Looking around, you accepted your new house. It wasn't much, but very beautiful. Quite small. Pretty bright. It was all you can afford after the divorce. With your ex-husband Paul cheating on you, you really bit your tongue and decided to leave him. It was hard. 22 years old and divorced. Not ideal for you. After living with your sister for a month, you were able to get a place of your own. Simple 2 bedroom home. Kind of like a cottage. In your mailbox you received numerous letters from your co-workers after taking time off to cope with your new life. 'Cheer up. Be strong.' They didn't want to bother you and stop by, so they sent letters to let you know they were thinking of you. It sure brought a smile to your face. Boxes lined the walls. Gosh, you were too lazy to unpack. Your cellphone rang and you looked at who it was.
'Mom Calling'
"Hey mom." you answered while unpacking one box. Pictures.
"Hey, Emily, baby. I just wanted to check up on how you're doing." her voice was so motherly.
"I'm good, mom. Just...still dealing with everything. I'm loving my new place though, so...I'm excited for a fresh start." you told her.
"I'm so glad, baby. Paul didn't deserve you." you heard that about a hundred times. You just nodded and gave a small wry chuckle. It's not like things were bad between you. The love was there, but him cheating on you was something you can never forgive. 3 years down the drain. "Actually, Ted, you know your father's golf buddy, his son is coming into town. He just became Chief Resident at Heart Grove Hospital-"
"Mom..." you sighed "I'm not looking to be with anyone now. Paul was my first love and...it's hard to just jump into another relationship like that." you picked up a picture of you and Paul together on vacation in the Bahamas. Your happy years.
"I'm sorry, honey." she felt so bad. At least you got over the mourning period. The period of crying inconsolably while eating chocolates in bed. Now, you were looking forward to new things. "Take care, honey. There's gonna be a very bad storm tonight. Like record breaking snow starting this evening-"
"I already stocked up on water and food and extra candles. I'm fine, mom. Don't worry. I'll call you tomorrow to make sure you still have your sanity." you chuckled tossing the picture aside.
"Ok, love you honey." you both hung up. It was very, very cold out. Maybe you didn't have to go back to work tomorrow with the snow. Hopefully, it will be that bad. We'll time to hook up your TV and Netflix. You knew you'd be watching a whole lot of that. Being alone was going to take some getting use to. So much cords and connections. Paul was the handyman. Ugh. It was a bad idea to depend on a man. It was time to learn things for yourself now. Rolling up your sleeves and putting your brunette hair in a ponytail, you prepared to get down and dirty. Red for sound. Yellow for picture. Now a place to mount the TV. Gotta make sure it doesnt fall.
"Oh, come on." you tried to do it on your own. After about 10 minutes, you got frustrated and poured yourself some wine in your kitchen. It always calmed you down. Useless. Taking a sip, you heard a knock on your door. Weird. Looking out in the peephole. You saw your co-worker. Quickly, you opened the door.
"Eric! Hey!" you were pretty happy to see him. He held a large take out bag of something and a rose.
"Hey!" he came inside after you welcomed him in. Eric was a very handsome co-worker of yours. While married to Paul, you and him often flirted back and forth, but you NEVER acted on anything. Naturally, this was awkward for you. Him and you. "Umm...I just wanted to bring over some food from this Italian place that just opened up." So much sexual tension between you both. Eric had a handsome smile and exuded sex. So many girls throw themselves at him, but he seemed set on you.
"Oh, yum." you took the bag of take out from him.
"Oh and...this." he handed you the single red rose.
"So, thoughtful." you nervously took it from him. Eric always liked you. He always offered to help you with everything. You felt him watching you while you worked. He was super sweet though. "Umm...so there's gonna be a hell of a storm crashing down." you did small talk with him putting the stuff away. As he looked you up and down watching you.
"Yeah, I was just on my way home. I was surprised to find out that you lived half a block from me. I wanted to quickly stop by and...drop that off." he told you looking around your place. Examining everything. He noticed your TV and stuff on the floor. "At least you got something to keep you company." he commented on your large flat screen.
"Yeah, that's not gonna be of use to me. I gave up trying to hook it up." you chuckled crossing your arms.
"I can do it for you." he quickly offered.
"No, I couldn't possibly ask you to-"
"Please. I'd love to." he went ahead and started hooking up your whole home theater. Both of you talked for a bit. Talking about work. The people. How you've been. Neither of you havent really hung out in a social setting outside work so having him here was a bit weird. His brown hair fell in front of his hazel eyes as he connected the plugs. His arms tensed when he hoisted up your TV to mount. It was very appealing to watch him. Here you were as a single girl, but you werent ready. Paul was the only guy you've been with and it's going to take a while before you are able to be intimate like that with someone else. Especially the fact that things with him ended so unexpectedly. "All done." he wiped his hands as you both watched the TV and checked to make sure everything was in order. It was amazing.
"You've saved me days of boredom. Thanks." you smiled at him as he stood beside you. Both of you exchanged looks. That look people give each other before one of them is thrown against the wall to be ravished. It was on both of your minds, but you didn't intend to act on it.
"Umm..." he rubbed the back of his neck. "You know, Emily...I've always had a thing for you." he started to make things more awkward. He gave a nervous chuckle as if he worked up the courage to actually tell you. You wanted to avoid that talk at all costs. Eric was so handsome and sweet and if you weren't married, you'd be more than willing to date him. "I've always thought we had this...connection. I know you're divorce isnt final, but if you need me to stay-"
"No." you abruptly told him. It sounded kind of mean and you didn't mean for it to come out like that. It was just way wrong timing. You didn't want to think about it because you'd give into his offer and you knew it was wrong. "I mean...I don't think that's a good idea, Eric. I'm not looking for...a relationship and...I don't want to take a chance that we might..." you were trying to hint to him about where you think it might lead to if he stood here. "It's just a bad idea. Not now." you told him trying to be firm. He nodded looking disappointed. "Thank you so much for your help though. Is there anything I can-"