I threw back my head and laughed, shaking my head. “Seriously, we’re friends. And friends don’t give each other blowjobs.”
“That’s good to know. Either way, I’m sorry. I’m just pissed off, and it makes me say things I shouldn’t. I’m glad it’s with you and not someone who would report me for saying something completely inappropriate.”
“Come on, let’s get you something to eat.”
“Are you sure? I saw you bring your little lunchbox in with you.”
“Ouch. Ha-ha. I did. Now, I’m in the mood for whatever’s closest. Lead the way, you’re the expert here when it comes to places to go.”
“I have no idea if you’re being sarcastic or not,” she said, narrowing her eyes.
“Shut up,” I said and opened the door, gesturing for her to lead the way. Nobody paid us any mind, and Benji was the only one who glared. I had a feeling this was mostly Benji acting up and not anyone else. And that was something I needed to think about. Or that was something Paris and I would have to deal with. I let her lead the way because I was done stepping on her toes. I seemed to do that enough when it came to her.
We ended up at a little café near work, and I smiled as Paris looked around, not quite judging but taking things in.
“Do you feel like we’re cheating on Dakota’s place?” I asked, my voice a whisper.
“A little,” she said, her cheeks blushing a bit.
“If we were closer to that place during our lunch break, you know I’d be there in a heartbeat. I like Dakota’s place. I like Dakota.”
Her eyes narrowed a little. “What do you mean by that?”
I held my hands up in protest. “Hey, just that I like Dakota. I like all of you guys. It’s nice having all of Hazel’s friends as part of our crew. That’s all I was saying. Dakota is a nice woman, and I like her kid.”
“Okay, sorry. I’m a little overprotective when it comes to my friends.”
“Shocking,” I said, and she rolled her eyes at me before she stabbed her salad with her fork.
I mixed mine up, even as I watched the way she ate hers in little pieces. I held back a smile at that. If I could coat everything with dressing and mix it all up so I got a little bit of each thing in every bite, I would. And would be happy. Paris seemed to like things one at a time.
That was probably why I developed things, and she broke them apart and tested them out.
Or maybe I was thinking a little too hard on all that shit.
“So now that we’re out of the building, you doing okay?” I asked. I could have slapped myself for asking.
All the easy camaraderie we had established fizzled like a balloon being popped.
“It’s just normal work stuff. I think Benji has a burr up his butt, even though me doing my job doesn’t reflect on him at all. He liked your predecessor about four people ago, and they were good friends.”
“Seriously? I didn’t know that.”
“Yep. When that guy was let go, though we didn’t know he’d been fired, Benji took it personally.”
“And…he blamed you.”
“He either blamed me because I was the one testing the software, or because I’m a woman. Or maybe he simply doesn’t like me. I don’t know, but I had nothing to do with it. I don’t even know why the guy was fired. It’s none of my business. My job is to get the work done and try to enjoy what I do. And despite Benji and the Shark comments that he likes to spread around, I do like my job.”
“That’s good. I don’t know if I could like a job where I had to be on guard all the time.”
“Considering you’re only visiting our branch for six months and you’re going to be the new guy for a while, I would assume you’d also feel on guard.”
I shrugged before taking another bite of my salad. “I’m used to fitting in where I need to. And if I don’t, I make do.”
“That must be nice.”
I shook my head, smiling. “Sometimes. And other times, I’m the loud, annoying brother that my siblings make fun of. It works. We all find our places.”
“Maybe. Or perhaps we’re stuck in this egocentric, esoteric world where we don’t know where we are, and we’re left to an existential crisis.”
“That was a lot of big words, and I’m very confused now,” I said, laughing.
“Well, I try.” She smiled then, her eyes brightening. I liked it when she smiled like that, it meant that it actually hit her, rather than her pretending in order to make everybody feel better.
My phone buzzed, and I looked down at the readout, smiling again.
“You mind if I take this real quick?” I asked, and Paris shook her head. I answered, pulling back from the table so I could go outside and not annoy everybody with my phone call.
“Hey there, babe,” I said, walking out of the building. I noticed Paris staring at me as I did. I waved before standing right outside the glass windows. Our table was right on the other side of the windowpane, and if I talked loudly enough, I had a feeling that Paris would be able to hear everything I said. Not a big deal, I just didn’t want the whole building annoyed by me talking on the phone.
“Hey there, love.”
Love? Since when did she call me love? We weren’t quite at the whole love stage, at least I didn’t think so. Neither of us had said it, and while I was enjoying our time together, I wasn’t ready to take the next step. I might joke a lot, but I was actually slow in determining certain aspects of what I wanted.
That might not be the best reaction for most people, but it usually worked for me.
“I’m on a lunch break, what’s up?”
“I was hoping you were on your lunch break. You brought your own, right? Or did you want to meet up quick?” she asked, her voice warm.
“I brought my own, but I ended up needing to take a coworker out for lunch. Kind of a bad day, so we decided to get out of the office and breathe for a bit. My salad is fucking good, though.”
“Oh? I wish I had known that. I could have met up with you guys.”
“Sorry, it all happened kinda fast. We’re still on for dinner tonight, right?” I asked.
“Yes. Well, give Benji my love. Or at least tell him hi.” She laughed. “Got to go. Talk to you soon. Bye, babe.”
“Bye,” I said to silence. She had already disconnected.
I hadn’t had a chance to correct her, and now I felt like a heel. Even though Paris and I were just friends, and there was nothing romantic between us at all, Allison didn’t like Paris. She didn’t like the fact that I hung out with women at all. And she didn’t like that she had been late to our date, only to show up and see Paris and me having a drink together. Later, she had yelled, ranted, and I had apologized. It had probably looked bad from the outside, but I hated the fact that she didn’t trust me.
So, it was my job to make sure that whatever I did now, she could trust me at all times.
I shook my head, stuck my phone into my pocket, and went back inside to finish my salad.
“Allison?” Paris asked.
“Yes.”
“Is she upset that we’re eating lunch together?” At my look, she continued. “She wasn’t a huge fan of me from what I could tell after our impromptu drink that night.”