I didn't see Michael all day on Thursday, not even at quitting time. I knew he was working though, his leather jacket was hanging on the coat rack just outside our cubicle where it always was. At quitting time, I cleaned up our desks, turned off the computers and headed home.
Things really had changed between us since Monday. I barely spoke to Michael, even when he was at his desk. Friday, he was back in the cubicle with me. He would glance up from time-to-time, a sad look on his face. Veronica came over right near quitting time and invited me out to a new dance club in the area with some of the girls from the office tonight.
"It's gonna be fun, Reese. You should come!"
"I don't know, Veronica. I'm just not into the whole dance club thing." I glanced over at Michael who I could tell was pretending not to be listening.
"You gotta come! There's tons of hot guys there!"
"What time?" I asked.
"Eight o'clock," she replied.
"Okay. I won't make any promises, but I will try," I said, smiling softly and glancing over at Michael again. She wrote down the address of the place and said good-bye as she headed for the elevator.
"You gonna go?" Michael asked, not looking up from his computer.
"I don't know. You think I should?"
"Sounds like it'll be fun."
"Wanna come with me?"
"No. I've got other plans. Have fun tonight. You deserve it, Reese." Our eyes locked for a few seconds before we both looked away and resumed working.
Michael and I both cleaned up our desks today, he took our coffee cups into the break room to clean them out and I held the elevator for him. We rode down in silence again and he walked me to my car. He told me again to have fun, softly kissed my cheek then turned and walked to his car.
I got home and immediately started rifling through my closet to find something to wear. My cell phone rang but I didn't get to it in time. I pulled it out of my purse, dialed voice mail and listened to the message.
"Hey Reese, it's Veronica. I realized I didn't tell you that dress is casual for tonight. It's not an upscale or fancy place, so just wear something comfortable. Oh and wear comfortable shoes 'cause we intend on keeping your butt on the dance floor most of the night! See ya later!" I deleted the message and went back to choosing an outfit.
I finally settled on wearing a pair of black slacks and an emerald green blouse. It was comfortable and I could wear flats so my feet would be comfortable too. I fixed myself dinner then called Michael to ask him again if he wanted to go, but I got his voice mail. I left him a message telling him where the place is at if he changes his mind, closed my phone and headed out the door.
The dance club was dark, noisy and smoky. I saw Veronica and the other girls waving to me from the other side of the dance floor so I headed toward them, stopping to order a drink at the bar on the way. I played it safe and ordered a Diet Coke since I was driving and probably wouldn't be there that long anyway. I didn't drink alcohol that often, mostly during special occasions or holidays, so even one or two drinks would have made me tipsy.
I found an empty seat next to Veronica, removed my coat and sat down. The music had stopped for a few minutes, so we were able to talk in a normal tone of voice.
"Glad you made it, Reese!" she said, leaning over to hug me.
"I probably won't stay long."
"Yeah you will. You're gonna have so much fun, you won't wanna leave. Where's Michael? Didn't he come with you?"
