Fated to Fall for You (Completed)

Chapter Five: Courage

The rest of the week seemed to fly by. Thankfully, I was able to keep my head in the game with this project.

A few times during the week, I ran into Callum in the lobby waiting for the elevator in the morning. He'd give me a few little updates about my laptop and make some small talk.

The more I paid attention to him, the more I noticed him "undressing me with his eyes" like Val said. I was surprised I still managed to speak coherently around him after this realization.

I was acutely aware that he hadn't called me yet. I had both my office and cell number on that card.

- - -

"Alright girl, we are here!"

I opened my apartment door to let Val and Naomi in. Naomi was in the graphics department as well.

"We also brought you some liquid courage." Naomi held up a wine bottle.

"Don't tell me you told her too..." I could feel my cheeks burn with embarrassment.

"Think of us as your fairy godmothers," Naomi gushed.

Val looked at me sheepishly. "Sorry, El... Don't worry, we didn't tell the guys though!"

"Well, that's a relief. I don't need them teasing me." I rolled my eyes and pulled my wine glasses out of my kitchen cabinets.

"So let's see that closet. We've got to get you ready to make someone's jaw drop." Naomi rubbed her hands together then opened the bottle and started pouring us each glasses. "If not for IT guy, at least for any fresh meat at Rowdy's."

"You're enjoying this too much," I commented while she finished pouring.

"You kidding me? I live for this sappy romantic shit." She smiled at me knowingly and took a large gulp of her wine.

Val started drinking from her glass and walked past me to my room. "I call hair and makeup."

I sighed and grabbed my glass, following her into my room.

Twenty minutes later, I walked out of my room to give Val and Naomi one last check as they polished off the bottle of wine.

"So...what do you think?" I asked nervously with a little twirl. The girls selected a see-through orange tank top and black bralette combo, the tank tucked into light wash skinny jeans secured by a brown leather belt.

"Ooh, girl you look hot!" Naomi cheered from my couch. They looked far too proud of their work.

"I feel like this isn't legal to wear out." I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Don't worry - it's so dark in there anyways. And no one will call the cops on you," Val encouraged, checking her phone.

"You can thank us later." Naomi grabbed her purse and beckoned for us to go. "Happy hour, here we come!"

I took in a deep breath and trudged after them. Here's to hoping I didn't embarrass myself tonight.

- - -

"Hey ladies, happy Friday!" Josh, one of our friends in marketing waved over to us from our usual booth.

One of my fellow editors, Matt, also waved to us and took a sip of his beer. "Wow, someone dressed up tonight."

I tried to keep my arms at my side as I watched the guys study my much skimpier than usual outfit.

Naomi frowned and crossed her arms at their appraisal. "Nuh-uh, don't ruin this for us. Matt, you've got a girlfriend, and Josh - your whole love life is a dumpster fire."

"Ouch..." Josh feigned hurt and gulped down his mixed drink.

It was sad but true. Josh was a few years younger than us and just needed to grow up a bit in his romantic pursuits. Mainly with the transition between ending and starting relationships in a timely manner...

"You know it's true." Val set down a round of shots for the table, then took a seat next to Josh.

"Whoa now, shots?" Matt eyed the offering suspiciously. Sometimes I was thankful to not be the only mature one in the group.

"If I've learned anything recently, it's that life is short. We need to go for what we want, be honest, and go with what feels right." Val handed me a shot, looking at me with a glint of a dare in her eyes. "What do you say?"

I sighed in defeat, already having gotten this far. What was the point in giving up now?

"Val's right." I leaned over in my seat to grab a shot.

"Atta girl!" Naomi cheered.

Josh and Matt joined in and grabbed shots as well.

Matt raised his glass and cleared his throat. "So what are we drinking to?"

"To being brave enough to get what we want!" Val declared.

"I'll drink to that." Josh nodded.

We all clinked glasses and knocked them back.

"That reminds me - we'll need to make room for one more tonight." Val mused, holding a finger to her lips.

"Oh yeah? Who's that?" Josh looked at her curiously.

"His name is Callum, he's from IT. He just started about a month ago."

"So how did he end up joining our misfit crew?" Matt glanced at me during his long pause. "And I suspect it has something to do with how Elodie is dressed? Don't get me wrong, you look great, but this isn't your usual style..." He sounded more like a concerned parent than anything.

Naomi clicked her tongue at his comment and sipped on her Moscow mule.

Val collected herself with a deep breath before launching into the abridged tale of our meeting. "Long story short, he is helping Elodie with her laptop situation, and we thought it'd be nice to introduce him to more people in the company."

"And for your information, this piece of art is the work of Val and me, so kudos to Elodie for giving us creative license on her body tonight," Naomi chimed in, Vanna Whiting towards me.

"Fine, fine." Matt backed off and started to exit the booth. "I'm going to order some wings before you get hangrier."

"Works every time." Naomi winked and chuckled over to me as he left to get appetizers for the table. "So where is he?" She looked around the bar.

"Do you even know what he looks like?" I laughed at her.

"I don't, but I assumed he'd be looking for you."

I felt my phone buzz and pulled it out of my pocket to see a text from Callum. I tried to keep a stoic face while my insides did a somersault at him reaching out.

Callum: [Hey, it's Callum. Sorry I'm running a little late - had to deal with a family thing after work. I'll probably be there in half an hour.]

Elodie: [It's ok, thanks for letting me know. I hope everything's ok?]

Callum: [It will be soon.]

I held back the urge to squeal in excitement.

Elodie: [Can I get you anything, so it's ready when you get here? We have a booth in the back.]

Callum: [Whiskey Coke is just fine. I'll see you soon.]

"So what's his ETA?" Naomi leaned over to look at my phone.

"Half an hour." I was thankful the lights were dimmed now, otherwise, I'd be a very noticeable shade of scarlet.

"Well I'm already through Moscow mule number one and you...don't even have a drink of your own." She frowned at me as she exited the booth.

I got up with her to head to the bar. "Don't worry, I'm on it. I'll definitely need more liquid courage than that for tonight."