Author's Note:
Hello everyone, I'm back! I know this isn't the most exciting story to return with in terms of the content I'm known for, but hopefully you still enjoy it.
I wanted to take a break from writing for a few months as I was experiencing serious burnout, but it ended up lasting longer than I expected. I can't promise that I'll be releasing content as often as I used to, but I do want to force myself to write more.
Next release should hopefully be back to the filth of Sanborn Retreat so stay tuned.
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When I heard the knock at my door, I knew I could put it off no longer. I had spent the past five hours since returning from Dr. Morse's office fretting. It perhaps would've been better to go and do something to distract myself, but it made no difference now. Or, if I was smart, I would've spent more time getting ready.
"Just a sec." As I grabbed my purse and stuffed my phone inside, I repeated the doctor's advice in my head, trying my best to believe it. No matter what happened, I just need to talk to Kat. She wouldn't be mad. She would understand. In theory, anyway. I suppose everyone has their limits, and I hadn't known Kat long enough to sus out hers.
What complicated matters some was my lack of understanding of what exactly this dinner was. A date, maybe? That seemed unlikely; Kat had said we were just going out to have fun after all. I think that was how she worded it, anyway. Although, we had kissed.
Oh god, was this a date?
The thought sent a panic through my body.
Was I dressed nice enough? Why didn't I shower? Who was supposed to pay for dinner?
I was taking too long I realized. Jogging to the door, I tried to formulate an apology.
It didn't matter, however, as Kat beat me to it once I opened the door. "I'm sorry, I'm early. I know I said 6:00, but then I was thinking about traffic, and I didn't want to miss the reservation. It's only a few minutes I guess, but still early."
I was barely listening to her, rude as it was, but her looks distracted completely. She was stunning. A form-fitting black jumpsuit showcased her curves while the belt and halter neckline added elegance. It also made me realize that I had yet to see her with proper makeup. All in all, it was certainly a contrast to my more, shall I say, dressed-down look. The slacks and top I found in the back of my closet were far less eye-catching. Unsurprising given they were originally purchased to wear to the office. When I was still doing that, anyway.
"Don't worry about being early," I finally offered a response, "You look... very pretty."
"Thank you. You do too." Before I could offer a counterpoint, she thrust a bouquet out from behind her back and into my hands. "I saw these and thought they were nice, so I got them for you."
Shit. So, it was a date.
I could feel my face burn as a blush crept over my cheeks; I prayed my dim apartment would hide any evidence of it, though. "Thanks. You didn't have to do that."
"Of course I didn't
have
to," she smiled before quickly hesitating. "Sorry, just teasing. You're welcome."
"Right, uh... yeah. I guess I'll just put these in some water and then we can go." With shaky hands, I found the single vase I owned - probably a wedding gift or something, I honestly couldn't remember where it came from - and filled it with tap water. Setting it on the counter and dropping the flowers inside, I took a second to calm my nerves before returning to the entryway.
"Ready?"
"Yeah, let's go," I replied, grabbing my jacket. With that, I locked my apartment before following Kat down to her car. I did my best to put on a brave face, but internally I was shitting myself. I hadn't been on a date since Dave, and before him, I wasn't exactly putting myself out there much.
Kat still hadn't told me what this was, though the flowers were a good indication. I had known her for a while now, and we had grown closer in the past few months, but I still struggled to read her. "Do you do this often?" I asked before immediately cringing at the question. It was an attempt to fill the dead air as we pulled out of the parking lot, but it was such an awful thing to ask.
"Do what?"
"You know, like go out. Go to a nice restaurant or a club or something?"
"A club?" she shot me an amused look before returning focus to the road, "How old do you think I am? Besides, I told you those aren't my scene."
I cursed internally, embarrassed that I had forgotten that I had already forgotten that. "Right, sorry."
"Come on, I'm just giving you a hard time." Kat playfully squeezed my thigh, "You need to loosen up; this is supposed to be fun, remember? To answer your question, no I don't do this much. Sometimes when a client comes to town, or I have to travel for work. Otherwise, I usually stay in my apartment."
"Do you travel a lot?"
She shrugged, "Once every couple of months maybe. It really depends on when our clients need in-person help with their internal systems. Most can be done remotely, but occasionally we need to go to set up hardware or update their infrastructure."
"I thought you were a software engineer, why are you updating hardware?"
"Well,
I'm
not, but something always breaks when new equipment is brought in. So, they pay for me to fly out and solve any problems that come up. Most of the time it's a paid trip to stand around and occasionally do some coding."
"Do you like what you do?"
"Yeah, it's fine. Enough about that, though. You're always asking me about my job, and it can't be interesting. Hell, even I find myself getting bored talking about it."
I had never liked small talk, but it had gotten so much harder after my divorce. When I used to actively go out and do stuff, always had Dave as a backup person to talk to in uncomfortable social situations. Now I was alone and more out of practice than ever. Talking about her work was one of the few cards I had to play, and now that option was gone.
"Do you... um... travel? Like, outside of work?"
"I try to go somewhere at least once a year depending on my availability. Usually, it's back to Spain with my parents to see family."
"That sounds nice."
"What about you? Do you travel?"
After coming up with discussion topics, this was my least favorite part of small talk, when they turned the discussion back to me. How do you tell someone that you do nothing? That you're one of the most boring people on the planet? I mean, Kat knew this about me already, but it didn't make it any less of a reminder. "No. I- uh... no. The last time I traveled was when I came here. Haven't really gone anywhere since."
"You're from New York, right?"
"State, yeah. I grew up in Camden, a small town in the north. But I did go to university in New York City. Lived there after graduation before moving here."
