Page 6 of Safer Together
We finally let each other go. James takes a step towards the front door, making his intentions clear as day, he is ready to head off. I follow him, waiting for him to make the move to open the door, he reaches out and pulls the door open, walking through it without looking back, once in the hallway he calls out. “See you tomorrow, Ange.” I watch him walk down the end of the corridor before disappearing into the stairwell.
I step back through my doorway, closing the door behind me with a thump, and then engage the lock. I always knew that James had a thing for me, he has asked me out several times in the past three or so years since we started working together. Whenever I turned him down, he seemed to shrug it off, indicating it was as friends anyway. And yet now, after that conversation, it’s clear that his intentions were more than friendship.
I feel like crap knowing that I have hurt someone so close to me, someone special in my life. Liam and I have had the conversation about James and me so many times. He would constantly tell me to just go on one date with him and see if any sparks would fly, he also warned me once that James was into me. I just shrugged it off thinking he was teasing me.
And if I am being one hundred percent honest with myself, I do find James good looking. He is handsome, fit, has a successful career. He really is a catch and I’m sure there are many women out there who would love to snag him. My feelings for him, though, have never developed into anything more than the friend stage, not that I have ever given them the chance to.
I do know that I would be devastated if I lost his friendship over this. It’s going to be really uncomfortable and awkward to pretend all is fine, especially when I will see him every day at work.
Without really knowing how I got there, I’m standing in front of my open fridge, looking for something I would never typically have. I could really do with a glass of wine. It’s no surprise to see there isn’t a bottle situated inside. I settle for the closest thing I have, sparkling lemon water, at least it has bubbles. I can pretend it’s champagne. Retrieving it from the door of the fridge, I find one of my wine glasses and pour a generous amount in. Sipping at the cool, aerated liquid, popping in my mouth, it’s refreshing.
I take my time finishing my drink, all the while thinking about the week to come. Several things are sure to come to pass, and so I will concentrate on those:
1.I only have four more days of work
2.I will see Elliot in five days
3.Staff Christmas Party
4.Elliot’s Christmas Party
5.Christmas with Elliot’s family
I tip the glass as high as I can and drain the remaining liquid. It’s going to be a wild week, that’s for sure.
