Love & Other Possibilities

Chapter 4 - Ross

    "Hey baby!" 

     I turned to see Molly, clad in a pink blouse and black pencil skirt with high heels, her bright red hair bouncing in loose curls at her shoulders. 

    "Hey babe-" I said, standing from my seat to give her a small kiss, my hand falling instinctively at the small of her back. She smelled like lavender, and as I pulled back, her bright green eyes flashed at me happily as she walked around the table and sat down opposite me. "How's work?" I asked, deciding to forget the fact that she'd kept me waiting here for twenty minutes. 

     "Ugh, chaos." She said, turning to sling her black purse around the back of the chair, then turned back to me, pushing a strand of hair from her face with a neatly manicured hand. "Janet decided to tell me today that Chip wants the L'Oreal campaign by friday, which is absolutely insane. I swear to God, that man must think I'm some sort of miracle worker." She said, taking a swig from the glass of wine I'd ordered for her. She scowled. "Ugh.. It's warm." Shrugging, she turned back to me. "But anyways, enough about me, how's your day been?" She asked, reaching across the table and placing her hand on mine. 

    "Fine... Typical." I smiled. 

    "Man, I wish I had your job." She said, withdrawing her soft hand from mine, my skin suddenly cool without the warmth. We ordered our food - She got the grilled chicken salad, and I got a burger.

     "I did get yelled at by an irate customer, that was a nice start to the day..." I nodded, my lips pressed into a thin line. Her eyes widened at me.

    "No kidding?" 

    "Yep. He was getting in my employees face about her not returning a clearly used table roll. For a second I thought he was gonna hit me." I nodded, taking a drink of my second beer. 

    "Wow, what he do?"

    "He eventually left." I nodded. She shook her head. 

    "Man, people suck. Like today, I stopped to get a cup of coffee on my way to the office, and this stupid barista totally screwed up my drink on purpose. I was running late, so I didn't say anything, but God, I just wanted to throw it at her." She growled. "Who was the employee?" She asked, taking another small sip of her wine. My brow bent in confusion. "The employee getting yelled at?" 

    "Oh! Uh, Winter." I smiled, the memory of seeing Winter at the coffee shop instantly flashing to mind. She looked so different. She was always cute, but tonight she looked flat out gorgeous. Molly rolled her eyes at the name, bringing me back from the thought. "What?" I asked. 

    "Oh, just... Winter is such a stupid name, it instantly makes me irrationally angry." She smiled, a soft laugh breaking from her lips. I furrowed my brows at her, a frozen smile still on my face. 

    "Well, it wasn't exactly something she had a say in." I replied coolly. She looked at me, her head tilting slightly. She obviously heard the tension in my voice. 

    "Well, obviously. But I mean what kind of parent names their kid 'Winter'?" She said with a scoff. "If that were me, I would totally go by a nick name, or a middle name, or something." 

    "I think it's kinda cute." 

    The minute the words passed my lips I regretted them. Her eyes flashed up at me with a ferocity familiar to her inborn jealousy. 

    There were very few things about Molly I didn't like. 1) Her job, 2) Her inability to talk about anything other than her job, and 3) Her jealousy prone nature. Those were the main three, accompanied by small things like her chronic tardiness, her affinity for health food, and her ability to jump to literally the most far fetched conclusions. Things like that though, along with her constant need to get her nails and hair done, and her taste for expensive things I could handle just fine. Her jealousy, though, was nothing to be mocked. The minute she set her claws at a potential 'rival', she wouldn't let it go. 

    "You know, I don't even really remember what Winter looks, like. She cute?" She asked. Fishing. Great. What had I done? Be vague, Ross, be vague.

    I shrugged.

    "She's not ugly, I guess. I never really thought about it." I said, the image of her in that little blouse rising to my minds eye again. "She's kinda young, though, so she might grow into some of her features." Too far, Ross. 

    "She's young? Like... high school, or-?" She asked just as the waiter came and placed our meals in front of us. We both thanked him, and I asked for a side of dipping sauce for my fries and another beer, and inquired whether Molly wanted another glass of wine. She refused, but I hoped I'd achieved my goal - that of distracting her from the topic at hand. 

    The waiter left to get my ranch dressing and Sam Adams, and I turned back to her. 

    "I'm glad we could get together tonight. I was kinda bummed we couldn't make the performance tonight."  I said, grabbing at a fry. 

    "Yeah, me too. Though I heard the band that was supposed to play ended up canceling, so it would have just been some chick playing. So I guess it's not too bad." She smiled at me. Her eyes flicked down to my plate. "You know, you really shouldn't be eating stuff like that." She said with a smug expression pulling at her delicate features. I smiled at her, and grabbed a french fry, eating it slowly just for her. She shook her head at me, her eyes smiling, and turned her attention to her salad. The weight lifted from my chest - mission accomplished. 

    About twenty minutes later we were finished with our meal and we parted just outside the small bistro. I looked at my watch - 7:55. 

    A silent string was tugging me to head back to the cafe'. I looked up - It literally was just down the block. I didn't have the opportunity to properly thank her friend, after all. I knew, though, the part of me that wanted to go back was the part of me that wanted to see Winter.What was with this? I see her looking hot one time, and I can't stop thinking about her?  I shook my head and turned in the opposite direction, heading for my car. 

You have a girlfriend, I told myself, And even if you didn't, not only are you her boss, but she's almost ten years younger than you, you old pervert. 

    I felt more confident with my decision with each step. I couldn't do that to Molly. Besides, how stupid would it be if I got there and she was gone? Heck, I didn't even want to think about how awkward it would be if I got there and she was there.

Besides, my internal voice spoke again. You'll see her tomorrow. You can give your thanks to her then.