Lunch Date

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"Wait, what you mean you invited him in and he said no?" Lauren shrieked.  I had called her as soon as Brody's SUV had pulled away.  I hadn't even taken off my boots.

"Exactly what I said, Laur," I replied with irritation.  "We could barely tear ourselves away from each other to get out of the woods before getting eaten by a mountain lion, but when he dropped me off, he wasn't interested in coming in to pick up where we left off."

"I told you hiking was a terrible second date," Lauren replied, matter-of-factly.  I could always count on Lauren for a good 'I told you so.'  "You guys are probably sweaty and disgusting and I wouldn't have wanted to come in either.  That's all."

"It didn't seem to bother him an hour earlier," I snipped back.  I knew she was trying to make me feel better, but I was seriously confused and her attitude wasn't helping. 

"Sorry," she said, softening her tone.  "All I'm saying is that there is a difference between a spontaneous make out session in the woods after a sunset picnic--which, by the way, is completely lame, and I'm completely jealous--and coming in with the planned intention of getting naked for the first time after you spent 6 hours romping around the forest."

I had to admit that she had a point, and I did feel very much in need of a shower.  I relaxed a little.   I suddenly remembered the not as awesome part of the date.  "Hey, Lauren?  Did you know that Brody and Savannah used to hook up?"

"Uh-huh," she said, sounding distracted.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Well, I didn't know for sure, but I had always wondered.  She really didn't start acting all weird and crazy until shortly after Brody joined our group.  I've never been close to her and he was brand new, so I wasn't privy to the inside information, you know?" she explained.  "Wait, did he tell you about that?  On your second date?"

I explained how I had brought up Thursday and asked him if he knew about it, and how he had filled me in on the back-story.

"You are seriously socially impaired sometimes, Liv!" she said.  "He must really like you, to have spilled all that after you bring up a terrible topic 15 minutes into date number 2."

"Whatever, I'm glad I did.  Everything felt better after, at least for me."  I could almost hear her rolling her eyes at me. 

We made plans to hang out the next day, and I hung up to go shower.  I was still a little confused about Brody, but after talking out a plausible explanation with Lauren, I wasn't quite as hurt.


Sunday passed in a blur of lazy reality TV watching and gossiping with Lauren.  Monday morning came too soon, and I mentally prepped myself for my busy week on my way to work.  I got there an hour earlier than usual to prepare for a group I was leading that week.

Our agency had an audit coming up, and while it didn't affect me much, being brand new, my coworkers were in a frenzy preparing.  Wanting to make a good impression, I had offered to take on a little extra for the next couple weeks to help them out.  I was leading two groups this week and three the next, and it created a considerable amount of extra prep and paperwork.  Luckily, the day went by quickly.

I was sitting in the office after the Tuesday morning group, completing contact notes, when my phone vibrated.  I saw a text from Brody: "Do you have time for lunch today or tomorrow?  Friday is a really long time to wait to see you again."  I smiled to myself as my cheeks grew pleasantly warm.  I responded: "You're in luck, my 1:30 canceled today.  If you can wait that long, I'll have an hour."  He responded immediately: "That's perfect.  There are a few good places close to your office.  I'll meet you outside your building at 1:30."

At 1:32 I walked out of my office building and saw Brody leaning against a tree, buried in his phone.  He looked up as I approached.  He pulled me into a hug.  He was wearing a dove gray shirt, lavender paisley tie, and black suit, and I felt under-dressed next to him in my sleeveless blouse and pencil skirt.  As if reading my mind, he flashed me a perfect smile and said, "You look nice."  I thanked him as we walked towards a coffee shop across the street.

We settled into a table near the window with our sandwiches and drinks.  "Thanks for texting earlier, I needed to get out of the office."  I told him about my crazy week and he listened sympathetically.

"Volunteering for extra stuff was a good move as a new employee," he agreed, "but I bet you'll be happy when the audit is over."  Understatement of the year, right there.

45 minutes passed too quickly, and too soon, we were heading back in the direction of my office.  We stopped in front, and Brody turned to me.  "So, with your crazy week, maybe something low-key for Friday?" he asked.

"That sounds good," I responded.  He hugged me again, and kissed me briefly.  I looked at my building with a frown.  "I guess it's that time.  I'll see you on Friday."  He said goodbye and squeezed my hand before walking back in the direction of his office.

I sighed, and walked back into my office, ready to face the rest of the day.