In the Night

Scarlett

"Just take it." He told me, handing the slip of paper to me. I couldn't quite wrap my head around it even though I was looking right at it, Thomas's personal number. It was a far cry from the emergency contact he had given me for the office a week prior and I wasn't sure if I would even use it. Yet I had said the same thing to myself about the emergency number.

"You don't have to do this." My mouth went dry, tongue sticking to the roof as I spoke.

"Yes, I do. In case you make up your mind and we're not together. Trust me, I want to know." Maybe he was desperate, but I didn't understand why. That was part of my reservation. This handsome man, hair lightly salted with silver and a five o'clock shadow coming on, it just made no sense why he'd be itching for me. I mean, God, just his stare alone was enough to make my knees weak.

"If you're sure." Words filled my throat, void of emotion. "I'll let you know something in a few days."

Those were the longest days of my life, wracking my brain with scenarios and questions that would have made a priest weep. I even called my sister to get some advice, but she never answered. I assumed she was busy with work, her life far more chaotic than mine. At least until recently. All of this was so new and wild, I would never have imagined anything like this happening in a million years. My boss had thrown a curve in all my plans.

Was it my fault? Had I given him anything to go off on? I couldn't remember right off the top of my head, but the longer I thought about it the only answer I could come up with was no. No, I had not. He had swooped in like a thief and broken my peaceful existence with those dashing good looks and swoon worthy words, and I was falling for it. Again, the question was why? Why me and not some floozy from up on three or even a floor under? Did he think I was easy?

Obviously not. I was proving to be a problem. I could have kissed him that one night and even then I refused to let what I wanted cloud my better judgement. Then I was asking for a while to think over his offer. I could have jumped at the chance to take him, make him mine, but there I was, wasting my time thinking about things that probably didn't matter. The why was what stumped me and kept me from dialing that number or barging into his office and screaming "Yes!" from the top of my lungs.

Instead, I waited, rolling over the possibilities just to bide my time. Every day at the office was like a life sentence in prison. Just having to see him shoot those pleading eyes my way. The whole situation was killing me. A part of me hated him for putting me in that position. Then I remembered, I was the one who wanted to take my time, not him. He had been ready to shack up and make it official. It was just too soon to make that commitment, especially with someone like him.

His stare hadn't been the only thing that was new over those days. The daily coffee drops had become a regular habit now. At first, I just thought of it as a nicety, so I didn't concern myself with how carefully my name had been written along the side. But after a few days, it was a routine, one that I was enamored with.

I caught myself examining the beautiful writing once I finished my coffee one morning, admiring the little loops and curves of his scrawl. I shook my head, moving to toss the cup in the trash, only to pause when my eyes caught sight of something.

On the bottom of the cup were scribbled two hearts, a large one with a smaller one next to it. All I could do was stare at them, left over coffee dripping into the trash can. My chest grew tight, such a small gesture caught me off guard and made me feel like I was some lovesick girl in middle school. He'd taken the time to doodle on the coffee cup and must not have cared who saw it either as the barista cart was right there in the hallway. Not to mention my name was all over the cup. Anyone could have seen him do that.

He truly didn't care.

The world shifted under my feet, dropping the cup into the trash can. Such a small thing threw me off my game and I couldn't help but be angry with myself. Was it because it was him or that no one had ever done anything like that for me before? Or a combination of the two? I raked a hand back through my hair, gripping it tight. I had to pull myself together if I was going to get anything done. That's when it dawned on me.