Coffee & Cigarettes

Advice

Bill put out his cigarette on the wall next to him and sighed, twisting the butt into the brick with force. It was a hectic week, he was trying to soak up every second of down time that he could. The door behind him creaked open and he jerked forward, startled.

"Oh shit," Violet stepped out with John following closely behind. "I'm sorry. You feeling okay, Bill?" She looked at him with concern.

Bill nodded quickly, lighting another cigarette. "I'm alright, thanks." His voice wavered slightly, giving his anxiety away. John and Violet glanced at one another knowingly - it had been a particularly stressful week for everyone and they were all just trying to hold it together.

"Well, I think the two of us have been working the same ridiculous hours as you," John took a drag of a cigarette. "and neither of us have to deal with being on camera or in front of an audience. A nap could do wonders for you."

Bill scratched the back of his head and chuckled. "Too wired to sleep."

Violet stepped towards him and rested her hand on the back of the arm at his side, comforting him. "You crushed it at the table read, you know."

Bill gave a sheepish smile, while John tried with all of his might to avert his eyes from her dainty hand resting on the back of their friends' arm. He mentally cursed himself for feeling a bit jealous.

"For real, Bill," Violet assured him, giving his arm a little squeeze now. "the Vinny Videcci skits are seriously blowing up."

John bit the inside of his cheek, nodding in agreement. Bill's cheeks turned pink. "Thanks, I'm trying. Maybe I'll try to fit a nap in at some point today."

Reaching into her back pocket, Violet pulled out her buzzing phone. "Well, Andy needs me to.." She furrowed her brow, reading a text off her phone. "Listen to fart sounds with him and choose the best one."

The group laughed. "Nothing like this job." John said with a smirk.

Violet dashed inside, leaving the two men alone. They stood in silence for a moment, until Bill cleared his throat.

"Hey, man, can I ask you something?" He turned his head in John's direction, but his eyes were glued to the pavement.

"Oh, absolutely not." John replied sarcastically. "You think we're friends or something?"

Bill snorted. "I think I might be, like, interested in Violet." He nervously shifted from one foot to the other. "I don't know what to do."

John tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. "Oh, like, interested interested?" Bill nodded. "Huh."

John's response made Bill feel a bit insecure, he started to backtrack. "You know, I don't know, man. We're coworkers and becoming friends and maybe that's, like, too messy." He sighed and met John's gaze.

A nauseating pang of guilt hit John. "Well, I don't know," He put out his cigarette and stuck his hands in the pockets of his jacket. "the two of you definitely have good..chemistry."

Nodding wearily, Bill sighed. "You think so? It's just hard to tell if it's friendly, or more, you know?"

"You know what? Just feel it out." John offered. "If it's just a crush it might fade, if it feels stronger go for it, you know, respectfully."

He wasn't sure if he was speaking to Bill, or to himself in that moment.

I'm sorry it's been FOREVER and this was so short. Getting back into the swing of writing more, been busy! More to come soon!!!