Between the large cup of coffee, the good music, and the sunshine, she was wide awake by the time she walked into her office. After placing her bags on the table across the room, she quickly got to work at her desk. There was another pile of paperwork to get through after being away for a week again, so she got right to it.
She wasn’t aware how much time had passed before Andrea peeked around the doorway. She didn’t even realize Andrea was standing there until she cleared her throat.
“Oh! I didn’t expect to see you standing there. What time is it?” Samira asked before digging her phone from beneath a pile of papers to check the time.
“It’s almost lunch time. Want to go out?” Andrea offered.
“Actually, I brought lunch; leftovers from last night that I couldn’t leave in the fridge to go to waste. Interested? There’s more than enough for two.”
“Depends on what it is,” Andrea answered skeptically.
“Seafood.”
“I’m in, as long as it’s good seafood. Let’s eat in my breakroom,” Andrea suggested and turned to leave without waiting for a response.
“You look happy. How’s the guy?” Andrea asked as she watched Samira place the food into the air fryer in the private breakroom a few minutes later.
Samira smiled. She wasn’t surprised that Andrea picked up on her mood. She usually did.
“He’s good, I guess. I saw him a couple of times while I was there. It was nice having him around, so the house didn’t feel so empty.”
Andrea pinned her with a look. “He stayed with you while you were at the house?”
“No! He just came over a couple of times. Get your mind out of the gutter.” Samira huffed out a short laugh.
“I didn’t say anything dirty, so I can guess where your mind is,” Andrea said with raised eyebrows.
“There was nothing dirty going on, trust me. Mostly we hung out and ate. In fact, he fried up the soft-shell crabs.”
Andrea hesitated. “I’ve never tried them before. I was going to leave them for you.”
“They’re delicious. You have to try it at least,” Samira insisted.
“Okay. Anyway, he cooked for you but nothing dirty went on?” Andrea redirected the discussion from food.
“Nothing dirty. He did give me a hell of a kiss before he left last night. If he keeps that up, though, dirty things are definitely going to happen.” Samira chuckled.
“And I am here for it!” Andrea said with a laugh. “I’m married and boring. I need some excitement to hear about.”
“Well, I’m pretty boring, so don’t get too excited. Here, let me know what you think,” Samira said as she served their plates.
Andrea took one bite, and after closing her eyes for a moment, she nodded with enthusiasm. Samira smiled and enjoyed her own food. It felt good to share her hometown specialties with her friend. It was nice not pretending like that part of her didn’t exist. As long as she had lived in DC, she never cooked the foods she grew up on. She didn’t even like to discuss where she came from.
After their lunch break, Samira spent the second half of her day working at the front desk. She enjoyed that part of the job. There were so many different people passing through, visiting from all different places. She didn’t mind the paperwork portion of the job, but she really enjoyed interacting with the hotel guests.
The day went smoothly. There were no major guest complaints. The biggest thing she had to do was upgrade a room at the end of her day due to a booking error. That was easy. Guests never complained over having to receive a better room for free. It was a good way to end the day after having had time off.
As tired as she was, her mind drifted to Andy the second she grabbed her bags and walked outside. She looked at her cell phone for the first time since lunch when she got into her car to drive home and was surprised to see a text message from Andy:
It’ll be strange not seeing you around for most of the week. Just wanted to make sure you made it to work ok.
She felt giddy just knowing he thought about her and wanted to check on her. She knew she was being silly, but there was nohelping it. After thinking about it for a few minutes, she typed out a short reply:
The drive wasn’t bad. Thanks for checking on me. And yes, I’m getting used to you too.
She put her phone away and drove the short distance to her loft. She had left work a little later than usual, so she didn’t hit much traffic and was home within a few short minutes. It was strange walking into her loft after so many days. It felt a little colder than it did before she spent all that time down home, and she somehow found herself feeling homesick.
She changed into her pajamas as soon as she set her things down. Hopefully the cozy pajamas, and maybe a glass of wine, would make her feel better. She poured herself a glass, sat on the couch with a blanket and turned on the television before she checked her phone to find another message from Andy:
