her way to the seat and saw that there was a familiar person, with their earbuds in and a script of some sort on his knee, sitting in the seat beside it.
"Long time no see." Laura said to Ross as she sat down in the empty seat beside him.
Ross was surprised by her sudden appearance, but relaxed when he saw who it was.
"Oh I'm sorry! I didn't mean to startle you!" Laura apologized.
"No, you didn't. I was just... In the zone." Ross said, letting out a laugh.
"Oh, good." she said in relief; Laura hated causing anyone any kind of discomfort.
He smiled at her.
"So what brings you into the city today? I assume your going into the city; you don't strike me as a Harlem girl." Ross said.
"I feel like we've been through this before. How do you know I'm not stopping in Harlem? I could have a very important meeting with my... Thug street gang today." she said.
"Ok now I definitely know you're not stopping in Harlem." he laughed.
"How?" she asked him.
"Because "thug street gangs" don't have meetings." he said using air quotes, still laughing.
"Point taken. I'm not going to Harlem." she admitted.
"You don't say." he replied sarcastically.
She playfully hit him on the shoulder, which was much firmer than she had expected.
"You still haven't answered my question." he said after a while.
"Hmm?"
"What brings you into the city today?" he asked again.
"Oh, I'm starting a new job." she said.
"Very cool, very cool." he said.
"Aren't you going to ask what it is?" she asked him.
"I don't need to."
"Excuse me?"
"I already know that you're just a simple southern girl who came to the big city to follow her dreams, which I'm guessing has something to do with writing." he said.
"Wow, you're good. But you were a little off."
"In what way?"
"I'm just a simple MIDWESTERN girl who came to the big city to follow my dreams, which do have something do do with writing." she said.
"Damn, I was close." he said.
They sat in a comfortable silence for a few moments as the train trekked on.
"So what brings you into the city today?" she asked him.
"I have an audition today." he told her.
"Oh, impressive. In what field? Acting? Singing? Dancing?"
"All 3 actually." he said sheepishly.
"Wow a triple threat." she said, thoroughly impressed. "Broadway?"
"That's the goal." he said nodding.
"I know you're gonna do great!" she told him.
"You barely know me." he reminded her.
"True, but I can just tell." she said smugly.
"I appreciate that." he said laughing.
They sat in silence for a few more moments.
"So what kind of writing do you do?" he asked her.
"Pardon?" she said.
"I assumed you were a writer, you just have that air of a writer; and you confirmed it saying you did come here for something that had to do with writing." he said.
"Oh yeah. Well I was hired on at FOX sports online about a month ago, so I moved up her and I start today. I'm a sports journalist which means I go to whatever events they send me to and write about them after and write about predictions and whatnot before the games happen." she explained.
"Wow, I never pegged you as a sports writer." he said.
"Well I never pegged you as a broadway performer." she said.
"Touché." he said, looking down at her an smiling as the train came to a stop in Grand Central.
They both stood up and began to make their way out of the train.
Once they got into the atrium and they were about to part ways, she turned around to grip his arm.
"Hey." she said, slightly startling him again.
He tribes to look at her, taking his earbud out.
"Break a leg at your audition! Ross." she said, addressing him by his name at the end, reassuring him that she had remembered him.
"Thanks. Good luck with your first day as a sports journalist. Laura." he said, a large grin spreading across his face.
Their eyes locked and they simply stared at each other for what most people would consider too long to be considered friendly. But they didn't care. They just started at each other, exploring the others eyes while. It was like they were in their own little bubble where everything was slow motion while the world around them rushed past them.
They both suddenly came out of their trance, blushing when they realized what they had been doing.
"Um right... Um... See ya later?" Ross said awkwardly.
"Yeah I think so." Laura said flintily as she turned to walk away; missing the way his knees almost buckled at her tone but not missing the way his eyes wandered down to her backside as she walked away.
She turned around and sent him a wink, as he blushed madly when he realized she had caught him staring.
Sending him one last grin, she made her way down to the subway.
Little did the other know that they couldn't break the smile off their own face after their little exchange.
"I could get used to this." Laura thought to herself.
reviews make me happy :)
