The morning dragged on. Mary, her heavyset co-worker, made polite conversation on and off, but Elise's mind was elsewhere. Had Danny really asked to eat lunch with her? Or was that a leftover delusion from the weekend? The ridiculousness of this thought was not lost on her. It really is just like school, she thought. Getting excited over eating lunch with a 'boy'...Jesus...You're almost 25 years old, Elise. Grow up.
11:42. Elise waited anxiously at her work station, pretending to work on some invoices when Mary asked if she was coming to the break room for lunch.
"Oh, I'm going to finish up what I'm working on. Then I'll be in," she smiled politely, but buried her face in her hands once the woman had left the room and she was all alone in the office. The jingle bells, just like the ones people used for Christmas decorations, that hung on the front door (and she thought were stupid) to announce when someone was entering rang. Elise jerked upright, attempting to look normal.
"Everything alright?" Danny asked, eyebrow raised.
"Yah," she said a little too enthusiastically, if not a little exasperated.
"Come on," he waved a hand toward the break room. "Let's eat."
Elise was so nervous she was on the brink of tears. She was glad to be eating, st least. It gave her hands something to do. She wanted a cigarette badly. A nasty habit she picked up in college in place of biting her nails when she was stressed out or nervous, which was a lot then. She had tamed her nasty addiction, though, and barely went through an entire pack in a month.
Just being in this close of proximity to Danny made her a ball of nerves. She had never felt this way around a guy, not even Jeremy. Elise tried, unsuccessfully, to convince herself it was just because it had been awhile since she'd had any guy...friends.
"So, what's your deal? Where are you from?" Danny asked as they neared the end of their respective lunches. She hadn't been wrong about getting funny looks. Some of the other road crew guys happened to be in for lunch that day and elbowed each other and nodded towards them, smirking. Mary simply gave her a knowing smile, as if she knew something Elise didn't.
"I just moved here a few months ago. I'm originally from up north."
"Up north? Like Minnesota?" he laughed.
"No," she joined his laughter. "North of Indy."
"Ah, I see. Did you move down here for the job?" Danny paused. "Please tell me you didn't move down here for the job," he winced, jokingly.
"Sort of," she chuckled. "I've always liked it in this area. We used to visit a lot when I was a kid. Damn tourists," she joked. "Besides, I needed to get away from my last job," Elise made a face.
"That bad?" he plopped another potato chip in his mouth. God, how she wanted to taste his mouth.
"The worst. I worked for an attorney in Indy and he was the sleaziest human being I think I've ever met."
"Well, he is an attorney. That should have been your first sign."
"I know, I know. I had dollar signs in my eyes, I guess," she paused. "No job is worth getting harassed daily by everyone you work with, though, including women."
Danny's face contorted and his brow furrowed at this.
