“You’ve been avoiding me,” he states on Thursday morning. I’m sitting behind my desk and Eric stands on the other side, propping himself with his fists on the wooden surface, leaning slightly forward, a naughty smile playing on his lips.
I like to read people, so I tend to overanalyze body language. His appearance now is domineering, which messes with my hormones. The curiosity in his eyes messes with my mind. I have to give it to him; he doesn’t tiptoe around. He goes straight for the target.
“Guilty as charged.” Dropping my voice to a whisper, I add, “Why have you been flirting with me?”
Eric rounds the corner of my desk until he’s next to me, invading my personal space. Then he casually leans with his ass against my desk, crossing his arms over his chest, pinning me with his gaze. “We’ve barely talked over the last few days.”
“Eye-flirting is still flirting,” I inform him, stubbornly holding his gaze. “I’ve been out of the dating scene for a while, but I can still read the signals. So, what gives? You said you were off the market at the wedding.”
Eric doesn’t hesitate. “I can’t seem to help myself around you.”
Well, what can I say to that?
“Your honesty is disarming.”
“Maybe it’s my weapon.” The words roll off his tongue so sexily it nearly takes my breath away.
“Why would you need one?” I mumble.
“To make you blush and squirm.” Leaning forward, he says, “You look delicious when you do that.”
I’m unable to hold his gaze anymore. Jesus. His words affect me too much.
“You can’t talk to me like that,” I whisper.
“Why?”
“We’re at the office.” My desk is far enough from everyone else that they can’t hear our conversation, but that doesn’t mean I can’t use them as an excuse.
“Not a good reason,” Eric answers.
“Because I don’t know how to handle it.” I swallow, my skin humming at his proximity. To my astonishment, he doesn’t utter a witty comeback, just nods.
“Fair enough. I’m leaving now and will be back at six. Will you be avoiding me when I pick up Julie?”
I chuckle. “Probably. It’s safest. I might do something silly otherwise.”
Not taking his eyes off me, Eric lowers his voice. “We wouldn’t want that, would we?”
***
Eric
“Let’s take a break,” Max says, punching the pause button on his treadmill. We’re at a gym downtown, letting off steam. Working out is my number one choice for putting a stressful day behind me. I keep running for fifteen more seconds before pressing pause.
“You’re not as fit as you used to be Bennett,” I tell him after I step off the treadmill. “You kicked my ass every time when we were doing laps in college.”
“I was on the polo team back then. It’s hard to keep that level of fitness.”
I met Max when I was doing my MBA. He was a junior in college,
while I was a married man with a kid. Our friendship started with me giving him shit over his weird beard phase, and him calling me old man, despite the fact that I’m only a few years older.
“Let’s hit the bench press. I don’t have much time.”
“Why are you in such a hurry?” He drinks with large gulps from his water bottle as we walk to the nearest free machines.
“I’m picking up Julie in half an hour.”