It was Thursday morning and Amber was sitting in the office all by herself, both bored and excited at the same time. It was an odd combination, to say the least. The reason for her excitement was obvious—tonight was her date with Spencer. But that would only occur if time actually started moving again.
Cindy had called her late yesterday afternoon just before closing to confirm that her older son had indeed broken his arm and she needed to stay home to take care of him. Everyone else was still at the conference. Because there was no one else there generating work, Amber had finished her daily tasks in record time. The phone also hadn't rung, probably because most people who would be calling knew that the team was at the conference.
Amber wasn't one to just slouch around. She'd tried to fill the morning with everything she could think of to work on. She'd cleared out what she could from Cindy's in-box, she'd watered plants, tidied up the supply closet, and had even organized that one cupboard that everyone just seemed to pile stuff into. All that and it was barely past 11:00.
Amber spun around in her chair to see how many revolutions she could make before friction stopped. Eight and three-quarters—a new record.
There weren't even any post-upgrade computer issues to complain about. She didn't have any data to back it up, but her system even seemed to run faster, but that might just have been because no one else was there. Spencer had been right—despite Rob/Ron/Rod's appearance and lack of dialog, he'd worked efficiently and effectively. He'd walked by the front desk, said he was finished, and walked out the door. She'd only been about 15 min late past closing.
That got her thinking about the previous evening:
~~~~~~~
After Mr. Monosyllabic had departed, she had gone home to clean up and change before heading over to Kat and Aaron's house. Because of her delay at work, Aaron already had dinner prepped, so she'd barely registered the delicious aroma upon entering before they were setting down to eat. Afterward, he had shooed them out of the kitchen for their shopping trip, insisting he'd take care of the dishes and everything else. They planned to play a board game when the girls got back.
Kat drove them to the boutique where Amber had bought some clothing the night before. She'd been insistent that Amber try every one of them on for her to inspect. It had felt a bit awkward at first—especially given the thoughts Amber had been having of late—but Amber eventually got over her nerves and started having fun. It was a good thing too, because several items hadn't been the right size and one just didn't fit her body well at all. The sales associate had happily exchanged it for another piece that Kat picked out. It was clear that Kat had a good eye for fit and what would be both comfortable and sexy for Amber.
On the way home, Kat had asked, "So, are you happy with your purchases? I think you looked damned awesome."
"Thanks," Amber replied, glancing at the bag at her feet. "I think I am. And thanks for the advice on that purple piece. I, uh, wouldn't have known it wasn't right. I just thought that's how it fit."
"Don't worry, we'll get you more experience. No need to sacrifice comfort just to titillate your partner. I'm glad you got some casual wear too. Though I have to say, you still looked damn cute in those too." She glanced over at Amber. "So, any plans on which you're going to wear tomorrow night? You
are
going to wear one, right?"
Amber smiled. "Yeah, I'll wear something. I'm thinking of either the black and teal set or maybe the green. Thoughts?"
"You're going hiking under a full moon, right? So... bra and panties. I do like that color of green on you—it really brings out your eyes. But I'm wondering how that teal will look under the moon. The mix of bright teal with black might really have a nice look to it."
"Hmm, interesting idea. I like it. Of course, this all assumes he sees it under the moon. I mean, I don't know if we'll go that far or not, and if we do, I hope I don't lock up."
Katelyn reached over and squeezed her friend's hand. "Hey, try not to worry about that. Talk to him early in the evening about the stuff we've already talked about. Then let the evening progress naturally. If it feels right, enjoy it. If it doesn't, there's no rush."
"Thanks." Amber was quiet for a bit, watching the trees flash by. "Teal and black it is."
~~~~~~~
A phone call on the office line interrupted her musing. After helping the caller, Amber went back to the tower of binder clips she was working on. It was amazing how tall one could go with proper attention to size and weight distribution. As she was nearing the top, her phone chirped with Spencer's tone and, as she reached for it, her elbow knocked the entire tower down into a huge mess across the desk and floor.
Well, so much for the Tower of Babel.
SK: Hey, hope your day is going great. Just wanted to let you know that everything's ready for tonight, assuming you're still up for it.
AL: Absolutely! I'm bored to death at work. No one is here. What do I need to bring? Any particular type of dress?
SK: No need to bring anything beyond your lovely self (unless there's something you want to bring). This time I went to the grocery store BEFORE the date. :)
SK: Also, I wouldn't wear a dress. As much as I'd love to see you in one, we're going hiking, remember? Long pants, warm shirt and a jacket. Terrain's not too bad, but if you have some hiking shoes, that would be best.
AL: I meant 'dress' as in attire, goofball.
SK: Don't dress in tires or you'll look like the Michelin Man.
AL: Is it possible to get a sprain from rolling your eyes?
SK: Take her to one comedy show... First she's a comedian, now she's a comedy critic. Sheesh.
AL: :P
SK: Hey, what time should I pick you up? I can do anything from 4 or later.
AL: I can go as early as 4:30 if I don't shower. If you want me clean and pretty, then 5.
SK: I bet you're pretty even when you're not clean. Let's shoot for 4:30. If you really work up a sweat sitting at your office desk for the next few hours, I can either wait at your place or you can shower up at mine.
Amber got excited by that thought.
Is he hinting at an option or just being nice? Would he join me if I did?
She started typing again.
AL: Can't wait.
