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Paula led the way out of the elevator when it landed in the lower level of the downtown office building, and I followed after her blindly, my eyes not focusing clearly on what was in front of me. We parted ways in the underground parking lot as she veered right to go to her Mercedes. “Don’t forget to text me your web guys’ details. I need all the help I can get!” she reminded me, waving from a few paces away.
“Will do!” I smiled brightly, snapping back to reality.
I got into my Honda CR-V and paused before turning over the engine to check my phone for any new emails. It was becoming a compulsion. One that I was acutely aware of but powerless to stop.
Nothing.
I tamped down my disappointment and tossed my phone onto the passenger seat.
To distract myself and make up for the fact that I’d left the office hours before I normally did, I spent the afternoon running errands and wandering around town, enjoying the warm, spring day. When I returned home, I was weighted down with a few shopping bags and stopped at my front door to set them down before fishing my keys from my purse.
As I was digging in the outside pocket of my purse, a familiar voice called over to me, “Holly? Hey! Long time, no see!”
I cringed and was instantly grateful that my long hair had fallen into my face so that Greg didn’t see my less than flattering reaction to his chipper greeting. I forced myself to plaster a smile on and turned toward his voice as he reached the door of his neighboring apartment. He was wearing his usual attire, a pair of slacks, a button-down shirt, and a black necktie. “Hi, Greg. How are you?” I asked, finally locating my keys. I pulled them free from my purse and inserted them into the deadbolt, keeping one hand on my doorknob, so there was no mistaking that I didn’t have time to chat.
He took a few steps in my direction and I braced myself. The last time we’d run into each other had been at the gym the morning I left for my vacation and he’d asked me out on a date. The whole situation had been incredibly awkward, and I wasn’t eager to repeat it. In fact, I’d changed my gym routine from morning to evening just to avoid it.
I should have known there was no way to escape him entirely. Not when his front door was ten feet away from mine.
“I’m really good. I’ve missed seeing you in the gym. At first, I thought maybe you were still on vacation, but I’ve seen your car in the lot, so…” he stopped himself, as though realizing how stalker-ish he was sounding. He smiled, trying to recover. “Anyway, it’s good to see you. How was your trip?”
I pushed the door open and smiled over my shoulder at him. “It was great, thanks for asking.” I reached for the handles of my bags, but Greg grabbed one before I could.
“Here, let me help you with this,” he offered, smiling down at me as he lifted the bag from the floor.
I kept my smile fixed in place and led the way into my apartment. I’d known Greg long enough to not feel threatened by him. He was a nice enough guy, but he also had that used car salesman vibe going that always made me a little leery. He tried too hard to get people to like him and it came across as fake. When I set down the bag, I’d been carrying onto the dining room table, I turned to reach for the one he was carrying, but he followed suit and set it beside the other.
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” He was still smiling at me as he pocketed his hands. “So, listen, I know it’s been a while, but just so you know, my offer is still open.”
“You’re offer?” I repeated, feigning confusion. The last thing I needed was for him to think I’d been sitting around pining over his offer to go out to dinner.
“To go out sometime,” he replied. “I’m free tonight.”
I nodded. “Right. I appreciate that, but I’m actually…seeing someone…”
His smile faltered and for a moment, I felt a sting of guilt at hurting his feelings. “Oh, right, well that’s great!” He bounced back quickly, flashing another smile, though it had a tinge of force to it, as he backed out of the dining room and started back to my front door.
I followed his exit. “I’m sorry, Greg.”
He held up his hands. “No, no. Don’t be. I’m happy for you, Holly. I just wish I hadn’t waited so long to work up the nerve to ask you out in the first place.”
“I’m flattered,” I said. He spared me from having to think of anything to add and went back into the hallway, disappearing into his own condo with an awkward wave.
