I thought we were solid when we were at my house last weekend, but as the week has gone by, Ellie has seemed more and more drained. I guess the good thing about fake dating your barista is that it’s not weird to see them every day, but now I’m worried that this might be too much for her.
Wes sits next to me scrolling through his phone, too oblivious to notice my minor freak out.
While I didn’t want to give him too much information, I did mention that Ellie, my girlfriend, was going to meet us at the bar. It was very out of character for him to not ask a bunch of questions, but he ended up just teasing me over the fact that I was interested in someone.
Wes and I have known each other for years, and in that time, I have never dated someone seriously enough to bring them around. So, it’s surprising that he wasn’t more curious.
The original plan didn’t include driving here with Wes, but he likes to take advantage of what the company is paying for—and his place is on my way home.
One of my favorite things about ERI is that they really show that they care about their employees. They do a lot of things like this: happy hours, catered lunches, free company merchandise. And, I’m more than happy to drink a free beer or two on the company dime; although, it has never been mandatory until now.
On top of that, work hasn’t been going very well this week, and Greg just continues to rub me the wrong way. I might be biased since I’ve seen how he treats women, but he is constantly getting on my nerves. His attempts at leadership are just trying to micromanage everyone and everything. He keeps asking to see documents and reports that I doubt he can understand and will be outdated in a couple of days, and when I ask him if he wants me to explain any of it, he brushes me off. It feels like he’s doing these things to show he’s in charge, but it’s not like everyone doesn’t already know what job position he's in.
It might be his first week in the office, but if he keeps this up, he is not going to last very long.
Since the Hidden Fox Tavern is where most of ERI’s happy hours are held, Wes and I know the layout of the place fairly well. The best seats in the house are the high tops in the back; we chose them so we can people watch throughout the night.
My coworkers spill in slowly and unsurprisingly get into their usual department cliques. A lot of people would see this as a bad thing, but since the company has expanded, we need more people to do multiple parts of the same job. It’s naturalfor people to gather with those that they work with every day, which is why Natalie and Tom stop by our table to chat and take up residence not too far away.
Scanning the area, I see Greg at the bar, setting up the company tab. It looks like he’s already begun to bother the bartender, and I just think about how unlucky it must feel to be a woman in Greg’s vicinity. Knowing what I do, if I see him do something out of line, I’ll say something. But, all he’s done so far is talk to the poor woman, and I can’t get upset about that.
My eyes feel like they're magnetized to the door looking for Ellie. She said she was in the parking lot a couple minutes ago, so it’s odd that she hasn’t made her way inside yet. It’s hard to be patient, knowing that she is so close.
When I turn back to the table, the waitress has already come by with our drinks. My Yuengling is cold and refreshing, and there is no doubt I am using it to suppress my nerves. It’s rare that I get nervous anymore, but there’s something about Ellie that makes my palms a little sweaty and my heart beat a little faster.
Maybe I’m just developing high blood pressure at the ripe age of twenty-eight. Yeah, that must be it.
I meticulously angle myself back to look at the door at the same time Ellie struts in, looking confident and put together, and she is absolutely stunning.
Her top is tight, showing off her curves, but she still looks comfortable in what she’s wearing with her jeans a bit loose and a flannel around her waist. She is dressed as the exact opposite to my stuffy work clothes. I did unbutton the top of my dress shirt before we got here, but it didn’t do too much to help. Ellie is thepicture of cool, and it makes me wonder how I got so lucky just to be seen with her.
Taking another sip of my beer, I attempt to prevent my mouth from drying up, but it seems impossible as she walks up to us.
“Wow, El. You look really nice.” A pink color flushes up her cheeks, and I just love how that happens every time I compliment her.
“Thank you.” A bright smile fills her face causing my heart to skip a beat. “I was planning on wearing a button down and dress pants, but I figured we shouldn’t match the first time I meet all of your coworkers.”
Both Wes and I let out a genuine laugh, and I stand up from my seat to greet her.
Ellie surprises me by pulling me into a hug, and it’s nice that she takes the lead on showing off our relationship. My arms wrap around her in a way that you would hug your friends or family since we are still new to the PDA. There’s nothing more I want to do than keep holding her. She smells sweet and fits so perfectly against me, and when we pull apart, I feel a surprising loss.
Grabbing the back of my chair, I gesture for her to sit. “Uh, you can have my seat. I prefer to stand anyway.”
She climbs up, shifts around to get comfortable, and gives me a cute smile with a note of sass. “And who said chivalry was dead?”
An obviously fake cough from Wes pulls my focus away, and it is clear by the look he’s giving me that he’s upset I haven’t introduced him yet. Just to fuck with him, I consider notintroducing him, but I realize that Ellie doesn’t know anyone. And, I want her to feel comfortable.
“Ellie, this is Wes, my coworker.” She gives a small smile as she reaches her hand out to shake his.
Wes holds Ellie’s hand and pulls her in threateningly, and it is already making me regret introducing him. “Actually, I’m his work wife. I would say that you have nothing to worry about, but that would be a lie.”
Not prepared for that comment, Ellie lets out a loud, boisterous laugh, and I try to hide my amusement. Ellie and Wes instantly hit it off, bonding over their similar sense of humor and love for bar food. When they agree to split some nachos, Wes offers to pay for it before I tell Ellie that there is a company tab. She gives Wes a death glare, which breaks them into another bout of laughter. She fits so seamlessly into our little group, which makes it hurt a little more when I remember it’s all fake.
Even with Ellie sitting on the stool, she is still a solid six inches shorter than me. As I lean in just to get a little bit closer to her, hints of coffee and something that I can’t quite place surround me. I find myself entranced as I try to get my thoughts together. My arm drapes on the back of her chair making sure not to touch her, but she is close enough that I can feel the warmth radiating off of her body.
When Ellie offers to go up to the bar to order the food, I interrupt their conversation. “How about this, I’ll go up and order your nachos and grab Ellie a drink, so she doesn’t die of thirst?”
“Ooo, sounds perfect. If they have any cider on draft, I’ll have that! Also, no tomatoes on the nachos,pleaseeeee.” Ellie’s drawn-out ‘please’ is utterly adorable.
