“Good morning, Shay.”
“Isn’t it?”
The woman practically oozes her bubbly personality, and while I love that for her, it’s a lot this early in the morning. She’s adorable and always looks effortlessly stylish. Today it’s a pink sweater with tiny white polka dots and white, wide leg pants.
She’s a little older than Mason but not by much.
Ugh, when did I get so old?
I thought my blouse and pencil skirt wastimelessbut maybe I’m outdated. I can’t ask Mason because I’m confident if I showed up in a hazmat suit, he’d still think I’m sexy.
My cheeks heat even as I decide I need to suck it up and ask one of the girls. “It sure is,” I say, going for normal and refraining from fanning my face.
“How was your weekend?”
I stumble through a response because small talk isn’t really my thing, but because it’s polite, I ask her the same, commenting on how I’ve really enjoyed my time at the college so far.
“Have you seen Porter this morning?” she asks casually when there’s a lull in the conversation. Something about her body language has changed that I can’t quite put my finger on.
“Uh, no. But I haven’t gone looking for anything other than a coffee refill.” I wave my mug at her slightly and she nods, her cheeks blushing a tiny bit andoh…
Huh.
If I wasn’t currently involved with Mason, I probably would have missed the underlying meaning in this whole interaction.
“If you see him, will you just tell him I’m looking for him? I need to have him look at my modem.”
“I bet you do,”I say softly without thinking.
“What?”
“I’ll be sure to let him know you’re looking for him if he comes through here.” My smile is genuine this time, and hers seems to brighten too before she says goodbye and heads back to the student center on the opposite side of the sports complex.
Her absence has left the space shockingly quiet, likeshe’sloud even if she’s not speaking. Glancing at Coach Turner’s closed door, I run through today’s schedule in my head and determine I have nothing pressing for at least the next thirty minutes.
Plenty of time.
Tapping my nail on my desk, I hesitate for just a second before picking up my phone and typing out a text.
LANA: Are pencil skirts out of style?
AMARA: You’re asking the girl who wears the same thing to work every day and considers dog hair to be an accessory
LANA: Fair enough
LANA: Should I try to be friends with my coworkers?
AMARA: I’m going to need more than that
LANA: One of the girls—Shay—works in another department and came to my desk looking for someone but she made small talk
AMARA: And you’re unfamiliar with small talk?
LANA: From people who don’t have malicious intent? Yes.
LANA: But I talked to Mason and was in a good mood
AMARA: We’re going to circle back to Mason in a second…
