The Shrimp Peel
He didn’t normally drink at company functions. He wasn’t worried about his job or the rules either. He just chose to drink water when he is technically working. But what other employees did was perfectly alright. Anyway, he was trapped in the office area monitoring the restrooms.
She was drinking. She was having fun as well. She was out at the party; talking, laughing and enjoying herself. This was a side of her he had not seen before. During office hours she was a thinker. She was a lot like him; organized, dedicated and only interested in success. So he was enjoying his sneak peeks at her dancing around.
She wore a dress today, it’s the first time he remembers her wearing a dress. She probably wore them before, but he didn’t notice. But tonight he noticed. She had very nice legs. He wondered how he could have missed them before. But he went to work as a professional, not to “oogle” over the female’s legs.
He was in the front office, with about three other people when she stumbled in. She announced that she was leaving, yet she sat on a desk and just smiled. At first she was smiling around the room, but then her focus centered on him. After a few moments, she announced again that she was leaving. This time she even got up and headed for the door. He had a genuine concern for her ability to drive, so he followed her.
He caught up to her at her car door, taking her elbow in his hand.
“Hi, are you ok to drive home?” he asked.
“Oh yes, I am just fine.” she replied.
Her demeanor led him to believe that perhaps she was mistaken; but since he hadn’t ever witnessed her in this atmosphere before he wasn’t sure of her abilities. She turned to face him and leaned against her vehicle.
“Ok, well I am willing to pay for a cab if you think you may need one.” he suggested.
She paused for a second, while slightly nibbling on her lip.
“Or you can just drive me to my house?” she suggested an alternative.
The look in her eyes told him that this wasn’t simply a request to get a ride home. Suddenly he noticed that she wasn’t just a co-worker. She was a woman and a beautiful woman also. At that moment many thoughts raced through his mind. The most pressing was if he was mis-reading her statement. He would love to drive her home, but what if she really just wanted a ride only. If that is the case he would rather just pay a cab to take her.
But all that was wiped away with a sudden move on her part. She reached out and kissed him. It was a quick peck, but it made her point very well.
“Well, I could drop you off at your house, and then come back in the morning to pick you up?” he proposed to her.
With a huge smile she responded, “Or you could just stay at my house and we can come in together tomorrow . . . I’ll fix breakfast?”
Suddenly he began to realize that she was not tipsy at all. This was a staged act to get him to notice her. And it worked. He reached out and took her hand as she locked her car. They walked to his car still holding hands. She was no longer stumbling, and she was focused on him as he was focused on her. He wondered how he had never noticed her before.
The drive to her place was fairly uneventful. They held hands for a while; there were a lot of glances and smiles, and the occasional touch. But the anticipation was the foremost thing on his mind. He parked in front of her house, and they walked up together. She was fumbling for her keys as they reached the door.
She walked in first, and he followed. He closed the door behind him as she watched. She turned to continue into the house, but he grabbed her arm. He pulled her back to him, turned her towards him, and pinned her against the front door. For a moment there was motionless silence, just the quiet anticipation emitting from both of them.
He leaned in to her, she leaned towards him.
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