"Finally!" I laughed.
"We done?" Sarah asked excitedly.
I did not answer her but opened the bottom drawer of our shared desk. I tried to anyway. The office is so small that there was not much space to store things. Seeing my office doubled as the records room, space was a commodity, and my bag made it hard to open the drawer.
After some shimmying and maneuvering, I managed to open the desk drawer and pulled out a very small bottle of champagne. Sarah shot me an amused expression, and I fired back a mischievous smile. Not quite as impressive as I intended, I attempted a slide across my desk. Tripping, it became an awkward shuffle and roll.
Climbing back out of the floor, I ignored Sarah's laughs and beckoned her to follow. I strode out the office door and into the breakroom. It was 1 o'clock, and we were the only ones left in the building. I pulled out 2 coffee cups and thrust one into Sarah's hands. I untwisted the muselet, shook, and popped the cork. Sudds splashed out. Then, I poured out the bottle evenly into our coffee cups.
Reaching her giggling breaking point, Sarah laughed, "Oh yeah! Just hope I am safe to drive home."
"Well," I laughed, "I bought the fanciest bottle I could afford. Unfortunately, I had to choose between quality and quantity."
"You don't say." Sarah laughed.
Forcing a serious face, I raised my mug and toasted, "To..." I could not think of a good toast.
"A vacation!" Sarah said.
"Here, here!"
We clanked out mugs and tipped them back. The bottle was so tiny that we only had one swallow each after popping the cork. Sarah snorted her drink, still fighting the giggles. She coughed and wiped her face with the towel I handed her.
Once she stopped coughing, Sarah picked up the small empty bottle. "Thankfully, not everything you have is this tiny."
Now, it was my turn to choke and cough. Memories rushed through my mind. I do not know how I would have digitized all those records without her. Her conversations kept me encouraged when the work started to drag. Above all else, it was her that kept me going. It was Sarah who relaxed me when the stress and pressure became too much. When I was stressed to the point of exploding, she'd... siphon that pressure. Furthermore, the eagerness and admiration in her eyes left me invigorated.
Usually, she used her mouth, but twice now we went all the way. The images of her on my desk filled my mind. I was too tired to fight them, not that I wanted to.
Clunk. The sound of Sarah dropping the empty bottle into the trash can woke me from my daydreams. Her back was to me, but I could sware she turned her head just enough to flash me a smile. Did she know what I was thinking? How long was I gazing off? Suddenly I was aware of how tight my pants felt.
"So, where are you going on your vacation? You've certainly earned it." Sarah approached him. I noticed her hips were swaying a little more than usual.
"Me? You have earned it."
"Won't argue that one, but you still haven't answered me."
"I don't know. I have never thought about it." This was true, I have always prioritized work and school. "I like history. Maybe. I don't know. Somewhere historical."
Sarah subtly smirked, "I always imagined somewhere in nature." She was really close now. "Maybe tropical. Maybe a lakeside cabin. Somewhere remote." She was so close we were almost touching. "Somewhere where you are alone. What do you think."
What did I think? The idea of Sarah and I alone in a cabin for a week sounded... "Divine," I blurted before I could filter myself.
She smiled, "We should probably wait to drive home."