otherwise known as the smoker h fic.
***
Monday, 9:30AM
By morning, her lungs are aching and the itch in her fingers is getting unbearable. It's near impossible to satiate the feeling until her hand reaches into the pocket of her jacket, and she removes the carton of what happens to be the best reliever.
The promise to a distant friend and her parents is broken when she stands up, takes a deep breath, and heads towards the exit. In the elevator, she drums her fingers on the carton and waits impatiently for the lift to hit the ground so she can commit her sin and finally head to lunch.
Outside she shivers as her trembling fingers remove one single cigarette. She steps behind a pillar and lights it, keeping it loose in her mouth. Her eyes close, letting the contents fill her and warm her up all the way to her toes. She takes another drag, not as deep, but enough to make her back his the wall in relief. She waits another second before bringing it back to her lips.
A man in a beanie approaches the door and she's mid inhale, when she notices him. She's never seen him here before and the company is small which perplexes her. Having been here a year, she knows all employees in the building, and he's not wearing a delivery man uniform, so it's safe to assume he's an employee. The man is wearing an expensive leather jacket, and black leather gloves over his hands that he uses to run through his hair under his beanie and then secure the cloth over again.
His eyes land on her just for a second before they fly to the stick between her fingers, and clearly his interest is intrigued because before she's aware of what's happening, he's approaching her. Standing in front of her frozen figure, she realizes he's much taller than her, towering over her by at least a couple inches.
He opens his mouth and before she can hear his voice, her defense is raised and she says, "Can I help you?"
His brows arch. Clearly he's taken aback by her hostile tone for just a brief moment, before he recovers and says, "Sorry if I startled you." She recognizes a British accent. "Was just wondering if I could, uh, bum a smoke? I'm trying to quit, but I really need it."
She comes to the realization that her fists are clenched and she slowly releases them. She blinks and simply waits in front of him awkwardly.
"Oh. Oh, yeah. Sure. It's a new pack anyways." She holds out her carton and his thin fingers remove one. She even extends her lighter and he presents her with a thankful smile. "I'm trying to quit too, but it's not going well for me either. Clearly." She notices his hands are shaking as he lights the cigarette. "Are you okay?"
"New job," he says with a puff, eyes closing like she had done momentarily. "I'm a bit nervous."
It clicks with her. Of course he wasn't the delivery man! He was the buzz around the office.
"You're the British dude who's taking Raoul's job!" h]Her voice ends up becoming louder than she expected. His eyes widen with surprise at her words or maybe her volume.
"You've heard of me?"
She nods. "You're supposed to be really great at editing and stuff and apparently you pitched some amazing money saving ideas for next year's budget to the Director. And apparently you're supposed to be really cute--" She stops herself short. A hand comes up to her mouth and she's suddenly mortified. "Fuck, I'm sorry! I'm usually never this much of a chatterbox."
A smile spreads across his face easily. "Is it because I'm really that cute?""
Her face burns and she's positive she's never been so horrified. "I'm so sorry...I didn't mean to objectify you..."
