After a year of working on a stressful and important new project, Saoirse and Neil's company wanted to recognise the hard work of the staff and celebrate the success by throwing a party at a brand new hotel in the city centre. They organised a massive spread of food, a free bar and everyone was strongly encouraged to attend.
In their respective office groups, Saoirse and Neil agreed to go along. It started at 8pm but Saoirse didn't like to be too early, she hated work functions and usually found an excuse not to attend them. She met her colleague and friend Evelyn in the city centre for a drink first and then they went to the function together. They walked into the ballroom and looked around. They were surprised to see so many people there. The room was lit by dimmed wall lights, candles on the tables, and decorated with arches of pearlescent balloons in soft metallic colours. A DJ in the top corner of the room played trendy house music and already quite a few people were on the dance floor in the middle of the room. Half a dozen large, half-moon shaped booths provided seating along the right-hand side looking onto the dance floor and the rest of the room was filled with large round tables and chairs. The bar dominated the top of the room, well lit with bevelled mirrors behind it and very stylized to match the modern glamour of the hotel. On the left-hand side of the room, the food was being set up at a long line of heated and chilled buffet servers stretching down the room.
Saoirse and Evelyn went straight to the bar and ordered a cocktail each, taking the opportunity to try something they'd never usually order. "Good evening, Evelyn. Good evening, Saoirse. How are you both?" Matt's voice behind them rose above the music. They turned to see Neil's boss smiling at them and greeted him. "We've managed to nab a booth over here," he said, pointing towards the middle of the right-hand wall. They followed him to the booth where their colleagues from Neil and Saoirse's offices were sitting chatting, laughing and drinking. "I found these two loitering at the bar and asked them to join us!" Matt said to the group. All 8 of them looked towards them, clapped and cheered. Evelyn and Saoirse laughed, embarrassed, and tried to discourage them.
Matt ushered them to sit down amid calls of "Finally!" and "What time do you call this?!" from their colleagues. Matt stood back to let Evelyn sit down on the left hand side of the booth as the others moved along the seat to make room and then he sat beside her. Neil was sitting on the right hand side edge, he put his left arm round Saoirse's hips, stood up, kissed her quickly and let her sit down to his right, opposite Evelyn, then slid back down onto the seat beside her without speaking. Saoirse and Evelyn greeted all their colleagues as they settled into their places. The group clinked their glasses and toasted themselves, chatted, laughed and joked with each other as they relaxed into the evening.
Saoirse felt slightly apprehensive being at a work function with Neil for the first time since their relationship had become public knowledge when Neil collapsed at work 6 weeks earlier. She was the more outgoing of the two of them but she could feel the awkwardness like static around them as they sat beside each other, uncomfortably stiff in posture, not speaking to one another. Some of their group moved out of the booth to mingle at other tables, dance or go to the bar and everyone shuffled along the seats, seemingly oblivious to the atmosphere between Saoirse and Neil.
Saoirse turned to Neil who was looking across the room, holding his drink in his right hand. "Are you nervous? I feel really..." she started quietly, trying to be subtle.
Neil couldn't hear her over the music. "Hmmmm?" he hummed. He looked at her and tipped his head as he swallowed a gulp of his pint. "What did you say?" he asked loudly, interrupting her. Saoirse bowed her head and took a deep breath. Neil leaned his head down towards her and Saoirse lifted her head to speak closer to his ear.
"I said are you nervous?" she asked again, louder and slightly irritated. "We're sitting here like strangers!" she said with an awkward laugh. Neil swallowed another gulp of his pint and tilted his head to look in her eyes as he licked his top lip to brush the Guinness from it. He lifted his head to look straight ahead but didn't answer her.
Her face flushed. "It's just..." she took a breath. "I feel really self-conscious or something." she said sheepishly to him then looked down, wringing her hands on her lap under the table. Her mind raced with thoughts and worries and she was stricken with self-doubt about coming to the function.
Neil set his glass on the table, rubbed his palms discretely on his smart dark denim jeans then squeezed her hands in his right hand to stop her fidgeting. She looked up at him cautiously, her eyes shifting frantically to read his face. He nodded softly, exhaled slowly and smiled a small, closed-lip twitch of his mouth then put his right arm around her waist. He turned his body towards hers and hugged her into his embrace. "Don't worry, we've got this!" he said in her ear, looking down at her and squeezing her right hip reassuringly. He held out his left fist to her under the table and she reciprocated, bumping it with her right fist. She smiled shyly, took a deep breath to try and ease her anxiety and looked him in the eyes. "You look stunning." he said in his soothing voice, leaning in to her, and a slow, charming smile spread across his lips. "I was nearly all Roger Rabbit eyes when you came over." he said in his low tone. They both giggled quietly.
She looked down at her green satin cami top, black leather-look skinny trousers and green suede stilettos. "Thank you, Evelyn helped me pick it." Saoirse smiled shyly and gazed at him.
"Good call, Evelyn!" Neil said softly, smirking and raising his eyebrows.
"You look dapper. As usual." she said, licking her lips as she looked down at his pale coral-coloured linen shirt, smart dark denim jeans and boots. "I like your shirt, fit's perfect. And the colour really suits you!" she smiled, stroking her hand down his chest over his shirt. "What is that - boyfriend material?" she asked with a cheeky grin.
"Oh...really?!" Neil groaned at her joke then laughed his cheeky, giddy chuckle. "There she is, that's more like Saoirse!" he said, smoothing his shirt with his left hand. "Isn't that nice, Matt?" he asked Matt loudly across the table. Matt looked over and raised his eyebrows. "Saoirse's just admiring my shirt." Neil said with a defiant nod.
Matt shook his head and chuckled. "I don't know if it's more pink or orange, mate. Either way it matches your skin or your hair!" Matt jested. "I can't believe you let him out like that, Saoirse!" he teased, holding his hand out towards Neil and looking at her. "It's the same colour as your drink!" Matt pointed to Saoirse's cocktail. They all laughed as she held her drink up to Neil's shirt to compare it.
"It's called style, Matt. Google it!" Neil joked, puffing out his chest. "Or maybe it would be easier for you to look it up in the dictionary, old man? You'll find a picture of me in this shirt!" Neil goaded.
"Fuck sake, Neil. I thought that was a picture of Ed Sheeran!" Matt replied with a laugh.
Neil took a breath, shook his head and pursed his lips. "Nah....nah... only if Ed Sheeran was over 6ft and built like a tank!" he laughed, flexing his arms. Saoirse laughed, looking between them as they spoke. "He thinks I look like Ed Sheeran." Neil said to Saoirse. Saoirse frowned and looked at Matt.
"No?" Matt asked Saoirse.
"Just because he's ginger?" She frowned and shook her head. "...well...I don't fancy Ed Sheeran so...!" she smiled coyly.
"Oooohhhhhh!" Matt and Neil cooed in unison as Neil squeezed her against him and she laughed.
