owns the team, Steve. All these people work for him. It’s bad enough that I work here too, people are gonna think I just waltzed in here and took the job from someone, like a man, who was more qualified, without stopping to realize that I have worked hard to get where I am.”
“So that means you can’t kiss your date in public?”
I blushed. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…”
I wasn’t willing to say it, but I was already thinking it. Sure, if I really wanted to, I could kiss my date in public, and no one important would really care. The real reason that I didn’t want to kiss Steve in public was that I was worried Hud would see it.
That was dumb. Hud and I were nothing to each other but people we saw at work. He had never shown any interest in me at all, and I certainly had tried to keep my growing attraction to him under wraps, as deeply hidden as I could. So why was this bothering me now?
Unfortunately, I just didn’t have time to figure myself out right now. “Just not here, OK? Somewhere else. Not here.” I looked at Steve, a wan smile on my face, trying to get him to drop the point.
Steve stared back at me like he was about to say something, then got the better of himself. He smiled and nodded, and looked around the room again, pulling back a little further from me, which let me relax. I was attracted to him and I had enjoyed his kiss; if we were alone I’d welcome more such kisses, and return them with pleasure.
Just not here.
Steve’s eyes widened. “I have an idea, then.”
“Oh yeah?”
Steve took me by the arm and pointed with his chin. I followed his gaze and saw a door, presumably leading to another room. “Shall we?” He asked.
My breath quickened. “Yes,” I whispered, “we shall.”
I could tell my cheeks were crimson red with a heady combination of excitement and embarrassment as Steve led me toward the door. I kept looking around and thinking that at any moment someone would point at me and shout “LOOK everyone! Mack going somewhere to fool around with HER DATE!” and then everyone in the room would point and laugh and I’d see Hud standing there looking angry and sad at the same time.
Of course none of that really happened, because I’m a crazy person who concocts these elaborate fantasies to save me from the things I’m scared of. We made it to the door without incident, and as far as I could tell, no one in the room even noticed that we were gone. We stood near the door for a few seconds, looking totally casual, though all I could think about was how suspicious we probably looked.
Once we were through the door, Steve closed it behind us and we were alone. The rush of getting out of the party caught up with me all at once, and for a second I was a little woozy. Steve’s hand was at my lower back, and I was reassured by him keeping me steady.
“Where do we go?” I whispered.
“This way,” Steve replied, sounding so confident that for a second I wondered if he had memorized the plans to this place or something. Given his personality, I wouldn’t put it past him.
I let him lead me down the hall. The lights were lower here, like the hall’s staff didn’t figure anyone would be here so they could save a little bit on the electric bills. There were unused chairs and tables packed off to one side - extras just in case the main hall needed more. More doorways that led to offices and smaller meeting rooms.
And all of it empty.
A twinge of naughtiness raced through me. I felt like we were somewhere we shouldn’t be, like we were breaking into a high school after dark or something. Suddenly, I realized that I was breathing a lot shallower and taking softer and slower steps, which was quite a feat in these heels, like I was trying to minimize the sounds and disturbances I made.
Like anyone was watching. All the security for the event was out front. No one would come down this way looking.
We were safe.
I wasn’t sure how far we’d
“So that means you can’t kiss your date in public?”
I blushed. “No, it’s not that, it’s just…”
I wasn’t willing to say it, but I was already thinking it. Sure, if I really wanted to, I could kiss my date in public, and no one important would really care. The real reason that I didn’t want to kiss Steve in public was that I was worried Hud would see it.
That was dumb. Hud and I were nothing to each other but people we saw at work. He had never shown any interest in me at all, and I certainly had tried to keep my growing attraction to him under wraps, as deeply hidden as I could. So why was this bothering me now?
Unfortunately, I just didn’t have time to figure myself out right now. “Just not here, OK? Somewhere else. Not here.” I looked at Steve, a wan smile on my face, trying to get him to drop the point.
Steve stared back at me like he was about to say something, then got the better of himself. He smiled and nodded, and looked around the room again, pulling back a little further from me, which let me relax. I was attracted to him and I had enjoyed his kiss; if we were alone I’d welcome more such kisses, and return them with pleasure.
Just not here.
Steve’s eyes widened. “I have an idea, then.”
“Oh yeah?”
Steve took me by the arm and pointed with his chin. I followed his gaze and saw a door, presumably leading to another room. “Shall we?” He asked.
My breath quickened. “Yes,” I whispered, “we shall.”
I could tell my cheeks were crimson red with a heady combination of excitement and embarrassment as Steve led me toward the door. I kept looking around and thinking that at any moment someone would point at me and shout “LOOK everyone! Mack going somewhere to fool around with HER DATE!” and then everyone in the room would point and laugh and I’d see Hud standing there looking angry and sad at the same time.
Of course none of that really happened, because I’m a crazy person who concocts these elaborate fantasies to save me from the things I’m scared of. We made it to the door without incident, and as far as I could tell, no one in the room even noticed that we were gone. We stood near the door for a few seconds, looking totally casual, though all I could think about was how suspicious we probably looked.
Once we were through the door, Steve closed it behind us and we were alone. The rush of getting out of the party caught up with me all at once, and for a second I was a little woozy. Steve’s hand was at my lower back, and I was reassured by him keeping me steady.
“Where do we go?” I whispered.
“This way,” Steve replied, sounding so confident that for a second I wondered if he had memorized the plans to this place or something. Given his personality, I wouldn’t put it past him.
I let him lead me down the hall. The lights were lower here, like the hall’s staff didn’t figure anyone would be here so they could save a little bit on the electric bills. There were unused chairs and tables packed off to one side - extras just in case the main hall needed more. More doorways that led to offices and smaller meeting rooms.
And all of it empty.
A twinge of naughtiness raced through me. I felt like we were somewhere we shouldn’t be, like we were breaking into a high school after dark or something. Suddenly, I realized that I was breathing a lot shallower and taking softer and slower steps, which was quite a feat in these heels, like I was trying to minimize the sounds and disturbances I made.
Like anyone was watching. All the security for the event was out front. No one would come down this way looking.
We were safe.
I wasn’t sure how far we’d
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