This is my first story, so any and all feedback is appreciated. There is a long introduction to the background of these characters before the action begins, so feel free to skip ahead!
"I've just left climbing now. I'm jumping into the car and should be with you in 2 hours or so, as long as the traffic is good" Emily said down the phone.
"Perfect. I've put some wine in the fridge to greet you when you've finished your journey," Tom's voice echoed back. "Drive safe and see you soon!"
"See you soon!" She replied and hung up the phone, slinging her gym bag into the boot of her car.
Settling herself into the driver's seat, Emily glanced up at her reflection in the mirror. Her long burnt copper hair was pulled into a high ponytail and her round face had a fading red tint from the exhaustion of scrambling up walls. Oak brown eyes reflected back at her appraisingly as she pulled out the ponytail, shaking free the tension and letting her hair cascade down past her shoulders. "You've got this" she whispered to herself, setting up the navigation on her phone, plugging it in and bracing herself for the drive ahead.
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An hour later and halfway through the journey Emily finally let her thoughts turn to Tom. It had been over a month since she had finished her job at his company and moved north. She'd been offered a short term 11 month contract in his department, helping deal with the logistics of a new project the company had just picked up. Coming straight out of university after 5 years of studying, she'd leapt at the opportunity, especially since it meant moving closer to her boyfriend down in the south of the country. Relocating to a brand new area hadn't been easy, especially with Emily's stubborn insistence that to prove her independence she needed to live alone. Draining her new pay cheque on a 1 bed flat, she'd quickly come to see that making friends out of the university bubble was much harder than she thought and gradually loneliness began to creep in. Combine that with the discovery that being closer to your partner doesn't solve all your relationship problems, made Emily realise just how unprepared she was for adult life.
It had been a crisp and cold Wednesday morning when Emily had seen Tom as more than just a co-worker. On the back of another night fighting for her boyfriend to actually care about someone other than himself, she was tired and gloomy walking into work. Making her way to the break room to get herself a coffee and mentally prepare herself for the day, she was surprised to see Tom had beaten her to it. He was reclining on the countertop by the machine, his 6ft height dwarfing her 5ft 6in despite his leaning, ginger hair spiked in that "fresh out of bed but definitely took 20 minutes" look and his auburn almond shaped eyes looked happy and alert as he glanced at Emily making her way in.
"You look like you could use a large one this morning" he said cheerfully. Emily quickly realised she'd been staring as he came towards her, large mug in hand with a twinkle in his eyes.
"Oh god yes, I don't know how I'm going to survive today", she quickly moaned grabbing the mug from his hands, averting her eyes as she deeply inhaled the smell of the fresh coffee.
"You didn't go out drinking with the marketing team did you?" Tom asked "I've already seen a few of them sheepishly roll in and they are not looking good!"
Emily felt her cheeks reddening as she debated whether to admit to her failings in creating herself a social life, or as a girlfriend.
"I didn't know they'd gone out for drinks..." she began sheepishly before deciding to just come clean, "I actually was up late arguing with my boyfriend." she took a quick sip of her coffee in order to avoid having to look anywhere near Tom's handsome gaze as she admitted this.
"Oh shit, I'm sorry," Tom replied. He reached out a comforting hand and placed it on her shoulder. "You've just moved down from the north right? Long distance can be hard, especially when you're settling into it, you both just need to give yourselves time and you'll figure it out!"
Emily couldn't focus on his words, she was distracted by the heat coming from her shoulder She could feel a warmth flowing from Tom's body into hers. Her heart skipped and she felt a jolt in her stomach. Tearing her eyes away from his hand, she looked up to see him expectantly waiting for her reply.
"oh um, yeah well we actually did long distance whilst I was studying. This job was an opportunity to move closer to him and move our relationship forward,"
Why am I telling him this? She thought, shocked by the honesty that had slipped out. Fuck Emily, just because he's cute doesn't mean you blab everything to him! For a brief moment, Emily thought she saw a stab of sympathy flit across Tom's handsome face.
"It's probably just like you said, but the other way around! We've been apart for so long, we just need some time to adapt to seeing each other more!" She continued, hoping that Tom believed the optimism she was selling, even if she didn't. Hours arguing with Mark about his commitment to his political career over her had left a bitter taste in her heart and Emily wasn't as confident in her relationship as she had been before the move.
The movement of Tom's hand from her shoulder snapped her out of her thoughts and she looked up to see his face lit up with positivity.