Annie & Jaz had planned a getaway to the coast, hoping to spend some much-needed time away and focus on each other for a bit. With little energy left after long days at the office, they were burned out, exhausted, and ready for a vacation. Finally, the big day of departure was only a week away, circled so many times on the calendar the surrounding days were nearly blacked out.
"I know we're saving for the trip, but Bruce just wrote to get a drink after work today. You in? It's sooo nice out!" Jaz wrote.
Their friend Bruce was also sick of the work-life balance and had just quit his job, looking to move to a new town and a new life. Annie and Jaz reluctantly supported his decision, even if it meant losing a long-time friend and drinking buddy.
"Ugh, YES PLEASE," Annie replied. Her boss had been extra hard on her this week, so any outlet involving friends and alcohol was a welcome distraction.
Minutes later another message appeared--unsurprisingly from her boss telling her she'd need to remain at the office on stand-by, as the team was now tasked with leading a presentation on Friday.
PERRRRRFECT
TIMING
she mused. She wrote to Jaz to go on ahead with the drinks and that she would hopefully meet up with them when she could leave the office.
--
"Hey man! Damn, can't believe this might be our last happy hour" Jaz said, greeting Bruce at the bar.
"Oh come on, I'm not dying you know. Just gonna be in another city," Bruce replied.
"Yeah, a 3 hour drive away, and we have no car!" Jaz retorted.
"Well we'll just have to make the most of it. Tequila?!" laughed Bruce. Bruce and Jaz had been friends for years -- tequila was often the fuel for many of their adventures and mishaps in the city.
"That's the good stuff!" Jaz confirmed.
--
Meanwhile, Annie's time in the office was turning out to be more of a wasted effort by her well-intentioned but inept boss, prompting her to spend at least as much time texting with Jaz than doing any actual work.
"Why not crack open a bottle while you're 'working' baby?" suggested Jaz.
"Hmm... yes that's not actually a bad idea---I don't have any real work to do and no one is even here!" complained Annie.
She quickly set about finding a cup she could enjoy some scotch in, while pretending to work on a project that she had already finished days ago. After stealing a co-worker's mug, she poured herself a drink and kicked off her shoes to get comfortable until the inevitable "All set, see you tomorrow!" email that her boss would send in an hour or so.
After spending some time with her whiskey, Annie felt a strong craving for snacks and headed to the office kitchen to raid the drawers while no one was around. She grabbed as many bags of chips and nuts as she dared and quickly padded back to her desk.
The cleaning crew doesn't arrive 'til 11pm, and I'm not going anywhere for at least another hour. I'm getting cozy.
"WHERE ARE YOUUUU???" an obviously tipsy Jaz wrote.
"Take a wild guess." Annie replied.
"Somewhere with a No Shoes No Shirt No Problem policy?" mused Jaz.
"Yep, just airing out The Girls and sipping a fine whiskey while Hunter massages my feet." Annie wrote.
The resulting 'hearts for eyes' emoji flood she received told Annie all was well at the happy hour.
Fuck this, I AM getting cozy,
she thought, as she unhooked and removed her bra and kicked back in her chair. She loaded up some entertainment on her computer, and tore open a bag of chips, spilling half of them onto the floor.
DAMNIT!
As she started to clean up her mess, she was startled to hear someone shout "NO WAIT, I'LL EAT'EM!" over her shoulder. She jumped and turned to see Hunter, a co-worker, stumbling down the hall. His normally determined gait a bit unsteady, impacted from drinking since leaving the office a few hours earlier.
"What are YOU doing here?" she asked.
"I was about to ask you the same thing! Didn't your meeting get postponed til next week?" He said.
"Not that I'm aware..." she complained, while picking up chips off the floor.
"Lemme help you" Hunter said, as he came around to help her with the mess. Annie always thought Hunter was the best-looking guy in the office, and enjoyed their banter at company events. Although she was in a loving and committed relationship with Jaz, they practiced a healthy openness that allowed for the realistic acknowledgement that other people could still be attractive and sexualized, so long as everything remained above board and discussed honestly.
As they were scooping up broken bits of chips, she noticed Hunter sneaking glances at her a little more brazenly than usual --
He must be pretty drunk,
she thought, until she realized that having removed her bra her breasts were clearly visible under one of the silky blouses she was known for wearing.
Oops!
After they cleaned up the mess, she smirked at him and said "Well thanks for your help, but please don't eat these dirty-ass chips..."
"Oh I won't, I'm not THAT drunk yet," he said.
"Maybe some of this will help?" as she offered the half-empty mug to him.
"Damn, I oughta work the night shift - you
really
get comfy here after hours. Thanks!" he mused, as he took a healthy sip.
"Surprised to see a girl sitting at her desk with a mugful of scotch at 8pm on a Tuesday night? Or is it the boobs?" she smirked.
As Hunter turned a deep shade of red, Annie reassured him "I'm teasing. No one is ever around this late and I'm just killing time until I can get the hell out of here and meet up with Jaz, so I decided to act like I was at home."
"Uhh... yeah I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to make it weird, I've been drinking. I should've kept my mouth shut," he stammered.
