As he walks away, Adeline leans forward, almost tipping a glass over. “Why does he have to be so hot? I swear, I can't get anything done when I'm in the office.”
“Argh, me too,” Caitlin complains.
Monica laughs. “I can get a lot done, which is why I was promoted to finance manager. My husband wouldn't be happy if he knew I was thinking dirty things about my boss.”
“Fantasies,” Adeline corrects Monica. “Fantasies are healthy. Ask Alexa. She’s young and hot too.”
“What do you think about Mr. Cash?” Caitlin puts me on the spot.
“Old,” I admit, not wanting to say he’s hot in case it somehow leaks to him. “I mean, he's older than me.”
“Yeah, he is older than you. But do you think he's sexy?”
“Of course, he’s attractive, but not my type. He's not my age, so I'm looking for a guy my age.”
Monica grabs my hand. “I have a brother.”
“Oh, here we go again,” Adeline drags. “Monica has been trying to set her brother up with everybody.”
“What's wrong with him?”
Monica purses her lips. “Nothing is wrong with him. He just lives with my parents still.”
“Enough said.” I cringe, then continue to ask, “Wait, how old is he?”
“He's graduated from college,” she simply replies.
“Okay, well, that's not so bad.”
“He's also into Star Wars,” Monica adds.
I pull a face again until Caitlin yells out, “Hey! I like Star Wars.”
“Is he a hot geek?” I question with trepidation.
Monica lets out an exaggerated groan. “No, my sisterly due diligence is over. Why don’t we go dancing? I need to burn off all these cocktails, or my husband will kill me since we’re visiting his parents tomorrow.”
There’s a band playing music in the corner. The beat is funky, a few songs I recognize, and a few I don’t. Until we got up, the dancefloor was empty. Then, people joined us, and before we knew it, the space was full.
Josh makes his way to where I dance, and it’s only polite I dance with him. He’s a good dancer, plus smart enough not to put his hands on me at a work event.
As we continue to dance, my eyes accidentally fall upon Hunter, who is standing with some people I don’t know. He is staring directly at me, so in a panic, I turn away, suddenly feeling self-conscious.
For the rest of the night, I try not to look at him and enjoy the music. When the band calls the last song of the night, we make sure to dance our hearts out, but then the lights come on.
Out of breath, I place my hand on my heart. Josh leans over to suggest going somewhere else.
“I’d love to, but it’s late. I should get home.”
The girls interrupt the awkward moment just to say goodbye. I make my way up the wooden stairs, almost stumbling on the last step.
My hand reaches into my purse to retrieve my phone. The screen turns on, bright and blinding me, but I still manage to find my Uber app. There appears to be a shortage of drivers, fuck.
“You need a ride home?” Josh asks.
Suddenly, he’s next to me again.
“Um, no, I’m good. There’s a driver—"