For the last six months, I'd worked at an office for a computer science job. It was well paying, and the office space was mostly fine aside from one person. While I was at work, there was a member of our team that always rubbed me the wrong way. He was tall and conventionally attractive. He had sandy-colored hair, and he wore jeans and a polo shirt to work everyday. His name was Matt. However, I couldn't even escape him after the office because when I did my early morning run to the local gym in town, he was there lifting weights or practicing boxing.
Other than him, the new job went very well. And, we never got into a true altercation, but his vibe was simply weird around me. Sure, he was attractive, but he was also talkative and a bit too charming for his own good.
Tonight was different from a normal work day. I had volunteered to help set up the office's Christmas party, and this involved a lot of labor ranging from setting up tables to pouring bottles of champagne. I enjoyed the repetitive task and seeing the bubbles form.
After I finished pouring the champagne, I put on a reindeer antler hat with glowing ends, and I started to hang green and red Christmas tree ribbons from the ceiling and various door entry paths. The goal was to make the area as Christmas-filled as possible, and I think that I did a good job.
Within the office's party area, there was a main dance floor, a bar, the tables with many glasses of champagne, and then there were the other tables that were full of different kinds of freshly catered food. Christmas decorations covered the walls and hang from as many high-level places as possible.
People started trickling back into the office, and I smiled and greeted every person that I crossed paths with. My boss shook my hand graciously before heading over to one of the tables with the champagne. He picked up a glass and began chugging. I adjusted my shirt, and I glanced toward the office's entrance. My happiness dissipated as I saw Matt step inside.
Matt was dressed nicely tonight. He wore a finely maintained dress shirt and black slacks. He seemed to be in a good mood, and he even had a sort of pep in his step. To distract myself from his presence, I walked over to the dance floor. At the far side of the dance floor, away from most of the party, the DJ was currently setting up his computer. He was about to start.
"Almost ready?" I asked, smiling as I checked in on him. The DJ was Bart, a member of the office who enjoyed DJing as a hobby.
"Almost!" Bart said cheerfully. I nodded, and I walked back across the dance floor to greet more of my friends at the office. I put on my best smile and began shaking hands with everyone that walked through the front door. Time began to slip away, and the night progressed very quickly from that point. It didn't help that I had already had four glasses of champagne about an hour into the party.
About two hours later, I was dancing on the dance floor in the swath of coworkers around me. I knew that it didn't look pretty, but it felt good. Then, I felt someone bump into me, and I stumbled. Before I fell over, two strong hands grabbed my shoulders and kept me standing. The person spun me around, and I gasped as I saw Matt staring at me. He seemed to be drunk as well.
"Don't slip like that, Sam," Matt said, his voice slurring slightly. I pushed him away from me, and he let go of my shoulders. I shrugged him off, and I rushed off towards the bathrooms. My head was spinning, and I felt sick. But, I also was flushed and warm all over. Seeing him holding me like that was...something else. Something that I wasn't prepared for.
