Amelia glanced up and then groaned, pinching her the bridge of her nose as Kinsley and Naomi stopped by the wall of her cubicle.
"You're coming, right?" Kinsley asked. She was dressed in clothes that clearly broke even the relaxed 'casual Friday' work rules. Her bluejeans had holes in them and her dirty blonde hair was pulled back in a ponytail over a white t-shirt with an obscure metal band on the front.
"I-"
"Yeah, she's coming," Naomi said, tapping her fingers on the metal covering that lined the top of the cubicle. Despite her certainty, she eyed Amelia like a wolf hunting its prey, waiting for it to break and run. Her own bluejeans were acid-washed in a throwback to decades past but in one piece. She wore a long-sleeved top that opened to show the edge of her lacey bra. Her pale, lilting eyes were fierce but friendly.
Amelia was certain Naomi knew her bra showed. She pushed her small, rectangular glasses up her nose to look at her coworkers before glancing back at her spreadsheet. Her dark fingers caressed her keyboard as if eager to return to work.
"I really don't-" she tried to say, brushing a black curl away from her eyes.
"It's Tyler's going away party, Amelia!" Kinsley nearly shouted. "Come on! Alana rented a bar for all of us. A private little party. Just for us. Alcohol-"
Naomi nudged her friend.
"Well, you don't have to drink," Kinsley amended. "But there's food and you can get a soda or water or whatever you want."
"It'd mean a lot to Tyler," Naomi butted in. "And just all of us. Come on, I know you don't like going out with us but we're a small company and it's important to show we're all one tiny, overworked family."
"Pleaaa-ase," Kinsley said in sing-song.
The party was a surprise, especially with Alana footing the bill. They
were
a small company and highly specialized. Their non-disclosure documents took a week to read through and Amelia was shocked that they were letting Tyler go so easily. Especially since he seemed headed for a company that was tangentially in a related industry. However, they'd finished their first major contract and Tyler was eager to be elsewhere.
What was strange was that, despite her coworker's begging, she hadn't received an invitation to the party. She'd been both relieved and hurt to learn of it.
There was nothing waiting for her at home. And she liked that. Yet what the two women said was true; cohesion was important. She knew that if she didn't go, there might be resentment and that could slow down her work.
"Fine," Amelia sighed, pushing her glasses up once more.
"Perfect!" Kinsley smiled. "We're leaving now so don't be late!"
The two women left, giggling and waving their arms as they talked about their plans and what they were going to do that evening. Amelia blushed as she heard Naomi talk of leaving her bra at home.
With a heavy sigh, she returned to her spreadsheet to finish massaging the raw output from one of their databases.
---
The bar was small and the lot was mostly empty as Amelia pulled in. She drove away from the rest of the cars to park in the very corner with her blue Prius. It was a recent purchase - a splurge for her - but she loved it. Whenever someone asked, she'd talk about how good the gas mileage was and how low maintenance it was but, internally, she thought it was
extremely
cute.
Thin red clouds lined the sky as she walked through the parking lot.
A huge, serious man dressed in black slacks and a black t-shirt stared at her as she walked towards the bar. Amelia glanced down at her feet while nervously tucking her hair back.
"Badge," the man told her when she arrived.
It took a moment of fumbling but she found her company ID and showed it to him. He grunted, stepping sideways while opening the door.
Pop country music greeted the young analyst, much to her dismay, but the sight at the center of the bar drew her attention - a giant mechanical bull.
Her coworkers called out to her, raising their glasses, and she clutched her purse while raising her free arm awkwardly to wave back.
"Amelia, hey!" a young bearded man said, breaking away from Naomi and an older man - Jed, their team leader. "Hey, I didn't think you'd make it!"
Tyler scratched at his red beard as he smiled at Amelia. She smiled back and then ducked her head before looking back up. The man took a step with his arms out, as if to hug her but she leaned back and he dropped his arms.
"Well, they convinced me," she told him bluntly. He was a good coworker. Strong with numbers and a team player that never hesitated to give credit when people worked with him. She'd miss having him as a coworker.
And he was
cute
. She blushed and shuffled, praying he wouldn't go in for a hug again.
"Either way, I'm glad to see you," he told her. "I'm going to finish up with the others but don't leave before I have time to talk, okay?"
Amelia nodded and then breathed out, releasing her tension as he walked away. In a way, she would be glad when he was gone. She'd had a massive crush on him since she'd seen him and it was strange to her. She'd never had a crush on
anyone
before. There were a few boys over the years that she'd thought were handsome but this was the first time she'd felt an anxiety inducing attraction just be looking at someone.
Still holding her purse tight to her body, she went to the bar.