Author's note:
Chapter three is here! Again, thank you to everyone who commented on the first two chapters of this story. Chapter 2 was a nice little intermission, but we're back in full force, with a new character that will give Chapter 1's Sarah a run for her money. Hope you all enjoy, chapter 4 is coming soon!
~Alca out.
After a long sleep that I had needed badly, I got out of bed refreshed, showered, shaved and got ready for work. I was a little early, but nobody seemed to take notice as I sat down and hooked up my notebook. I sat back as it booted up and couldn't help but smile. Whatever happened, not much would be able to wipe that stupid, smug grin from my face for a while to come. Unfortunately, unlike my early arrival this morning, the look on my face did not go unnoticed. I was woken up from an interesting daydream by a silky voice coming from the other side of my desk.
"Looks like someone had an interesting weekend."
I tried and failed miserably not to let the sudden shock show on my face. Standing right in front of my desk, with the stealth skills of an experienced ninja, was none other than Chelsea. Or, as some of my less subtle and immature colleagues liked to call her, the office hottie. While I was no fan of the misogynistic tendencies these colleagues would display out of earshot of HR and their superiors, I had to begrudgingly admit they made a good and even understated point. Chelsea was an office hottie if there ever was one, her tight pencil skirt and tidy blouse doing nothing to hide her killer figure, maintained by countless hours of dedication and hard work in the gym and complimented by a beautiful face with a gorgeous smile.
Taking great care to not stare below her mouth, I nodded and replied with some confidence.
"It was pretty great, not gonna lie. How was yours?"
She smiled, it was as radiant as the rest of her.
"From how you're glowing I'd say it was more than pretty great. Mine was great too, thank you for asking. So, who's the lucky lady?"
I laughed out loud, partly because of the absurdity of having this conversation with Chelsea of all people, but mostly because the question took me by surprise. Our conversations had never gone beyond the professional before apart from exchanging pleasantries. Still, she was a colleague and I didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so I replied honestly but subtly.
"Well, considering she hates my guts, I wouldn't exactly call her lucky."
At this statement, Chelsea's eyes widened almost comically and she replied immediately.
"Wait, YOU'RE the ridiculous piece of shit that has no right to be that amazing in the sack?"
Immediately, as if she'd surprised and scandalized herself with that outburst, she slapped her hand in front of her mouth and did her best not to turn bright red, failing miserably. Not that I was faring much better myself. For the third time in as many days, my jaw was hanging comically low. This time however, the coincidence was so staggering that I couldn't find the confidence to reply normally.
"Y-you know Sarah?!"
At this, Chelsea's eyes widened even more, as I had apparently confirmed the suspicion that brought on her sudden outburst. She composed herself, cleared her throat and left the office without saying another word. With my heart pounding in my chest from what was by far the weirdest exchange I had ever had in the office, I tried to forget about what happened and focus on my work, but it was next to impossible. I barely got anything done, and decided to leave as early as I had come in that morning. As I grabbed my stuff and made my way to the parking lot, I saw Chelsea walking towards me, the both of us doing our very best to not acknowledge the other's presence. It was impossible to miss the piece of crumpled paper she pushed in my hand as she passed me, however. I took it with me, held it in my hand the whole way back home and only dared to open and read it when I had parked in my driveway. The note had a phone number and a few short lines scribbled on it.
"For when Sarah is done with you, don't text me before that, never mention this in the office ever."
I stared at the piece of paper in astonishment, wondering what sort of loopy land I had entered. I saved Chelsea's number in my phone and burned the piece of paper for good measure. As she requested, I didn't text her, not even to acknowledge that I had received the information. The next few days, the both of us managed to behave professionally, neither of us acknowledging the earlier conversation had taken place, nor that her number was safely stored in my phone for a potential future booty call. I hadn't heard from Natalie since she called me out of the blue, and ever since Sarah had confirmed the place and time she expected me to be this weekend, I hadn't talked to her either. Because of this, I actually managed to get some work done and left the office on Friday feeling content.
This feeling lasted about as long as the walk to my car did, as I immediately noticed Chelsea's car parked right next to mine, the hood opened, with Chelsea herself staring at it in frustration. I looked up to the sky as if some sort of higher being would provide me with instructions on how to proceed, but of course, nothing came. As I thought about it for a few seconds, I realized that if our conversation hadn't taken place, if she hadn't given me her number, I would have offered my help, so that's what I decided to do.
"What's wrong with it?"
As she looked up and saw me, I didn't miss the mixture of panic and frustration showing on her face. Like me, she was probably thinking about the same non-existent deities I had been wondering about just a few seconds ago.
"I think it's just a dead battery, though I'm completely sure I didn't leave the lights on or anything. It's never given me trouble before."
I smiled, this was something I might actually be able to assist with, which meant I wouldn't have to leave her hanging.
"I have a set of starter cables in my trunk, want to see if we can get it to work?"
The relief was audible in both her face and her voice as she answered quickly, "Seriously? Of course you do, uhm, I mean, yeah, please, if that fixes it you're my hero! I was about to call a tow company and I was not looking forward to that bill."