“Uh, thanks?” I wasn’t sure how I felt about their casual dismissal, even if what they said was true.
It’s not like I shared some amazing moment with Lucas. It was a random encounter. He was trashed. I was trashed. Then he threw up and passed out. Not exactly the epitome of romance.
But I didn’t like being anyone’s forgotten footnote. It sort of pissed me off. Lucas probably did this sort of thing all the time. Stupid jerk.
Charlie took another handful of licorice and stuffed it in his pocket. “Bye kiddos. See you after work.”
Once he was gone Phil let out a nervous laugh. “I never thought he’d leave.”
I looked at him in confusion and he shoved his hands in his pockets, which made him appear less confident than he normally did.
“I really enjoyed hanging out with you on Friday,” he started to say.
“Really? I was worried I was loud and obnoxious.” I needed to get back to my desk. I imagined my email was filling up. I was already behind on several key elements of the project I was working on.
“No, not at all. You were perfect,” he assured me and I had to snort.
“If by perfect you mean sloppy, then sure.”
“The pub was great and all but maybe we could get together another time,” he suggested.
I picked up my tea and started heading to the door. “Well, you’re coming with us after work today right?” I pulled my phone out and opened my work email, scrolling through the long list.
“Sure, but maybe we could have dinner sometime,” Phil said.
“Oh, sure,” I answered distractedly reading the new emails that had just come in.
“Really? Great! Well maybe this weekend?”
Wait. What?
“Um, this weekend?” What had I agreed to do? This is what I get for being rude. My mother always got after me when I didn’t give people my undivided attention.
“You can’t speak and listen at the same time, Morgan. You need to do one or the other. Not both,” she would tell me.
It seemed I couldn’t read and listen simultaneously either. Because I was pretty sure I had just agreed to go out on a date with Phil.
“Can I get your number? I’ll call you and we can shore up the details.”
I didn’t want to give him my number. Sure Phil was cute but I wasn’t looking to date anyone. Particularly someone I worked with.
But I didn’t want to be a jerk. Phil seemed like a nice guy. A little eager and maybe a bit on the conceited side, but nice enough.
And I was the new kid on the block. Friends were in short supply and I wasn’t in a position to alienate the people I interacted with on a daily basis.
“I could use some friends, so that sounds nice.” I made sure to emphasize the word friends.
Phil’s smile faltered slightly but he kept it firmly in place.
I tore off a piece of paper from a notepad and quickly wrote my cell phone number on it, handing it to him.
He quickly punched it into his phone, not wasting any time. “There you are.” He showed me the screen where he had typed in my name with a flame emoji beside it.
Was that supposed to mean I was hot?
How lame was that?
I gave him a wane smile. “Great.”
