FicWad

You know that feeling you get when someone’s watching you? That crawling feeling? That’s what I felt while working on my newest piece of work. When I couldn’t ignore the feeling any longer, I looked up and I saw Sarah peering at me over the cubicle. I smiled at her, because it was a nice surprise to find someone other than my boss checking in on me. Also, what’s not to like about the sweet and pretty blonde. She must not have expected me to look up so suddenly, because she jumped a little and blushed, probably feeling embarrassed that I caught her staring.

“Are you busy?” she stuttered nervously.

“Uhm, yeah, sort of,” I muttered in response, returning my attention to the cartoon I was working on.

“Oh.” She sounded disappointed. “I thought I would invite you to lunch.”

I looked up again and felt kind of guilty for my short response. Sarah was only ever nice to me. The least I could do was return the favor.

“Oh, uhm, you know what? I’m not that busy.” That was not quite true. I was up to my ears in work to be honest, but I guess I could take some time to eat. It was after all my lunch hour. Also, it wasn’t everyday someone invited me to lunch.

Her face brightened. “Are you sure? If you don’t want to that’s fine. I…Okay.”

“You can relax, you know? I swear I don’t bite,” I teased her, covering my drawings and getting up.

Sarah stepped aside to allow me to come out of the small cubicle.

“I know,” she chuckled lightly as we made our way outside the building. “It’s a bad habit. It’s more of a stupid part of being an introvert. Communication has never been my strong suit.”

“You’ve never had trouble talking to me before?”

The sidewalks were bustling with people as the streets of New York City always were. However, there was a flow and as long as you stuck to it, you would have no problem reaching your destination.

I watched her face and saw the change in her expression at my words.

“I know. I’m not sure why.” A small crease decorated her forehead and she avoided eye contact.

Sarah liked me. The realization caught me off guard, but wasn’t an unpleasant thought. I’ve always liked her too. She was smarter than most people I knew and took the world at face value. She could be very naïve, but she somehow always survived. We could have some great and very interesting conversations. We could have fun together. I didn’t mention anything about it, though, and kept walking.

We eventually sat down in a small café down the street from work. As we looked at the menus trying to decide what we were going to order, I saw a bunch of guys walk past the window.

Oh no.

It was Bert and a bunch of his friends. I hoped they wouldn’t see me, but as my luck would have it, they did. Fortunately Sarah’s back faced them, because they squashed their faces against the window, pulling faces. They puckered their lips into kisses and, although I couldn’t hear it, I could see them laughing loudly. Idiots. They would definitely never grow up. Why couldn’t they just let this be? I was not drunk enough for this by any measure.

“Gerard?” Sarah asked and my attention turned to her.

“Sorry, yeah?”

The waitress was waiting for my order. I glanced back at the window where the guys were still laughing and pointing. I shook my head: fucking childish. Instead of allowing them to ruin my lunch, I ignored them and placed my order. They finally got lost and I was able to give my undivided attention to Sarah. In the back of my mind I knew that Bert would mention the little incident again anyway. Once the waitress brought our food, I looked at Sarah intently.

“What?” she wanted to know shyly, her grey eyes meeting my own hazel orbs.

“What are you doing here?”

“Excuse me.”

I chuckled, “Not here. I mean, what are you doing working in a cubicle?”

“Oh.” Understanding dawned on her features. “I like drawing. I didn’t exactly receive any higher form of education after school, so I can’t be picky about work,” the blonde female explained.

“Fuck!” I exclaimed. “No education? You are an amazing artist, very creative. Imagine what you can do with education. You are a very talented girl. Why do you waste it in a cubicle? You should go study and do something better with your talents.”

She looked surprised by my outburst, but soon recovered.

“Like what?”

“You can become… I don’t know, a graphics designer for some huge company. You can be the brain behind billboards all over the city.”

She chuckled, “Okay, but what about you? You’re a good artist yourself. What are you doing in a cubicle?”

“Me? I like what I do. I always wanted to draw cartoons. Actually I want to write comic books, but that’ll be somewhere in the future. I’m happy where I am at the moment. Besides, someone’s got to work in the cubicle. It might as well be me.”

She smiled, “That’s an interesting fact that I didn’t know about you.”

“There are a lot of things you don’t know about me.” It was true. The real me would shock her to her innocent core.

“You should come over some time,” Sarah said out of nowhere.

“What?” I asked dumbfounded.

“To my place. One day after work. We can talk or…” she stopped mid sentence suddenly looking a little unsure of herself.

“Draw,” I suggested.

She nodded.

“That would be nice,” I murmured, my thoughts already drifting ahead of me.

Sarah was almost the opposite of me, but we got along well. Things could happen. It would be nice to talk to someone other than the guys for once. I always went around with the exact same group of people. Maybe I needed a new face in my life.

“When would you like me to come over?”

“It doesn’t matter, whenever you’re not busy or anything.” She was always rambling nervously.

“Is today okay?” I checked.

She smiled shyly and nodded, “Tonight’s fine.”

“It’s a date,” I grinned, my statement making her blush.

After we finished our lunch, it was back to the ‘basement’ for the rest of the afternoon. Fortunately it went by fast and before I knew it, we were back at Sarah’s apartment and I was waiting for her to open the door. She walked in with me following close behind.

I was surprised by the way her apartment looked. It wasn’t at all what I expected. In the right corner against the wall stood an old couch facing an old armchair covered with a blanket. In the middle of this setting stood a coffee table full of water rings from glasses or coffee mugs. Next to this living room scene were two doors that I assumed lead to the bedroom and bathroom. In the left corner was a dining table with papers scattered all over it and in the far corner was a small kitchen. The walls were painted a pale green and a little lopsided fan hung from the ceiling. It looked just like my apartment.

“Excuse the mess. I didn’t plan on having anyone over,” she said probably noticing the way my eyes traveled around her apartment.

I looked at her in surprise, “No, it’s fine. I just… It’s not exactly what I expected.”

“What did you expect?”

“Honestly? Flowery wallpaper, neat paper stacks, a few feminine stuff maybe. This looks just like my apartment,” I said.

Sarah smiled. “Flowery wallpaper would just give me a headache, though a few flowers on the table might be nice. Besides, even though I am a female, I’m also an artist. I can’t live in such a perfect way.”

“It’s impossible,” we said simultaneously and smiled at each other.

“Make yourself at home. I’ll be right back,” she told me, disappearing through one of the doors.

I sat down in the armchair and practically sank into it – it was obviously pretty old and worn, but comfortable nonetheless. Artists don’t exactly earn much, so I understand her circumstances. She returned in more comfortable clothing.

“Can I get you anything to drink?” she asked.

“Let me,” I offered, getting up and walking into the small kitchen area.

I opened the fridge and my eyes scanned over the contents.

“What would you like?”

“A glass of wine please.”

“Me too.” I muttered quietly to myself. I’ve spent too much time with her today.

Normally I would already have had some form of alcohol in my system by now. I could already feel the effect it was having on me. My hands were practically shaking.
Sarah removed two glasses from a cupboard and set them down for me.

“How long have you lived here?” I asked, while pouring the wine.

“About two years.”

“That’s a long time,” I murmured, handing her a glass of wine.

“Thanks.”

We drank in silence for a short while.

“My brother is having a party at his house this Friday night. Would you like to come?” she asked. “He said I can bring someone, so it’ll be okay,” she added.

I didn’t expect an invitation out so soon, but it was a pleasant surprise that made me smile. “I would like that.”

Sarah also smiled, blushing a little. Despite this, it was obvious that she was a lot more comfortable in her own personal space. She wasn’t quite as withdrawn and quiet as I was used to her being at work or even during lunch that afternoon. She seemed more like herself.

“What’s he celebrating?” I enquired.

Sarah snorted quietly. “My brother doesn’t always need a reason to have a party. He and his friends are regulars,” she informed me.

“Oh? What’s his name?”

“Quinn.”

“Quinn Allman?”

“Considering the fact that my last name is Allman and I’m his sister, yes, Quinn Allman,” the blonde giggled.

“Right,” I said a little embarrassed. “Small world. I had no idea that he’s your brother.”

“Do you know him?”

“Well, no not really. I’ve met him. He’s a friend of Bert’s.”

“You know Bert?” she asked and I couldn’t tell whether she was surprised or shocked by this new piece of information. Stunned would probably be a more accurate way to describe the look on her face.

“Yeah, he’s a really good friend,” I told her, watching her face to see her reaction.

“Wow. That’s the last thing I would have expected,” she spoke honestly.

“Why?”

“Well, you’re so quiet and my brother and his friends can be pretty boisterous.”

“I don’t know about your brother, but Bert can definitely be a little crazy,” I agreed, walking over to the table and looking at all the sketches lying about. “These are very good,” I commented.

“Thank you.”

“You really should do something better with your talents.”

“I’ll look into it sometime in the future,” she said sounding a bit far away.

I lifted my head up to see her staring at me intently.

“What?”

She shook her head still looking lost in thought. “I can’t figure you out.”

I looked at her questioningly.

“Well, at work you always seem like such a nice guy. You’re calm and honest, but now… You’re friends with Bert and quite frankly, I don’t think you’re at all what I thought.”

I chuckled, “Do you want to know who I am?”

She nodded. “If you don’t mind opening up to me.”

“I’m a nerd,” I said seriously and she burst out laughing. I smiled at her reaction. “I am a pretty calm guy, except when I’m with my friends, though you can’t exactly judge a person by his friends. I don’t know why you think I’m honest, because I’m actually a huge liar.”

“Like you’re lying now?” she asked, one eyebrow raised.

“You don’t believe me?”

“No.”

I laughed, because I was being honest, but she still didn’t believe me. Life could be so ironic sometimes. People believe you when you lie, but not when you tell the truth. She fell down on the couch with a sigh.

“Don’t be like that.” I pulled her up again.

She looked me in the eyes for a few seconds and I wondered what was going through her head. I guess I’ll only learn how her head works with time.

“Are you hungry? I’ll order us a pizza,” I announced, pulling out my phone and tapping in the number to a pizza place I noticed she had stuck to the front of the fridge.

“What would you like?”

“Anything,” she shrugged.

“Come on. You can pick any topping. I’m not picky.”

“I really don’t mind,” she assured me.

“It’s not a difficult choice,” I added.

“Just pick anything,” she insisted.

“Sarah!”

“You…” she started, but I interrupted her. “If we’re always going to fight over dinner like this, I’d rather not get married.”

She looked down, blushing furiously.

“Hawaiian,” she finally mumbled.

“See, that wasn’t so hard,” I said, hitting the call button.

“Pizza Palace. How can we help you?” the guy at the other end answered.

“Yes, I would like to order a Hawaiian pizza please.”

“What size would you like that? We have mini, small, medium, large, extra large.”

“Uhm,” I looked at Sarah. “Make it a large.”

She stared at me wide-eyed.

“Can I interest you in our delivery service? It’s free and the fastest…”

“Yes, you can deliver it,” I cut him off.

Everyone’s delivery was always the fastest.

“Where would the delivery be made?”

I looked at Sarah, “Address?”

“67 Smith Street, room 43,” she said.

“67 Smith, 43,” I relayed to the guy.

“Thank you sir. Your pizza will be delivered within an hour,” he said before I hung up.

“A large?” Sarah gasped.

“Don’t worry about it. I’m paying anyway. Whatever we don’t finish you can have for breakfast again.”

“You’re my guest. I have to take care of dinner,” she argued.

“Nonsense. I told you that it’s a date, therefore, I’m paying,” I said firmly.

Within an hour the pizza was delivered and despite Sarah’s shock, we finished it. A little after nine I got up to leave.

“You don’t have to go yet. It’s still early,” she said.

“I don’t want you to fall asleep at work tomorrow.”

She smiled, “Of course not. I’ll walk with you.”

The truth was that even though I was having a good time it was time for me to meet the guys. I was already late, but despite that, one glass of wine was not enough to sustain me for the night. I needed to get out.

At the door I turned around. “Can I come get you tomorrow morning?”

“What?” she asked surprised.

“Tomorrow for work,” I explained.

She smiled, “I would like that very much.”

“Okay. Well, goodnight.” I planted a quick kiss to her cheek and left.

*

As expected, everyone was already at the bar by the time I arrived.

“Gerard! Where the hell have you been man? We thought you weren’t coming when you were more than an hour late,” Joe said the minute he saw me coming into the bar.

“He was probably on a date with his girlfriend,” Bert snickered before I could even attempt to respond. I wondered where on earth he got that idea until I remembered that he saw me having lunch with Sarah that day.

“What girlfriend?” Shawn asked curiously coming closer to join the conversation.

“I don’t have a girlfriend,” I firmly denied it. “Bert’s just drunk.”

“It’s a blonde girl I saw him have lunch with today,” Bert informed everyone.

“Tell me more,” Shawn smiled interestedly.

“There’s nothing to tell. Can I get a beer please?” I asked, turning away from them.

“Oh, come on, Gee,” Shawn pleaded.

“We’re your friends,” Joe added, “If you can’t tell us, who else are you going to tell?”

“There really isn’t anything to tell. It’s a girl from work and we had lunch together. So what?”

“Do you like her?” Shawn asked seriously.

I shrugged, “I don’t know. Yes, I think so. But that doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?” Bert wanted to know.

“She’s not like me. She’s the good girl. I’m not pulling her into my fucked-up life,” I stated firmly.

“Don’t you think it’s up to her to decide?” Shawn asked, “I mean, have you told her?”

I shook my head.

“Dude, if you really like her then go for it. You might just be happy,” Shawn continued.

I smiled. My friends weren’t perfect, but they were good friends. They understood me.

“Just don’t get married without us,” Bert joked.

“Hold your horses! I don’t plan on getting married anytime soon, or at all, so you can relax,” I exclaimed.

They laughed at my reaction to Bert’s statement.

“I’ll drink to that!” Shawn agreed.