The Five

It was finally lunch time. Felicity had been meeting up with Erik during her breaks for the past several months now. It had become the only part of her day that she looked forward to. Sure, she had a couple friends at the law firm, and she did enjoy going out for drinks afterward, but it wasn’t the same. Erik and her had bumped into each other, quite literally, three days in a row at the Thompson Center. Ultimately they had decided to meet up for lunch intentionally so they could stop knocking each other's food on the ground. They instantly connected and while she’d reserved that time to read beforehand she didn’t miss it one bit. Erik was tall, and you could tell from his eyes and the way he spoke he was older than he looked. Those eyes. They sometimes looked like a stormy sea, radiating dark blues and greenish teals. They could look like a lagoon, with sea greens, turquoise highlights, and almost white starbursts. They rarely broke eye contact when they had their break time chats except when she had to look at her food to grab another mouthful.  He was somewhere around six and a half feet, had almost jet black hair that fell in perfect, loose curls around his face. He always had a neat stubble  that showcased his square, chiseled jaw and kept his thick eyebrows perfectly manicured. His golden olive skin always had a warm, tanner glow to it and not a freckle to be seen, so it could be assumed he was somewhere from the Mediterranean since Chicago didn't get the most sun in the autumn and the lake water was too cold for laying on the beach this time of year. With that dark hair surrounding his bright eyes one was always sucked into them. Felicity was almost half a foot shorter than Erik. Not short for a woman but she did look it standing next to him. She had dark brown hair but it the summer she'd get golden highlights that had only just started to fade as the season changed. It was short with an undercut but she'd always let it grow out for the cold winter months ahead so it was just below her ears. Her yellow toned skin still had a glowing, yet subtle tan, but it would get very fair as the sun came up less and less. Her skin was speckled with dark beauty marks but none carefully placed, more like a splatter. She had a strange type of hazel eye that was heterochromatic. Yellow radiated out subtly from the center, turning to green, and ending with a cobalt blue rim. Her squarer face was small, but she had a prominent, roman nose. She was as unconventionally attractive as Erik was, well, conventional. Yes, he was intoxicatingly beautiful, and she was unique and stunning in her own way, but it was the ease with which they became friends and his intelligence that made Felicity enjoy his presence most. Erik too was content with their daily conversations. She had made a mental note of how handsome he was, how could you not, but was never the first thing on her mind when the thought of him. The same could not be said for anyone in their vicinity. Other women and men would openly gawk at the two of them, but she hardly noticed, and he may not have either. She never cared about what other people were doing, or noticed them looking at her and, regardless, they were too engrossed with one another to pay attention to their surroundings.   Today would be different though. They had begun talking about the case work Felicity had been assigned to, a rare topic to be sure but she truly empathized with the client, when her office manager strode over and interrupted. “Felicity! Hi, oh my god I didn’t expect you to be here”. Kelly did in all actuality. She’d noticed for weeks the attractive man Felicity had been meeting with and had every intention of flirting with him. She’d told the few people tied to her hip all about him and how ridiculous it was that a man like that would be interested in her. They’d all come to see the raved about man and never in their minds did they expect such an Adonis. “Oh is this your friend? I didn’t know you had any outside of the office” she faked a high pitch giggle. “Hi I’m Kelly I’m one of the managers at the firm”. To be fair, while Kelly did have ‘manager’  in her title, she was only in charge of keeping materials stocked, preparing accounting statements for the CPA, and doing whatever task the partners asked of her. She had no real authority. Still, Felicity didn’t care to stir the pot in any sense. Kelly was notorious for spreading gossip and making the day harder and honestly wasn’t worth putting in her place. “Yes Kelly and I have been working there about the same amount of time but she was promoted to office manager relatively quickly. I’m surprised to see you too, usually I see you eating at your desk” Felicity said with all kindness to hide the little jabs she’d hidden. Erik hadn’t even turned his head from Felicity. He could feel the tension and did not appreciate someone being so rude in the first moments of conversation. He knew Felicity preferred to get along with people and keep her thoughts to herself so he hadn’t heard about Kelly so he could tell this wasn’t the time to be bold. “Kelly. It’s interesting to meet one of Felicity’s work colleges. We don’t often talk about our jobs so this is a.. unique surprise”. With his ever so slight Scandinavian accent breaking through his speech, Kelly felt the need to double down on her efforts. “Well she doesn’t much care for the work so I’m not surprised” she hissed through her over the top smile, twirling her hair while leaning over the table towards Erik. “On the contrary, from how anxiously Felicity checks the clock to make sure she gets back on time I’d have to disagree”. If Erik had one thing, it was tact. Quickly needed to change the conversation back to herself, and remembering her minions standing behind her, Kelly had an idea. “Well since she doesn’t talk about work very often I’m sure you wouldn’t mind some of us sitting down with you? We can get you caught up on everything about the office and better get to know one another”. With that the other gossips began approaching. “My apologies but we’ll have to do it another time. Felicity and I were about to go to the River Walk and enjoy the fresh air. I’m sure you’re all hungry and since you only have an hour break I’ll leave you to it”. “Oh we can extend the break! As I said I’m a manager and the rules don’t really apply to me”. Erik was becoming tired with the obvious obsession with keeping them there. He only stepped out for his meetings with Felicity. He didn’t even need to be there but that first week he just felt like he needed to be and quickly found out why. There was something about this young woman, passionate about everything she did, that felt familiar and yet completely distinct. It felt like every time they met it was the first time meeting her and contrastingly like he’d know her for eternity. He’d not waste this precious hour listening to the harpies screech. “As I said we’d have to do it another time but thank you for the offer” “Would you like to get going” Erik, who’d only looked away from her for the few moments he’d addressed Kelly, asked Felicity. “Yes I am running short on my break time”. As she began to stand up Kelly couldn’t help but interject, “Erik why don’t you come out with us this Friday? Most of the office is going to Boss Bar and I’m sure Felicity would like to bring someone… For once”  He couldn’t handle the contempt this vile woman failed at disguising. Looking back at Felicity he said “Only if you’ll have me”. The smile Felicity gave to him, and only him, plucked at his heart strings. “Yes. Why wouldn't I with such a wonderful conversationalist you are” she shot back.  “It was lovely to bump into you and I’ll see you back at the office” she chirped while almost dashing off with Erik.