The stars aligned the night he unexpectedly strolled into her office. She recognised him instantly, the mystery behind his dark features unable to mask the piercing gaze which met her as they locked eyes across the room. The instinctive speed at which she turned away prevented neither the jump in her heartbeat nor the image of his figure imprinting itself in her mind. His appearance had markedly changed since the last time they had met; the night they had chatted blissfully into the early hours at that party, ignoring everyone around them. The loud sweatshirt that had made her laugh had been replaced by a flowing collarless shirt, the buttons of which had been undone to leave a parting that revealed his sculpted chest. His long dark hair had been swept back, neater than she remembered it, and curled playfully round the backs of his ears.
Sophie suddenly became aware of her own appearance, and smiled. Her smart white shirt was tucked into a flattering pair of trousers, and her gold necklace had popped out just the way she liked it. She ran a light hand through her disobedient hair and busied herself at her desk. Before she could work out why on earth he was in her office, everyone had started to make their way towards the conference room. They had all been made to stay late by the head of the office, to indulge his latest fad and attend a talk on the importance of meditation in corporate life.
It was only as she sat down in the conference room, stifling a yawn, that it dawned on her. He was giving the talk. Of course he was. The chuckle she failed to contain attracted a couple of looks from the colleagues next to her, but she was far too smug to care. He had been annoyingly evasive when she had asked him what he did for work at the party, but now she knew. The next hour passed with amusement as she watched him charm her colleagues with a façade she could see straight through. As the talk concluded with a particularly mawkish musing on the meaning of life, she could have sworn he had winked at her, but no one else seemed to have noticed.
At the drinks after the event, Sophie made a deliberate attempt to avoid him. She had enjoyed making him chase her at the party, and hoped that doing the same this evening would bring some excitement to an otherwise dull affair. Ten minutes into enduring her colleague drone on about his inbox however, she was beginning to regret her decision. But just as she started to conjure up an excuse to leave, she felt a firm hand on her shoulder. Instinctively recoiling at the unexpected contact, she spun around, already able to identify the owner of the hand from his distinctive cologne. As she turned, his outstretched fingers gently brushed her ear.
He was close enough for her to make out the sharp contours of his face, but in the split second in which she had begun to examine them he had stepped back into the corner of the room and motioned for her to follow him. She did.
'Sorry,' he began, 'I just thought I would save you from your conversation with that suit.' His soft smile grew into a schoolboy grin. 'If you can call that a conversation.'
'I didn't need saving,' she retorted, before pausing. 'But thanks anyway.'
They picked up right where they had left off at the party, and the rest of the evening flew by in a flurry of flirtatious quips. As the end of the night approached, Sophie felt an urge to make sure she would see him again.
'You mentioned you wanted dance lessons. Maybe I could be your teacher.'
'Yeah,' he replied, 'I would like that.'
'In the evenings after work, I'll meet you in the park at the bottom of my road.'
'See you there,' he smiled.
The next few weeks were fun. She noticed how he had started to take care where he was touching her when they danced, and how she could sometimes catch him staring when she wore the right trousers. But it was just a bit of fun. Harmless. One evening, after a frustratingly long day at work, Sophie spontaneously jerked him towards her in the middle of an unusually heated dance. She instantly felt a stiff bulge press into her through his trousers. They stopped, and for a split second she was sure she felt him draw her nearer, applying pressure to her abdomen before swiftly retreating and turning away to change the music. As she watched him distractedly, her head swimming, she suddenly realised her pants were slightly wet. They resumed once he had turned back, smiling at each other, and by the next evening it was as if nothing had happened.
Not long after that incident however, things once more took an unexpected turn. As they sauntered out of the park, relentlessly teasing each other, he casually checked that they would be meeting again the next day. Without thinking, Sophie confirmed that they would, before sighing as she came to a familiar realisation.
'Sorry, I just remembered that I have to work late tomorrow.'
'No worries, another time then.'
