Toast

Chapter 5

I woke up in my bed this time, and I knew that I had invited Peter in. And I definitely recalled a lot of what happened. I grinned to myself, secretly pleased that I actually had a sex-life for once.

I rolled over in bed and found that Peter wasn't there. Puzzled, I sat up and reached for my phone. Two texts. Goodie goodie gum drops.

The first was from Anne. I didn't want to open it for fear that it would contain a detailed account of what had happened on her date (and afterwards). And I had seen her reports, so I knew that she could write tiny details very well.

Reluctantly, I opened up the message and began to read:

I <3 YOU EM!

IT ALL WENT RLLY WELL.

WILL TLK 2 U ABOUT IT AT WORK.

LUV, ANNE X

I mimed being sick. I really did not want to hear about how fantastic her date went. Well, at least there were no details. Maybe it meant that he hadn't shagged her... hmm... Weird. Magnus seemed like the kind of guy who would do that sort of thing, but I guess not. I hoped that I wouldn't have to sit for three hours listening to how amazing it all went and that he actually made eye contact or whatever...

I opened up the text from Peter:

EM. I HAD A WNDERFUL TIME LAST NITE.

SRRY I LEFT EARLY, HAD TO WORK.

I HAV 2 WORK 2NITE AS WELL, SO MAYB WE CAN GO OUT THE NITE AFTER??

PETER XX

TWO kisses? Yes! Things were obviously going well. I typed a quick reply, agreeing to meet up the next night he was free and flipped the lid of my phone down, shutting it off.

I half-fell, half-got out of bed and stumbled to the bathroom for a shower. Turning the temperature up, I stepped under the spray, letting the hot water run down my face and back, relishing the relaxed feeling.

After my brief shower, I got dressed and wandered into the kitchen, wearing my lucky socks.

At work, we were forced to wear skirts and blouses, but I always wore socks rather than tights on a morning before I set off. It was more comfortable. I'd always hated wearing skirts and dresses. Trousers and jeans were almost certainly better.

I pressed the switch on the kettle and whistled tunelessly. This was a good morning. I was in a good mood, despite the fact that I would have to listen to Anne's description of her and Magnus' date.

Pouring myself a cup of coffee, I settled down at the kitchen table and turned my phone back on. Peter had texted me back. I grinned, happily.

* * *

Anne was waiting for me outside the building, smirking. It annoyed me immensely and I felt the good mood slowly drain out of me as I drew closer to her.

"Oh my God... Em, I absolutely love you!" She hugged me enthusiastically. Deciding that I wanted to keep this good vibe going, I hugged her back.

"So," I didn't want to ask the question. "How did it go?"

"Amaaaaaazing." She dragged out the vowel, presumably to add emphasis. This was going to be painful.

I wondered why I cared so much about Anne dating Magnus. I always told myself it was because I hated her so much, because she had been horrible to me when I had first joined and stuff. But maybe that wasn't the reason. Maybe the real reason was, I still liked him? Then again, maybe not... Besides, I had Peter now, and it was all going great.

"Oh good, good." I lied. "So uhh.. where did you go? On the date, I mean."

"He took me to this really romantic restaurant. It was beautiful. There were candles and flowers and stuff..." And so it began. I started walking towards the office entrance, signalling that I kind of needed to get into work. She took the hint and walked with me, describing what had happened. I zoned out, nodding along to keep her happy, walking up the steps painfully slowly.

"Mhmm... great." I repeated. She waggled her hands about animatedly, miming everything that happened.

"... and then, he held my hand on the way home!" We stopped just outside the office and Anne peeked in. Magnus was standing, talking to Kurt.

"Well, I'm really happy for you. I now how much you like him." I smiled. "I promised Kurt that I'd get that information for him this morning, can we talk at lunch?"

Anne blushed. "I was kind of going to ask Magnus if we could have lunch together." She watched me, trying to gauge my reaction. "I mean, you've heard all of the details and I guess you won't want to hear all the rubbish." I looked at her.

"Yeah.. yeah, fine. Okay." I pushed open the office door and headed straight for my desk. I sat down and flicked the 'on' button on my computer. The screen lit up, showing the typical log-in screen.

I watched from my desk as Anne sauntered into the room, smiling confidently at Magnus as she walked past. He nodded at her and smiled back, looking slightly confused. Either he was confused at her sudden change in character, or she had drugged him and he didn't remember anything of the night before. Hmm... I think it was probably the fact that she had changed character so rapidly... Curse my sarcasm... I stopped my rambling.

Suddenly, I had a thought. Had I changed into the jealous, coffee-bringer that watched from behind a plant on her desk named Sebastian? Well, I hadn't ever given Magnus coffee, unless he had asked, and there was no sign of life on my desk whatsoever... and I certainly hadn't ever named anything Sebastian in my life. I wasn't turning completely into Anne, but I admitted that I was jealous.