Savage

Chapter 7: Love To Love You

Days turned into weeks. Weeks turned into a month since Mr. Heinrich showed his face in the office. I had gotten accustomed to daydreaming about him, and the aching pulling of my heart because of his absence, kind of scared me. I began to think I was imagining my feelings, our encounters, and his initial offer of a date. My thoughts about him became more and more sexual with each passing day. I wanted to rip into his skin and taste all he had to offer. I didn't know I would miss him this much. It must be some fucked up version of Stockholm Syndrome. He had some sick grip on my reality. It captivated me, and I wasn't mad about it. I sat staring at my laptop screen, idly moving the mouse about. Everyone in the office was under some form of distress to get these brand designs and strategies done so these meetings would run smoothly. I was mentally trying to keep up but failed at caring as much as the next guy. I was keeping up with the tasks. Which was good, but not enough. I would slack off at randomly important moments. My concentration was elsewhere. On him...

Today went by faster than I expected. I went to yoga class with Ronnie after work. We were extremely quiet due to the level of pressure Ronnie was under. She wanted to relax. I felt bad for her. It wasn't that I wasn't experiencing the pressure, it was that my mind was elsewhere most of the time lately. We had a lot going on in our work life right now that other aspects of life were lacking attention. They would be catered to after this task was completed. It was a great thought to know that I had a partner who got it. Even though she has bigger fish to fry. I just was not as passionate about the work as she was.

The class was entertaining today, but we were so tired that we didn't get to enjoy it like everyone else. I can attest to that because when everyone was whoo-hooing and high-five-ing, Ronnie and I were lying on our mats breathing heavily. At one point, Ronnie fell asleep and I knew this because I heard light snoring beside me. I let her sleep. When the instructor came up to me and told me that she needed the space for another class that's when I decided to wake Ronnie from her nap.

She was out of it. She was so deep in her sleep that she didn't know where she was or who she was with. I snickered loudly. Eventually, she found her footing and we exited the building. It was in the parking lot that an email came in on Ronnie's phone and she read it then and there, casually.

"Well it seems, Mr. Heinrich is back," she said aloud.

She slipped the phone back into her gym bag and put it on the back seat of her car. I blinked. Meanwhile, my brain magically came to life.

"Okay."

That was the only word I managed to get out.

"I'll see you later, S," Ronnie said while yawning.

"You need to get some rest. I don't think it is safe for you to be driving right now."

"I'll be fine. Trust me when I say that the nap did wonders for me. If it didn't help, I would have gone home with you, because I don't think I could have taken on the road with a hazy brain."

She hopped into the driver's seat.

"Okay," I agreed and closed her car door to ensure she was safe.

She turned her music on and sped out of the parking lot with her music blasting. I knew that it was to distract her from not falling asleep while driving. She's been working all weekend and after our shift ends for a week. She was extremely tired. She also wanted to get to the office early tomorrow morning to prep. I, on the other hand, went home with a feeling of excitement and anticipation for the next day.

*******

The next morning, I was restless. I didn't get any good sleep last night. I was excited and anxious. It was a bad move not to have slept. Now I was exhausted on top of everything and I had to prep for the meeting today. Everyone was engrossed in their laptop and desktop screens. Everything had to go right. I was clicking away at the mouse, my eyes laden with sleep that I didn't notice when my mind drifted away. Everything felt light...