“Why does the printer in the hallwaynever effing work?”
“I never use that one,” Ben commented.
“Normally I don’t either, but it’s the big color printer, and I’m trying to print these flyers for our booth at the Boy Scouts event next week,” Leah explained, pouting.
“You have to treat that printer a little differently,” Calvin told her. “It only works when you push the blue button on top three times, shake it delicately, and then pray to the demon witch who lives inside.”
I chuckled.
“Hey, how did the conversation go with that guy last night?” Christine said to me as she walked into the room. “You guys going out tonight?”
Now I regretted telling her my plan.
My grumbled sigh and overly dramatic eye roll must have been clear enough.
“That bad, huh?” she said, grimacing.
“Why can’t the guys in romance books be real?” Leah questioned, practically swooning in her desk chair, likely thinking about her latest romance novel.
“Hey, finding a good gay man isn’t any easier than a straight man, so I get it,” Calvin chimed in, shaking his head. “Plus, our pool to pick from is much smaller than yours.”
“I don’t feel like I’m asking for much,” I pointed out. “Just a man who likes me as I am, can carry on a witty conversation, makes me laugh, and isn’t an asshole.”
“I know romance novels aren’t really high on many straight men’s book lists, but they really should be,” Leah said. “You can learn a lot from them about what women like and how to win a girl over.”
“You are so right,” Christine agreed.
“I know,” Leah said back. “I get all my relationship advice from the queen—Taylor Swift.”
“Amen, sister,” Calvin added, putting his hand up in the air as an affirmation. “Though I’m always here for any advice you may need, too.”
Calvin and Leah were the best. They were the most supportive coworkers and always there to lift our spirits.Calvin was the first one to swap shifts with anyone who needed it. Leah would drop everything to help mentor any new team member so they transitioned smoothly and felt supported. And both of them were always trying to organize team-building activities or potluck meals at work.
I chuckled at their back-and-forth banter. “I think I’m just going to get a dog.”
I’d always wanted one, but the hours at my previous job hadn’t really been conducive to owning a pet. Now that my hours here were more stable, I really didn’t have an excuse.
“We could do playdates with Oscar,” Calvin said, referring to his Corgi.
Oscar, whose full name was Oscar de la Renta after the famous designer, would occasionally come to work with Calvin.
We didn’t get thunderstorms very often, but when we did, Oscar panicked, so Calvin brought him to work. I loved those days and realized maybe that was my sign to just get a dog.
“I’ll go with you to pick one out from the shelter,” Christine offered. “I think we both have a Wednesday off in two weeks. I’ll look some places up, and we can go.”
I nodded in return. Yeah, that was what I needed. A companion. One that didn’t care what I looked like or complained that I resembled a starfish when I slept and took up the whole bed.
Did I want a man? Sure. But not just any man. I had standards—clearly low ones, but standards, nonetheless.
What I wanted was a man like Hector. When I’d first met him last year, I remember thinking he was one of the most attractive men I had ever seen.
A few months later, he had been at my sister’s wedding since he knew her and her now husband, Archer. I had tried to approach him—because who wouldn’t if there was a hot man in front of you—but he shot me down quicker than your Wi-Fi drops out in a storm.
It was more than that, though. I also knew he had helped my sister and Archer out, and he was big on family and protecting the people he knew and loved. That was the kind of man I wanted.
Oh well. I guess I’d just have to settle for a dog named Hector instead.
4
