My Favorite Mistake

Kelly slid a peanut butter cup across my desk pulling my eyes away from the spreadsheet before me. ‘You would not believe what the custodian told me’ Kelly gushes. ‘Spill it’ I reply before taking my first bite into the chocolate and peanut buttery treat. Kelly slid her small frame into the plastic office chair beside my desk and leaned close. Kelly had developed a deep friendship with the sassy custodian who worked in our building. They had been swapping gossip and recipes long before I joined the organization. Both women had a knack for finding out information and honestly I was relieved to be counted in their good graces. ‘Mr Alton yelled at David from the Warehouse yesterday - it was a whole scene. Anyways, this morning right after María made Mr Alton coffee. Alton spent an hour in the bathroom & then left in a hurry! No one has seen him in hours! María must have added a little something something to his coffee again” ‘This is why I am happy to make my own’ I replied pointing to the coffee pot on my desk. This was not something the rest of my coworkers did but it saved me time and accidental bathroom issues when María was dealing revenge. ****** When I had first hired in it was María herself who told me not to mess with David in the warehouse. After one bad meeting I had retreated to the break room for a late morning cup of coffee. María walked in behind me and watched me add sugar & creamer to my cup. ‘I like you, you seem nice so far. You don’t want to drink that coffee. It’s a little late in the morning. Maybe have some after lunch.” She grabbed my cup and dumped it in the sink. “I made that pot special for Mr Alton. Don’t throw my David under the bus and I won’t make you coffee” she looked at me real hard with her brown eyes. María brushed her long brown hair off her shoulder and smiled at me. “I am sure David is a wonderful employee and that I will have no reason to discuss his performance with Mr Alton.” I stammered wondering what soap opera I had found myself in. “My David is a real good employee- he’s the best man in the building” María continued while adjusting her navy blue skirt. “Ummm hmm” I started to increase the distance between me and this fanatical assistant. “Don’t let me catch you around him either” “Woah, María - I am “ “Not interested. Good” and with that María poured a new cup of coffee and headed towards Alton’s office. That night I stopped at the store and bought my own coffee pot and supplies. I was determined to spend as little time around the intense woman as possible. ****** Mr Alton came back the next day with his own coffee pot & supplies. I smiled watching him enter the building with the bags of merchandise. He was tall, covered in freckles, balding, and refused to wear sunscreen. He marched past María’s desk without a hello. A tiny part of me was proud he finally decided to stand up to María in his own way. The rest of the day was the usual borefest of an office job. Kelly organized a ‘toss it back Thursday’ meet up for all the female employees which there happened to be a lot of. I didn’t know if Alton liked surrounding himself by big breasted women or if it was just a coincidence. Most of the workers in the office were female and chesty. Myself included. I pride myself on being ok with my body. Honestly I wasn’t a stick or anything. I was average and as long as my chest was bigger than my belly I didn’t care. I am average height, average weight, but above average when it came to T & A. To make up for that generosity my genes plagued me with extra grey hair & bad eyesight. I started getting grey hair in High school. So I started dying my hair in High school. Currently, my hair is a sandy blonde - my stylist decided to take an extra long maternity leave and it would be a few before she could get me back in. The bar Kelly choose was one of my favorite local dive bars. Freddie’s had six dart boards, some pool tables, and generous pours. Freddie’s patrons varied- some nights there were lots of older men who were not good prospects and some nights there were younger men who stumbled in from the nearby college. Tonight was one of the good nights. Many of my coworkers had joined a big crowded table with college aged men and were having a laugh. I was debating on sneaking out when I saw him. He was sitting in a back booth with a laptop and a tall mug of beer. He had black hair that was cut short on the sides but longer strands flopped in his face. It was a handsome face with stubble, like he just started growing a beard or forgot to shave for a few days. He had sparkling eyes that looked back at me and held me. I felt my cheeks start to redden. I had not seen him in Freddie’s before. I crossed the bar without even realizing it and slid in his booth across from him. “I thought you hated this place. Something about old memories” He cleared his throat before replying. “I wanted to save you phone call later” “You’re that confident I’m going to sleep with you” “Élaine whatever made you think sleeping was involved in what we’re doing tonight” I rolled my eyes “you assume too much Aaron.” “are you ready to leave?” “I’ve been here all of 20 minutes” “Yeah, well I got places to be” Aaron closed his laptop forcefully. “Then go. I didn’t ask you to be here” I grabbed my drink and swallowed. The ice had melted diluting the drink and making my fingertips wet. Aaron reached across the table and grabbed my hand gently. He turned it palm up and started to trace his finger lightly over my palm. The gentle sensation gave me shivers and I pressed my legs together and fought to not give a response. Aaron and I had been doing this off and on again thing for a year. If you could call ‘on’ our purely s*x meet ups. Yes, he would come over and we would go to various events together. He however always kept himself non-committed. At first I was fine with this arrangement. I was not looking for anything serious but last month I had brought up the idea of us really dating and he ghosted. This was the first time I had seen him since that conversation actually. “I’ve been thinking a lot about you Elaine. I think you could be the one who makes me change.” He pulled back his hand and moved to my side of the booth. He rested his muscular arm across my shoulders and pulled me closer. His other hand reached for my knee. Being enveloped in his arms, his body, his scent was intoxicating. I tilted my head down and towards his. He took the invitation and pressed his lips to mine. “Just what do you think you’re doing here dickwad” Kelly abruptly interrupted the best twenty seconds of my month.