CHAPTER 3: UNSPOKEN LINES
1620 Words
Amariah
The place was already half full when I got there.
Soft music played in the background, low enough not to interrupt conversations. Glasses clinked here and there, quiet laughter rising from different tables. It was warm, calm, the kind of place people came to unwind after a long day.
James was already seated.
He sat near the window, one arm resting on the table, his attention on his phone. He looked up the moment I stepped in, like he had been waiting for that exact second.
His face softened when he saw me.
There it was again.
That familiar feeling.
Safe.
I walked over, trying to shake off the weight that had followed me since morning.
“You’re late,” he said, but there was no real annoyance in his voice.
“Traffic,” I replied, dropping into the seat across from him.
He studied me for a second longer than usual. “You look tired.”
“Work really stressed me.”
“I can tell.”
A waitress approached, smiling politely as she handed us menus. “Good evening. Can I get you something to drink first?”
“Just water for now,” James said.
I nodded. “Same.”
She left, and for a moment, neither of us spoke.
I opened the menu, but the words blurred almost immediately. My mind wasn’t there.
It hadn’t been there all day.
“You’re doing it again,” James said.
I looked up. “Doing what?”
“That thing where you pretend you’re okay.”
“I am okay.”
He gave me a look. Not harsh. Just knowing. “Amariah.”
I exhaled slowly, closing the menu. “It’s work.”
His expression changed slightly. “Your boss?”
I nodded.
He leaned back in his chair, watching me closely now. “What happened?”
I hesitated.
Not because I didn’t want to tell him.
But because I didn’t even know how to explain it without it sounding… strange.
“He called me into his office this morning,” I said.
“And?”
I shrugged lightly, trying to make it sound simple. “I don’t know. It just felt off.”
James didn’t respond immediately. He just waited.
“He wasn’t talking about work,” I continued. “At least not really. It started like that, but… it changed.”
“How?”
I paused, searching for the right words. “I think he’s into me.”
The words hung there between us.
James went still.
“What makes you say that?” he asked, his voice quieter now.
I let out a small breath. “The way he talks. The way he looks at me. It’s not normal.”
“How does he look at you?”
I almost answered immediately.
But then I remembered.
That look.
The way it made me feel seen in a way I didn’t expect.
I looked down instead. “Like he’s trying to figure me out.”
“That’s not an answer.”
I frowned slightly. “I don’t know how to explain it.”
“Try.”
I shook my head lightly. “He stood too close. Said things that didn’t sound like something a boss should say. It just… didn’t feel right.”
James leaned forward a little now, his gaze sharper. “Did he touch you?”
“No.”
That came out quickly.
Too quickly.
His eyes narrowed slightly. “But he tried to get close.”
I didn’t answer immediately.
That was enough.
James let out a quiet breath, leaning back again, but the tension in his jaw didn’t leave.
The waitress returned with our drinks, setting them down gently. “Have you decided what you’d like?”
James didn’t even look at the menu. “Give us a few minutes.”
“Of course,” she said, smiling before walking away.
The moment she left, the silence between us shifted.
“He’s your boss,” James said, his voice controlled but tighter now. “That’s already a problem.”
“I know.”
“So why does it sound like you’re not taking it seriously?”
I blinked slightly. “I am.”
“Are you?”
His tone wasn’t loud.
But it wasn’t soft either.
I sat back, frowning. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re sitting here telling me some man at your workplace is looking at you like that, getting close to you, and you’re explaining it like you’re not sure what it is.”
“Because I’m not,” I said, a little defensive now. “It’s not like he said anything directly.”
James let out a short, humorless breath. “He doesn’t need to say it directly.”
I went quiet.
Because part of me knew that.
“He’s testing boundaries,” James continued. “That’s what that is.”
“Or maybe I’m just overthinking it,” I said.
The moment the words left my mouth, I knew they sounded weak.
James leaned forward again, his eyes locked on mine. “Are you?”
I held his gaze for a second.
Then looked away.
“I don’t know,” I admitted.
That seemed to hit something in him.
He ran a hand through his hair, frustration slipping through now. “You’re not even denying it properly, that’s the problem.”
“It’s just work, James.”
“No,” he said firmly. “It stopped being just work the moment he started acting like that.”
I swallowed slightly.
“You said he stood close to you,” he added. “Close enough for you to notice. That’s not nothing.”
I didn’t respond.
Because I remembered it too clearly.
“And the fact that you’re sitting here unsure…” he continued, his voice lower now, “that’s what I don’t like.”
I looked back at him. “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m saying be careful,” he said.
There it was again.
But this time, it didn’t sound like advice.
It sounded like a warning.
“I am being careful,” I said.
“Then don’t let it get further than this.”
Further.
The word settled in my chest.
I nodded slowly. “I’m not letting it get there.”
But even as I said it, I wasn’t sure why my mind drifted again.
Back to that office.
Back to the way Jason looked at me when I said his name.
I picked up my glass quickly, taking a sip just to distract myself.
James was still watching me.
“You like him?” he asked suddenly.
The question hit me off guard.
“What? No.”
“Then why do you keep going quiet every time we talk about him?”
“I’m not going quiet.”
“You are.”
I opened my mouth to argue.
Then stopped.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
“I’m just trying to understand what happened,” I said instead.
James held my gaze for a long moment.
Then leaned back again, but this time, the distance felt different.
Less relaxed and more guarded.
“Just don’t let him cross that line again,” he said.
“I won’t, I promise.”
The waitress came back to take our order, and this time we actually picked something.
The conversation shifted after that.
Lighter topics.
Work stories.
Random jokes.
And for a while, it almost felt normal again.
Almost.
James reached for my hand at some point, his fingers wrapping around mine.
Warm. Familiar. Easy.
I held his hand back.
But for a split second…
My mind betrayed me.
And I hated that it did.
James
She thinks I didn’t notice.
I noticed everything.
The hesitation.
The way she avoided certain words. The way she kept saying she didn’t understand.... but her eyes said otherwise.
I walked her to her door in silence.
Not uncomfortable.
Just… heavy.
“Text me when you get inside,” I said.
“I will.”
She turned to me, stepping closer, wrapping her arms around me.
I held her.
Tighter than usual, gave her a light kiss on her temple.
For a second, I didn’t want to let go.
Because something about tonight didn’t sit right with me.
“Goodnight,” she said softly.
“Goodnight.”
I waited until she went inside before turning away.
The moment I was alone, my expression dropped.
My jaw tightened hard.
“I think he’s into me.”
Her voice echoed in my head.
I let out a slow breath, trying to keep my thoughts in check.
But it wasn’t working.
Some man at her workplace.
Her boss.
Looking at her like that.
Getting close to her.
And she’s sitting there telling me she’s not sure what it means.
I laughed under my breath, but there was no humor in it.
Of course I know what it means.
I stopped walking, running a hand over my face.
He knows exactly what he’s doing. Men like that don’t move without intention.
And the part that bothered me the most…
Wasn’t even him.
It was her.
The way she went quiet. The way she didn’t shut it down completely.
The way she looked… unsure.
That’s how it starts.
I clenched my jaw.
No.
I’m not going to stand there and watch some guy play games with her.
I started walking again, slower this time.
If he crosses that line again… My hands curled slightly at my sides.
I don’t care who he is.
Boss or not.
I’m not letting that slide.
“If he thinks I’ll just stand back and watch…
he doesn’t know me yet.”
- Writer
