Rebound

The first day I went back to work, I could see the pity on everyone's face. Everyone wanted to ask, but no one did. It wouldn't have made a difference even if they did. Nothing could make it any better, and it certainly couldn't get much worse. I'd had a migraine for more than a week straight, so everything had a slight yellow tint to it. The whole world looked sad, but not nearly as devastated as I was.

On the way to my office, I passed Brandon in the hallway. "Hey, Katie!"

"Hi, Brandon."

"I missed you while you were gone. Everyone did. Jim's been more than a little cranky with you gone."

"Yeah, well, I'm back now," I muttered as I headed toward my office.

"Hey, Katie?"

"Yeah?" I stopped and turned around to face him.

"If you need anything, anything at all, just let me know. You have my number. Even if you don't want anything, just give me a call."

"Thanks, Brandon."

As I walked into my office, I could here Brandon running down the stairs. That guy was always too happy and too nice. Way too nice.

When I sat down at my desk, I noticed for the first time, just how messy it really was. There were files strung along the floor, post-its sticking to everything with a flat surface, about 8 half-full glasses throughout the room, and there was even a partially eaten sandwich on one of the chairs. I was not looking forward to starting this routine again.

I catatonically went about my due diligence without much thinking at all. After 2 years of being Jim's assistant, I could do the job asleep, which was an especially good thing after one's whole life has been destroyed.

When my boss came into work about two hours late, he was a complete asshole as usual, further proving my theory that he is in fact without a soul.

"Where's the Anderson file?"

"I don't know. I haven't been here for two weeks."

"Well, find it for me."

After he left to take his two hour lunch break, I went over to his desk and found the Anderson file on top of his desk. I set it on his seat. That man has to sit on something before he notices it.

As the day pushed on, my migraine lightened its death grip around my brain only slightly, but it was enough for me to get some work done. By the end of the day, I was about halfway caught up on everything Jim had left for me to do.

When the clock struck five o'clock, I got up and left without saying anything. I figured no one would say anything to me anyway, and even if they did, I wouldn't care.

When I walked in the house, it was colder than it should have been. Rather than turning up the heat, I grabbed a few blankets and laid down on the couch with the remote and a bag of unhealthy snacks. Five hours of bad reality television and a bag of potato chips later, I fell asleep.

The next day was much like the last one. I was actually pleasantly surprised that I slightly enjoyed the monotony of it all. I didn't have to think about anything, which seemed like a blessing.

Just as I was packing up my things to leave for my lunch break, Brandon walked in with a bouquet of brightly colored flowers poorly hidden behind his back.

"Just because," he said as he put them down on my desk.

"Thanks, but you didn't have to—"

He interjected, "I wanted to. Are you leaving for lunch? Where are you going? I'm pretty hungry myself. Mind if I join you?"

I was planning on hitting the drive-thru at the closest burger joint like I did everyday. I wasn't much in the mood for company, but I knew it was going to be hard to talk my way out of this one. Plus, I was too emotionally exhausted to even attempt a poor excuse. "Sure. I don't really care where we go."

"We'll decide on the way there. I'll drive," he said as he motioned for me to go ahead of him.

"So, what are you in the mood for?" he asked as he opened the car door for me.

"Like I said, I really don't care. I'm not even that hungry."

"How about The Bu?" He was referring to a local restaurant called Malibu Grill.

"Sure. That's fine."

At the restaurant, he ordered a chicken salad with a bottled water. Normally, when I went out to eat with someone that ordered healthy, I would do the same, but I didn't care.

"I'll have the linguine with chicken please." I looked at Brandon to see if there would be a reaction, but he was just smiling. "And a Long Island and an ice water."

"Drinking on the job, now?" He asked, but I could see in his face he wasn't judging me, just making conversation.

"Actually I'm on break. If I'm not getting paid, it's my time."

While we waited for our food, we made light conversation. I actually caught myself not thinking about the past couple weeks of my life and how everything had changed so drastically. I let myself think, if only for a moment, that my life wasn't completely over.

"Here you go," the waitress said as she put our food down in front of us. Of course my meal looked huge compared to his small salad, but it also looked so much tastier.

"Wow," he sighed, "I should have ordered that."

"Would you like another Long Island?" the waitress asked.

I looked up at Brandon to see if he had any reaction, but he was just smiling. "Sure," I said as I handed her my glass.

I looked down at my plate, noticing just how much food there really was on it. I caught Brandon eyeing it, too. "You can have some if you want. There's no way I'll eat even half of it."

"No thanks. I'm okay with my salad. You can take home the leftovers.

Silence fell upon our table as we continued eating. In the past few weeks, I had becoming strangely comfortable with silence. Before, I hated silence, but now it was oddly refreshing. However, I felt bad for Brandon. I could clearly see he wasn't as comfortable with the silence. "Thanks for inviting me to lunch. I'm having a good time." It was true. I was enjoying myself, but I wasn't sure if it was the company or the two Long Islands I had downed. I didn't want to, but I was.

"My pleasure. Anytime."

"I might just take you up on that." I smile crept across my face. I became very aware of just how odd it felt to smile. I was torturing myself, and before now, I had seen no end, but now there was a light at the end of the tunnel. Why should I torture myself over his mistakes? I deserved to be happy.

"So." Brandon's voice broke my self-motivational speech in my head.

"So." I replied.

"You don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but what happened, anyway? I think you'll feel better if you talk about it with someone."

"No, it's okay. Suddenly, I don't mind talking about it."

"Good. Go ahead, then."

"Well, to make a long story short, Chris left me to get back together with his ex-wife. Now, I'm smart enough to realize that that is his choice, or mistake if you want to call it that, but if affects me more than normal break-ups do, because I'm losing his kids too." I was brought back down from my temporary high. Now I remembered why everything really was as bad as I had previously thought.

Brandon could clearly see the change of expression on my face. "I'm so sorry." He reached for my hand, but I quickly pulled it away and rested it on my lap. He looked up at my face. "I'm really sorry." I wasn't sure if he was apologizing for my situation or for his attempt at physical contact. "So he's not even going to let you see them?"

"Of course he says he will, but I don't expect it to last long. The kids have their parents back together. I know that's what every kid wants, and they were no exception. Why would they want to spend time with me? I know they love me, but kids are fickle. In a few months, they'll be over it, and I don't see Chris pushing them to see me if they don't ask."

"That has to be impossibly hard. I can't even comprehend what that must be like." I appreciated his candor. I hated it when people said they understood, when there's no way they could.

"I feel like I'm losing a family too. His brothers and sisters, even his mom. They all hated her, but they're not going to kick her out. She'll be welcomed back in, and I'll just be a passing memory. Everyone will act like they forget everything she's done in the past. And I'll just be the ex."

"If there's anything I can do, please let me know. I know I can't possibly make this pain go away, but I'd like to make it a little easier if I can. You don't deserve this. No one deserves this, but especially not you."

"Thanks." I looked back down at my plate, and realized I had only taken a few bites, but I wasn't that hungry.

The waitress walked up and asked, "Would either of you care for a to-go container?"

"I'd like one please." I looked at Brandon to see if he needed one. "Just one."

When the waitress returned with the container, she picked up my plate and packaged my food to go. I glanced at the clock on the wall to my left. It was almost 1:00. "We better get going. I'm supposed to be back by 1:00."

He gave the waitress his card, and she promptly returned with his receipt. "You didn't have to buy."

"It's my pleasure." I didn't argue.

When we got back to the car, he opened the door for me, and we hurried back to work.

When we arrived at work, I didn't wait for him to open the car door for me. He rushed around the front of the car anyway, to make sure he could at least shut the door after I was out. Again, he opened the side door to the building and waited for me to walk in before him. "You know, you don't have to do that every time," I said as I gestured toward the door he was still holding patiently.

"Sorry. I don't do it on purpose. It's just a habit."

"That's okay. I guess if you don't mind, I don't."

"It's my pleasure. Really." As I walked past him, I felt that strange feeling of a smile creep across my face again. I quickly pushed it away as I walked past the front desk and up the stairs to the office I shared with my boss.

When I sat back down at my desk, I checked voicemail. Luckily, there was a message from my boss saying he had a meeting in Indy, and he wouldn't be back to work until the following day. I then proceeded to check the emails I'd missed during lunch. Just as I opened my inbox, I received an email from Brandon.

It simply said, "Thanks for having lunch with me."

I replied, "My pleasure," stealing his commonly used phrase.

I went about my due diligence much as I did every day, but I could feel a slight difference. I was happier. The difference, however minute, was still there, and I couldn't deny it. I also couldn't deny that the happiness had everything to do with Brandon. I decided I was over feeling sorry for myself. If I wanted to be happy again, which I now admitted that I did, I was going to make the change. I remembered the saying one of my friends from high school used to say, "You can't get new results without new actions." It made more sense now than ever. I'd change my actions.

I opened up a new email message and started typing. "Got any plans later?" I wasn't sure I would actually send it yet, but it still felt good just to look at it on my screen.

Just then, Brandon walked in my office. Slightly startled, I scrambled to minimize the message on my screen, but instead, I had hit send. Well, I guess that was decided for me.

"This may be too soon, and don't feel bad if you want to say no, but do you want to hang out later? Nothing specific. I'm free tonight, and thought you might want to get out of the house." I could tell he was a little nervous. I couldn't help but chuckle slightly. I could immediately tell that wasn't the reaction he was expecting.

"No! I'm not laughing at you! It's just... never mind. You'll see. Sure. Let's hang out later. Sounds good. Anything specific you have in mind?"

He still looked slightly dumfounded by my response. "Umm... nothing specific. Anything you wanted to do? We can do dinner, or a movie. Or both. I know that's not very original." I could tell he was scrambling his brain trying to come up with something else. I guess he hadn't expected me to say yes.

"I'll think about it and get back to you before I leave today." I smiled at his sudden awkwardness. "Or if you come up with any idea, let me know." "Sounds good," he said as he started to walk out.

I called after him, "Thanks!"

"My pleasure," he replied.

After he got back in his office, I heard the squeak of his chair as he sat down. Then after about 30 seconds, I heard him laugh. A minute later, I received a reply to my email. "Sorry. You asked too late. I just made plans. Maybe next time."

I cranked through the last bit of work that I needed to get done for the day, then checking the clock, it was almost 4:30. I hadn't seen any emails from Brandon about ideas for plans tonight, so I guessed it was up to me to decide. Rolling over the thought of going to a dinner and movie in my head, I decided I didn't really want to go out. But a movie might be nice. I hadn't seen any new movies in a while.

"How about we drop by Blockbuster and pick something out to watch tonight? I'm fine with ordering pizza if it's okay with you. I'd rather not go back to my house, so is yours okay?" I sent the email without question. But after I had sent it, I thought about what I had suggested. I didn't want him to think we'd go back to his place and be necking before the opening credits were over. But then again, I knew Brandon. I knew he wouldn't jump to those conclusions.

He replied a few minutes later. "Sounds good. What type of movie are you in the mood for?" I thought about this one a little longer. I wasn't much in the mood for a romance, not that I usually am, anyway. Action is always good, but no recent movies really came to mind.

Just before 5:00 I replied. "We can just figure out what to get when we get there. When are where should I meet you?"

He didn't respond before 5:00, so at 5:00 I stopped by his office on my way out. "Hey. So, what's the plan for tonight?"

"How about I meet you at Blockbuster on the East Side at 6:00, and we'll go from there?" he suggested.

I thought about it. It took me 20 minutes to get home, and then 30 minutes to get to the East Side of town. "Can we make it 6:30?"

"Sure thing. I'll see you then."

We walked out together, just making small talk. When he got in his car, I walked quickly over to mine. I started the car right when I got in, and took off the second I had on my seatbelt. I didn't have much time to get ready, so I knew I would have to hurry.

I raced home as quickly as possible, while still keeping an out for the few spots cops loved to sit this time of day. Luckily, I made it home in 15 minutes without a speeding ticket.

As I ran inside, I threw my purse on the kitchen counter. My two dogs were jumping all over me excited that I was home. "Sorry guys. I have to get ready for my date." Saying the word 'date' out loud, even though it was just to my dogs, scared me a little bit. I hadn't been on a real date in years. But I was excited about it, I had to admit.

I filled up the dogs' food and water bowl, and then ran toward the master suite. I closed the door so the dogs couldn't get in, and I took off my clothes as I moved frantically about the room, first turning on the shower to let the water warm up, then getting out the hair dryer. I checked the clock just before I jumped in the shower. It was 5:33. I had to be quick.

When I jumped in the shower, I winced slightly from the heat of the water cascading down over my body. It was too hot, but I knew I would get used to it. If I turned it down a little, it would be too cold, and then I would spend the next three minutes adjusting the water back to where it was to start with. I didn't have that kind of time.

I hurried through my normal shower routine. First washing my hair, then lathering my legs with shave cream before putting conditioner in my hair. I shaved my legs as quickly as possible, while still making sure to not miss any stray hairs. It took me a little longer than usual to shave due to the lack of time I had spent on personal hygiene lately. As I soaped up my body, I debated whether or not to shave my pussy. While I knew I wouldn't be allowing Brandon anywhere near it, having it shaved made me feel more confident and sexy. I opened up the shower curtain slightly to look at the clock on the opposite wall. It was fogged up slightly, but I could see it was still only 5:40. I decided I had enough time, so I lathered up my pussy with shave cream.

First I shaved my bikini area, careful not to miss any stray hairs. Then I moved into the middle shaving my pubic mound. I debated whether or not to leave a small landing strip of hair leading to my pussy, but decided against it and shaved it clean. I then parted my legs and carefully shaved my pussy lips until the area was completely clean. As I ran my fingers over my pussy feeling for any remaining stubble, I could feel myself getting excited. Knowing I didn't have time to do anything about it, I quickly rinsed and got out of the shower.

I quickly toweled off and moved in front of the mirror to dry my hair. I brushed through my hair, then picked up the dryer and got to work. While I was drying my hair, my towel fell off my body, completely revealing my nakedness in the mirror. I stood up straight to admire myself as I finished drying my hair. I had to admit one thing good that came from my recent break up was my current physique. I had slowed down on eating, and with not much else to do, I started running more. I had dropped probably 10 pounds, as well as toned my muscles.

I pulled my towel back around my body and opened the closet to pick out something to wear. I didn't want to do anything very fancy. After all, that was the point of not going out. I wanted to be comfortable, but I still wanted to look good. There's nothing quite like a guy ogling over how good you look, for a quick boost in confidence. I decided to go with a simple yellow and green dress lined in black. It wasn't too low cut, but it was just short enough to show off just the right amount of leg, and just tight enough to show off my newly enhanced body.

I yanked the dress out of the closet and pulled open my lingerie drawer where I kept my sets of matching bras and panties. I decided to go with a black, slightly lacy bra with matching boy shorts. I loved wearing sexy panties, even if I knew no one was going to be seeing them.

After I put on my bra and panties I pulled the dress over my head. I found a necklace that complemented the green in the dress nicely and quickly put that on as well. I grabbed my phone off the dresser to see what time it was. It was already 5:56. "Shit," I said aloud.

I quickly put on some mascara, not wanting, or having time to put on any additional make-up. I grabbed a hair band and pulled my long dirty-blonde hair up into a high, loose ponytail. I picked up my pair of low black heels from the bottom of the closet and put them on as I stumbled out the bedroom door.

I was immediately bombarded by my two dogs again. I didn't have time to sit with them, plus I didn't want to get dog hair all over my dress. I quickly rubbed their heads, then grabbed my purse off the counter and ran out the door.

When I got in the car and started it, the radio clock read 6:00. Just in time. As I drove to the East Side of town, I thought about the plans for the night. Thinking about it now, I was a little nervous about it. I wasn't sure why, but I couldn't help but wonder how the night would turn out. I was nervous, but also excited, in a way similar to that of a high school girl going out on a first date. It was silly, but I liked the feeling.

When I arrived at Blockbuster, I was a few minutes early, but I saw Brandon's Jeep Cherokee a few spots over. I got out of the car and started to walk toward his car. He got out and met me half way. I gave him a little hug, and then stepped back to admire just how good he looked. He was wearing jeans and a nice short-sleeve button up shirt. It was the first time I had seen him outside of the office, and therefore the first time I'd seen him out of a suit. I couldn't believe how amazing he looked in his slightly faded jean. As I quickly glanced up his body, I paused for a moment at his biceps. He was much more muscular than I would have thought. His arms looked great, not to mention the fabric of his shirt slightly stretched over his muscular chest.