Building Bonds | Coffee Break Short Read

2 | Oops

I finally got home. My body ached from the walk, or maybe it ached from the mental torture I'd been putting myself through. I should've at least gotten his number to apologise properly. He'd offered to take me for a drink, and said that could be my pay back for his suit. Why did I not take him up on that offer?
With a bottle of wine firmly in hand, I made my way to my bedroom. It was a lonely apartment just out of the city. When John had been there, it felt more alive.
It'd been just over two months since John left and I knew that I needed to move on. He was never coming back and maybe it was for the best. John wasn't particularly the man I wanted to spend my life with, but he'd become comfortable - like a fixture or piece of furniture in the story that was my life.
Most men didn't interest me, not really. John had been kind and compassionate. We'd fought like all couples do, but we never had a big fight that meant he'd leave in a fit of anger and never return. Oh well, I said to myself, as I turned on my television and slipped into the covers. I put on some music through the television, something slow and relaxing, to try and unwind with.
I took a sip of wine and tried to forget about the man in the street. With any luck, I'd never have to see him again and feel bad about his stupid white suit. Who wore white in the middle of the city, anyway? It was just asking for it to get dirty, I thought. But he did look good in it.
As I closed my eyes, I mentally tried to push away any thought that entered my brain. The wine needed to do it's job, I'd decided. I knew that alcohol didn't make sleep any better, if anything, it just made it worse, but it made me feel better - so long as I didn't overdo it. Working as an architect was boring, but it was something that paid the bills, and it was the one thing I'd wanted to do with my life. I didn't want a fast and exciting career - I wanted something that was understandable, that was creative. Unfortunately, the world of architecture wasn't quite so much about designing beautiful things, but more about designing the cheapest.
It was just by luck that an interesting project had landed on my desk that very month. It'd been a long time in the works according to some of the other people that had worked on it before it reached me, and my bosses were very, very eager to make sure things went smoothly - I guessed that's why they wanted me to work on it. I was known for being methodical and precise; when I worked, there was no room for error. My bosses and the other higher ups knew that.
I took another sip of wine and enjoyed the silence. The time I spent alone I cherished. Although it did get to me, not coming home to a welcome-back-hug or a cooked meal, I valued the silence, and of course not having to fight for my side of the blanket on a chilly winter night.
The week had gone by quickly, and I was excited for the weekend. I had absolutely nothing planned, and then the week after I was set to fly out to go spend some time at the sight. At the moment, it was just a bare shell of a warehouse, and I was going to be responsible for turning it into some gorgeous high rise apartments. Luxury apartments with a roof-top running track and all the amenities anyone could wish for. It was a big undertaking and the clients were excited to work with us. But for one weekend, I had nothing planned at all - just me, myself, and I. Maybe I'd invite Amy around for some drinks and takeout - that'd be nice, I thought to myself. We rarely got to hang out much anymore aside from the weekly coffee sessions.
I knew I needed to sleep and be well rested for tomorrow, but my curiosity got the better of me - I wanted to check out the work event on our social media and see who was attending. I'd gotten to know some of the people from other sites before, and most of them were pretty nice people. There was one woman who, when she'd met me for the very first time, arrived with an entire tray of brownies that she'd made just for my visit. Then there was the young intern who I'd met exactly one who prided himself on his magic tricks - he'd showed me whilst he I was in his office, and took great joy in confusing the fuck out of me.
In my own office, though, I barely spoke to anybody. It was the New York effect, I'd decided. The city was too much for some people, and others had made the decision to move out of the city and spend most of their days commuting. People were tired. There wasn't such an issue in the smaller cities where the other sites were, though - people were enthusiastic and excited to be at work. Our office wasn't all bad, in my opinion - there was even a free gym for employees on the top floor that you could use at any time of day. Not that I ever went there - there was nothing more horrifying to me than imagining all of my co-workers seeing me hot and sweaty after a forty-minute spin class in the middle of the day. Not for me, thanks.
I scrolled down the list of event attendees, trying to pick out any familiar faces. I recognised a few of the people there, as well as some of the people coming from the client's firm. There were awards being given out and some of our current clients had been invited to join us for an evening of drinks, laughs and celebrations - it was going to be a good time, I thought. There'd never been an event held by my company that I thought was dull or not worth going to.
Half-way down the list, I stopped. There he was. The man who I'd bumped into on the way home earlier that evening. I bit down on my tongue and clicked on his profile. It was a work social media, so I wasn't expecting to find anything, but it did mean I could get another look at him and find out his name. Maybe I could message him to apologise for earlier.
It seemed as though he only signed in to accept the invite, and hadn't bothered sending anymore messages or even setting up his profile. His photo was a close-up shot of his face, with just the top of his head cut off. He looked even better in real life, I decided.
His name was Alex Carter, and unlike the rest of the attendees from his company, his photograph wasn't set to a background of beige. He looked like he was on holiday or something, with a background of palm trees and sand, wearing sunglasses on his forehead and a baby pink shirt from what I could see. I appreciated someone who didn't care for professionalism.
After a few minutes, my shock at seeing him wore off... and I remembered once again what had happened. Oh, no. He was going to be at a large company event I was going to be at... after I'd walked right into him, dropped coffee all over his white suit, and then rejected his offer for a date. Why was I so stupid? I knew I should've accepted his proposition. Fuck!
Oh well, I thought to myself. There was nothing that could be done about it. Maybe I could move countries and change my name. Maybe I needed to email my boss and explain that I'd come down with some terrible, incurable disease that meant I couldn't go back to work ever again, or at least until the project was over.
I let my phone drop onto the bed and I began to laugh to myself - it was just my luck. I'd never been an anxious person, but I didn't want to see him at the event. I knew that it was likely I wouldn't cross paths with him at all, but the thought of it made me feel slightly unwell. Eugh. I decided that Amy would know what to do, so picked up my phone again and opened her contact details to send her a message.
Amy, please send help. After we left tonight I was walking home and I managed to walk RIGHT into this guy. Got coffee all over him. And guess what? He's one of the stupid attendees at the big event I'm going to??!
I turned my phone screen off and nestled it between my pillows, absolutely freaking out. There was no way I was going to be able to live that down - I'd made a fool of myself, and now I had to deal with it. Part of me was hopeful that he wouldn't be in my life again, as hot as he was, and as kind as he was, but I guessed I really did need to face the music. Eugh.
My phone pinged and I pulled it out from between the pillows, gnawing on the inside of my cheek.
Luna, you're fine. Shit like that happens every. Single. Day. In New York. You'll be fine! I promise! He probably won't even remember it, tbh. There's a lot of weird shit that happens in this city. You're overthinking as usual :)
I shook my head - she was right. I was overthinking it as usual. I had a teeny, tiny problem with catastrophising, it seemed - although I'd never admit it. I prided myself on being level headed and collected, with an appropriate plan of action for whatever life threw my way. But people? Those weren't so easy to understand, and I hated having to handle the aftermath of an awkward situation.
You're right. TY. Love you.
I closed my eyes and placed my phone on the night stand, making sure that it was plugged in and charging before I settled down for the night. The television in the background provided a low, soothing background noise and I was able to fall right into a comfortable, if a little caffienated, slumber.