Warmth

[justabrick]

(CLOSED for Sweetandsexy3)

Robert Pike was about to leave his office for the day, when the phone rang.

He answered as soon as he saw Anna's name come up on the screen. The sight of that name instantly brightened the lull he felt after a long Thursday at the law firm. The two worked in offices close to each other, and they'd gone for coffee once or twice. He hoped they would grow much closer, but like so many young men, he had a hard time expressing it.

"Anna! How are you?" he asked, trying to be as bright as possible. Her answer told him she'd had just as long a day. "Aww, sorry to hear that," he replied. "Hey, why don't we meet up at Elephant and Castle, that pub down on the corner. I could use a drink and some company after a day like today." He looked out at the rain falling against his office window. "I'll come swing by your office. Say in ten minutes?"

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"That sounds great. I'll see you then." Anna said before hanging up the phone and getting back to the work sitting on her desk. She had spent months working on the plans to decorate a clients apartment. Now, when things where almost finished, she had to start all over just because the client decided that the color pallete was out of date. Packing up the files she was relieved to take a step away from her work and just enjoy herself.

 

[justabrick]

Rob smiled at the thought of seeing Anna again.

He nibbled his lip nervously as he knocked on Anna's office door, but curled his mouth into a bright smile when Anna opened it up. "Ready?" he asked, touching her soft hand briefly, glad to see her again.

Soon, the two were in the elevator, then the street, walking close. "So, how was your day?" Rob inquired, meeting her gaze, "Sounded a little rough on the phone."

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"Yeah. It was difficult." She said "I've only got a couple of weeks to completely redo two months of work but it'll be okay. I'm sure I'll figure it out." Anna started walking faster hoping to not be fully soaked by the time they reached the bar "what about you? You seemed stressed out as well. What happened?"

 

[justabrick]

He matched her speed as the rain increased. "Oh, just a really bad decision by the judge. It's gonna mean a lot of work over the next month or two. But hey, it's the weekend, right? Enough worrying." His smile brightened again, as they reached the door to the pub. He held it open for her, and touched the small of her back as they entered the warm, dry pub. He spotted an empty booth. "Over there?" he asked, nodding and making his way to the smooth leather bench.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

Anna followed him to the booth and sat down across from him. "So what are your plans for the weekend? Doing anything fun?" She asked trying to start a conversation. If she wasn't talking about business she always felt awkward, like she had nothing interesting to say.

 

[justabrick]

He was glad to hear her talk about the holidays- lawyers seemed to talk about nothing but law. "Well," he replied, "This new project is going to have me working pretty hard for the next few weeks, but my boss isn't heartless. I'm going to spend a few days with my parents. How about you?" As he asked about her, he reached across and touched her hand for emphasis, and looked into her eyes.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"I don't really have any plans. I'll probably just stay in and catch up on stuff around the house." She said "I could just go into the office and try to get this whole thing sorted out... Then I can move onto the next thing. I Guess I haven't really settled on anything yet."

 

[justabrick]

"Aww, you can't just work all vacation! That's no fun!" he smiled. "Take a little time to relax. You won't regret it, I promise." He touched her hand again for emphasis. Just then, their waitress arrived.

"Can I get you two started with a drink?"

Rob nodded toward Anna, prompting her to see what she might like, before ordering a local beer for himself.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

Anna settled on wine and placed her order. "Well I don't have anything else to do and I'm so behind with work now." She sighed "I don't know how I'm going to get everything done without going over budget."

 

[Gr8chtr]

"OK", said Rob, once again taking the excuse of making an emphatic point to touch Anna's hand but this time leaving his hand over hers as he spoke, " as I said, I'm going to be spending a few days with my parents; I'm leaving the day after tomorrow. You've decided to be a stick in the mud and work for most of the holidays. So, how about we plan to take tonight and tomorrow to relax and have fun. Then you can get back to your project, and I will go off to see the old folks".

Rob was relieved that the waitress arrived with their drinks just as he finished speaking. Her arrival and his taking a moment to speak to the waitress about running a tab allowed Rob to cover up the jitters that he felt after having boldly upped the intensity of his interaction with Anna.

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"I was actually really looking forward to going home and just getting a chance to relax tonight." She said "I've had a crazy week...." Taking a long sip of her drink she thought more about what she had just said "I didn't mean that I don't enjoy spending time with you..."

 

[Gr8chtr]

I was actually really looking forward to going home and just getting a chance to relax tonight."

Rob tried hard to not show the disappointment that he felt immediately on hearing Anna's response to his offer. He felt a sting of rejection also - a reaction that was often a bit problematic for him - strongly enough, in fact, that he almost didn't hear Anna's explanation about the result of her work week. Rob remained silent as Anna took a long sip of her drink, trying to figure out what to say.

I didn't mean that I don't enjoy spending time with you...

Rob had just taken a sip of his own drink when Anna added her clarification; his heart leapt up so quickly that he nearly choked on his craft beer. What do do? Was this an invitation to push back a bit, or should he back off in the service of a longer-run strategy? He decided to acknowledge the warmth in Anna's tagged-on comment, give her breathing space, but keep up just a little pressure.

"Well, Anna", Rob said as he caught her gaze with his hand still on hers, "I really enjoy spending time with you as well. I'm glad it's mutual. " Removing his hand, Rob continued, "Believe me, I understand your need to just unwind. Tell you what, let's have another drink each, chat some more, and go our separate ways for the rest of the evening. If, after your restful night, tomorrow you feel like some companionship, just give me a buzz on my cell. What do you say?"

 

[Sweetandsexy3]

"Sure. I think I can handle that." She said "So how have things been going, besides work? What have you been up to?" Anna asked before taking another sip of her drink pulling her other hand away to rest at her side.

 

[Gr8chtr]

Although he had been excited about the more intimate interaction that he and Anna had been having, Rob was relieved that she had shifted the conversation to safer territory. He didn't wan to push Anna too hard, and he had probably gone far enough for now. And, Anna's question gave him the opportunity to share something about himself that might draw Anna closer.

"Well", Rob said, "I have been so busy that I haven't been doing much other than work lately. I grab a bite to eat on my way home to my apartment, work a couple of hours, watch some Neflix or Hulu, and climb into bed.Weekends, I go the gym, rest, and read escapist novels." Rob cleared his throat, not so much for effect, but to avoid his voice cracking, "Since my former girlfriend, Karla dumped me, I haven't really felt like doing much. I guess partly that's why I'm enjoying just sitting here in a pub with you. I haven't had this much social contact in several weeks."

Rob worried that Anna might think that he was deliberately weaving a hard-luck story to capitalize on her sympathies. But it was true; since Karla left he had done little but worked, slept, and tried to ward off full-blown depression - successfully, so far, but a daily struggle. He had told Anna the truth: This simple outing with her was the most enjoyable thing that had happened to him in months.