Toast

Chapter 3

I woke up the next morning and didn't know where the hell I was. For a moment, I was worried. A massive, white, marshmallow-like duvet was blocking my view completely and suffocating me in the process. Becoming even more uneasy and feeling an asthma attack coming on, I started frantically searching for my phone, or preferrably a way out of the bloody thing... I flailed my arms, trying to sit up and, in the process, inadvertantly whacked someone in the bed next to me.

"Hey, hey... hey!" He yelled. Well, at least it was a man. I couldn't have gotten that drunk then.

Managing to sit up, I looked across at the bloke who I was, apparently, in bed with. Then I remembered. Peter.

"Sorry... I uhh.. forgot where I was for a minute." For the second time since I'd met him, I kicked myself for being such a complete arsehole. It must have looked so very attractive, me flailing my arms and trying ridiculously to balance myself.

"S'okay. How drunk did I get you?" he chuckled to himself and rolled over towards me. He noticed the surprised look on my face. "Not a bad thing, is it?"

"No," I laughed and snuggled down in the covers before looking at him. "Not a bad thing.. not at all."

Peter smiled and leaned in. Our lips met and he ran his hand up my side to find my cheek, his hands framing my face. The kiss was passionate, but gentle. His tongue traced the line of my lips and I opened my mouth, letting his tongue slide in. He grinned through the kiss and shifted his weight on top of me.

I couldn't stop myself from letting out a quiet moan and he responded by deepening the kiss. I ran my hands through his soft, black hair and let them roam down his toned back. He smiled again, letting his hands feel their way lower... and lower...

* * *

I couldn't help myself from grinning as I sauntered into the office, carrying a new found confidence. It was weird having a boyfriend... it was weird calling Peter a boyfriend. In all honesty, I thought it'd gone too fast, but you only live once, right? In short what had happened was, he'd come into the café, asked me to his apartment, we had a few drinks, had a bit of 'fun' and woken up the next morning.

It was probably how most relationships or whatever started. People got a bit drunk and kind of... fell into it. Not really planned, I supposed. My life never was planned, anyway. I couldn't even keep a goldfish alive, I didn't know how the hell I was going to keep a boyfriend on the go.

Anne gave me a watery smile.

"You look chirpy today," she remarked. I nodded and dropped my bag next to my chair. She hopped from one foot to the other looking as if she wanted to tell me something, but couldn't.

"What do you want to tell me, Anne?" I sighed, waiting for some pathetic remark about how Magnus had smiled at her or something. Actually, it was quite remarkable how many times I used the word 'pathetic' when talking about Anne. It fitted, though.

"Well..." she started. Biting her lip and blushing a bit. "Magnus asked me out on a date!" she squealed excitedly. "Tonight! I mean, wow... You're gonna have to help me choose what to wear!!!!"

I looked at her. Stared. Watched. Waited for her to say 'only joking, you seriously think Magnus would ask me, a soppy, wet, silly excuse of a woman to dinner?'. I guess I was being too cruel, because she said nothing of the sort. She waved her hand in front of my face.

"You think I'm joking, don't you." She said defiantly, pouting her lip like a spoilt child. "You think that I'm lying.. that I imagined it all." She scowled.

"No, not at all." I lied. It came easily to me, especially when it came to Anne. "Well... that's.. that's great, Anne." Yeah, all the years you've bloody well put coffee on his desk and followed him around like some stupid puppy dog and it's finally paid off. Yes, congratulations on being so... so..? I couldn't find the words.

"I'm afraid I can't help you choose clothes for tonight, I'm er... busy." I wasn't entirely lying about being busy. Peter said he would call later to arrange a date or something, so I supposed it was quite near to the truth.

Anne obviously didn't think so because she stared at me, glaring.

"You mean, you don't want to help me, because you're jealous... or because you don't like me?" Did this girl overreact about everything? I couldn't take much more of this. "Come on, Em. Which one is it?"

"Neither. I've got a date, if you must know. You're not the only one. The difference is, it hasn't taken me three years to bloody get the damn thing, unlike some people." My tone was angry. She looked taken aback and a bit hurt.

"Well... there's no need to talk like that," she said sulkily. "And what do you mean about me taking three years?" Anne stuck her lip out again, placing her hands firmly on her hips...

I knew that I was going to blurt out the truth that everyone thought she was pathetic. I knew it was going to happen, and I knew that I probably wouldn't be able to stop myself from saying it. The best that I could do was 'dull the blow' a bit.

"Well... you have taken three years, haven't you? You've liked him for three years. You've put a bloody coffee cup on his desk every day for the past three years. Everyone knows that you like him, that's why nobody else has asked him out. That's why I haven't asked him out." Everyone was staring in horror now as I was about to drop them all in it too. "For God's sake, Anne, I felt sympathy for you. I was sorry that you couldn't bloody well get the courage to ask him out, but it gets annoying.. a lot annoying... really... really... just... annoying." I'd run out of steam. I'd blurted everything out and, to top it off, Magnus had just walked in on the whole thing.

Anne stood there, eyes filling with tears. Magnus was gobsmacked, standing with his mouth open and Lisa and Kurt daren't move.

"Oh fuck... I'm ... Anne, I'm so sorry.. I just... The truth is.. I..." I searched for a viable lie. "... I just broke up with my boyfriend. .. I'm.. just not in a good mood..." I managed to think one up. Hoping she would fall for it, I continued. "I'm ... I'm really sorry, Anne." I smiled weakly, trying to cheer her up.

Anne sniffed.

"You seemed chirpy just now, though..." She sniffed again.

"I'm a good actor, that's all." I smiled and pulled her, reluctantly, into a hug. She gripped tightly onto me and sniffed yet again. I felt her reach up and wipe the snot from her nose... eurghh...

Magnus was still standing gob-smacked, watching the whole thing. Kurt and Lisa had somehow managed to creep out and leave us to it.

I smiled reassuringly... Anne sniffed. 'God dammit girl, get a bloody tissue.' I thought. Instead, I whispered in her ear:

"And I'll help you pick that outfit out tonight, too." That cheered her up. She grinned at me and skipped off into the hall, probably to fix another cup of coffee for poor Magnus. I swear she wanted to drown him or something... Magnus Martinsson - Cause of Death: too much bloody coffee!!

Magnus put his hand on my arm and I flinched. I couldn't actually believe it. I flinched. Seriously? He held his hands up in a mock-surrender.

"So... what was all that about, then?" he asked.

"What, haven't you had two girls fighting you over before?" I joked. "You should be thankful that it didn't turn into a massive cat-fight or something."

Magnus was obviously in shock and didn't know quite what was a joke and what was real.

"Joke." I raised an eyebrow and sat down at my desk.

"Right..." He made a move for his own desk. "You're not mad that I asked her out, are you?" his forehead furrowed  into a frown.

"What? No.. no. I.. yeah. Bad mood, that's all." Laughing nervously, I turned to my computer and switched the monitor on, signalling to Magnus that I didn't want to talk anymore.

He didn't quite get the message.

"Sorry about your boyfriend..." he persisted.

"Oh, yeah.. not your fault, is it?" I made an attempt at acting grumpy/sad. It did kind of fail, but he believed it. Magnus patted me on the shoulder (supposedly to reassure me) and turned his computer on.

I began to type in my log-in frustratedly when my mobile vibrated in my pocket. To my dismay, I saw that it was Peter.