Engagement Party: Part One

I began helping my mom with setting up the house for the engagement party as soon as I got home. After a few hours, the rest of my family and Scott had arrived. We ordered in a bunch of Chinese food and sat outside stuffing our faces. It was really more of a meeting than a dinner. My mom wanted to go over everything that still needed to be done to prep for the party. Why did I agree to come home early for this thing? As soon as my brother asked to have it at the house, my mom has been super stressed.

Linda didn't come over until after dinner and she barely said hello to me as she passed Scott and I in the living room. She had this pout on her face and Sam seemed really on edge around her. I don't know if they had been like this before, but now that Theresa pointed it out, it seemed like a totally different relationship. Linda and Sam sat down at the kitchen table and while I couldn't see them from where Scott and I were sitting, I could hear them. They were making the favors and Linda was complaining.

"Annie told her she should just show up since we're not paying per plate. If she comes, I'm going to be really stressed out." I had no idea who Annie was or who the potential party crasher was, but I put my finger to my lips and mimed for Scott to be quiet. "Then, Larissa texted me and asked if I was going to have tents. Does she really think I would have a backyard engagement party and not have tents? This isn't some shitty barbecue."

My brother was just blindly agreeing with her. The things she was saying weren't really rubbing me the wrong way, but her entire attitude towards us was very bratty. My mom had made the house look awesome over the past couple of weeks and I don't think I've heard Linda thank my mom once. If it weren't for my sister's insight, I would just assume that I hadn't been around enough to see it. I was really beginning to wonder how this engagement party was going to go down.

"Wow," Scott whispered to me and that was all he had to say.

"Right?" I asked as I furrowed my eyebrows. "Promise if I'm ever that crazy, you'll put me in my place."

"Deal," Scott replied a little too quick. "Now, let's get you home to my bed."

A smile instantly formed on my face. "Yes, sir," I replied. Even though I felt bloated from the Chinese food and tired from my long day, there wasn't anything that would keep me from jumping this kid's bones.

I said goodbye to my parents and changed into my pajamas before heading out the door. I was so tired of packing and unpacking, that I threw my toothbrush in my purse and didn't bring another thing with me. We were only sleeping at Scott's house before heading back to my house in the morning to get ready.

The day of the engagement party, everything seemed to be set. Scott and I stopped for bagels before arriving at my house. When we walked inside, my parents and sister were sitting at the table talking and drinking coffee. My brother woke up a little while later and when my mom asked him to do a simple task, he made such a huge deal about it.

"Yeah, everyone else can just sit around and do nothing," he said and I swear, I practically gasped. I know I wasn't home, but my sister and parents had been working a lot to get the house ready.

As my brother stormed out into the backyard, my sister spoke up first. "Where's Linda anyway? She's the one putting all this stress on him and I bet she's not even going to come over and help!"

My parents remained quiet and I respected their choice not to engage in the gossip about their future daughter-in-law. My dad stood up and said he was going to talk to him.

Of course, just as my sister predicted, Linda showed up an hour before the party was scheduled to start. It wouldn't have bothered me too much if she didn't start immediately pointing out all the things she wanted changed.

Before I moved to California, I hadn't spent that much time with Linda. I don't know if she put up a good front or if I was just oblivious, but regardless, I was seeing a completely different side to her. I asked Scott if I was being crazy as we drove to get more ice.

"Uh," Scott began as he rubbed the back of his neck. "I do see it. She just doesn't seem like a very warm, happy person, you know? Some people just like to complain. I mean, life is good."

I smiled and laughed to myself. "Exactly," I began. "I really hope this is just stress from the party, but according to my sister, it's not."

Scott put his hand on my knee and told me not to worry about her. "Have a good time with your family today. I'm sure you guys won't even cross paths much today."

Scott was right. Once everyone started showing up, I was so busy catching up with my family and there were so many people there that I didn't even know. Whenever I saw Linda, she was entertaining somebody new. Everything turned out to be really nice.

One thing I love about Scott is that I don't have to watch over him in these situations. He gets along with everyone and I don't have to worry that he'll be awkward when left alone. After helping my mom with something, I came outside to catch him playing a game with my cousin's daughters. My heart melted.

At that moment, I wanted nothing more than to be with him.

Visiting Scott

I intertwined my fingers with Scott's as we walked away from his office. I could almost feel Melissa's eyes burning into my back. Scott and I talked every night on the phone. How did Melissa not come up once in conversation?

Once we stopped in the elevator, Scott turned me to face him and kissed me. He cupped my face in his hands and drew the kiss out for a few floors. That was the kind of welcome I was expecting in his office.

The only way to make a long distance relationship work is to trust your partner. That's the number one variable that I always read and hear about when it comes to making a relationship where you spend most of your time in a different state than your partner. So I made a conscious decision not to ask about Melissa. I was actually able to put her out of my mind and remind myself that we only had a few days together. Besides, it's not like I thought Scott didn't have any pretty girls in his office. They were around while I lived in New York, too.

"I've really missed you," I said with a smile as Scott pulled away from our kiss. "Did I surprise you?"

Scott slid his arm around my waist as the elevator doors opened and we walked out. "Yeah, when was your flight?"

"Yesterday," I responded.

Scott laughed. "That makes sense. I was actually kind of concerned when you weren't texting me very much."

I rested my head in the nook of his shoulder. "I can be sneaky," I began. "But it was so hard! I wanted to see you as soon as I got off the plane! It was late, though."

My sister was down the block finishing up her coffee. She greeted Scott with a hug and then we tried to figure out a place to eat. We quickly decided on a salad place that was around the corner. We sat at a counter facing the window and started discussing my brother's engagement party.

"Mom's obviously been nuts," my sister said with an eye roll.

"Well, she has a right to be," I interjected. My brother nicely asked if they could hold the engagement party in our backyard. We have a nice sized backyard and since they were having it in the summer, it was a good idea. However, hosting almost 100 people, many of whom you don't know, in your backyard can be stressful. "I'm sure she just has a long list of things to get done, but we're going to help her when we get back."

My sister silently nodded and didn't say anything else, but I could tell she was holding something back. I tried to ignore it until we got back on the train. Maybe she didn't want to discuss it in front of Scott. "What time do you think you can come by?" I asked him as I placed my hand on his knee. I was trying to keep the PDA in check while with my sister, but I couldn't help it! I hadn't seen my man in three weeks.

"I can come as early as you want," he said as he wiped his mouth with a napkin. "I was hoping you'd sleep over tonight, but we can head to your house as soon as we wake up."

"Sounds good!" I said as I tried to control the wild thoughts I was already having about being in his bed. "Theresa, is mom making something good for dinner tonight?"

Theresa laughed. "I don't know," she casually replied. "We're probably going to order in."

We talked for a few minutes longer as we finished our lunches. As we walked Scott back to his office, I didn't want to leave his side again. How can I be without him for three weeks but then have such a hard time not seeing him for a few hours?

As Theresa and I walked to the train station, I asked her if anything else was on her mind. She didn't hesitate before speaking her mind.

"Linda is being crazy," she blurted out. Linda, my brother's fiancée, had always seemed pretty sweet, but I honestly didn't know her that well.

"What do you mean?" I curiously asked.

"Ever since they got engaged, all she does is yell at Sam. Plus, Sam's being an asshole to mom and dad. Like, he always talked about how her family had plenty of money saved to pay for the wedding, but now he's putting all this pressure on mom and dad to shell out all this cash. He knows they don't have that kind of money. I mean, they're paying for this whole engagement party but he's expecting a lot  more and I think it's because she's putting all these ideas in his head."

"Wow," I responded after I took in everything she was saying. I honestly hadn't talked to Sam much since I moved to California, but everything she was saying about how he acted prior to the engagement was spot on. Growing up, my siblings and I had everything we wanted. Our parents encouraged us to do after school activities and were always emotionally there for us. I feel like we had an awesome childhood, but we didn't have a ton of money. This became evident when we got older and the question of paying for college came up. To make a long story short, we all paid our own college tuition, whether it was through loans, scholarships, or working. Money for a wedding? I have always understood that it's going to be limited. My brother and I had even discussed it. Plus, Theresa was completely right about Sam. He basically bragged about how much money Linda's parents had toward her wedding. I think his exact words were, "I'm not going to have to pay a dime."

"I'll keep that in mind," I said to Theresa. Was Linda going to be a terrible sister-in-law?

First Trip Home

"Don't you want to get home to your old bed? To see Mom and Dad? To see Sam?" My sister was asking me all these questions as we drove home from the airport because I asked if we could stop at my favorite smoothie place.

"I just want to grab a peanut butter smoothie before they close," I said with as I closed my eyes and pinched the bridge of my nose. I have a headache from the annoying couple sitting behind me on the flight."

My sister, Theresa, laughed and agreed to bring me to get a smoothie. After our quick stop, I was finally home. It was close to midnight on Thursday. I hadn't been home in five weeks and I was so excited to see my family. My parents were still up when I walked through the door. I hugged them both for a long time before retreating to the backyard where we talked for over an hour. It was great to catch up with them on such a beautiful, August night

I originally planned to fly home Friday morning, but Pete helped me work it out so that I could take a half day on Thursday. By staying late for a few days, I was able to have a long weekend home without even having to use any vacation days. I didn't even fly back until Monday night! Pete is really turning out to be an awesome boss.

Even though Scott and I originally planned to see each other every other weekend, I ended up waiting the extra week to come home for my brother's engagement party. Sam and Linda, his fiancée, had set the date for their wedding also, but it wasn't for another two years.

After catching up with my parents, I almost instantly fell asleep once I was in bed. I hadn't talked to Scott much on Thursday, but he still thought I was flying in on Friday. My sister and I were going into Manhattan on Friday so I wanted to surprise him for lunch!

I woke up Friday morning and got ready for the train. I threw on a pair of black jeans and borrowed this floral tank top from my sister to go with it.

My sister was taking a summer class at her college and had to visit the Museum of Modern Art. The plan was to go there, then surprise Scott for lunch, and maybe squeeze in some shopping.

After about an hour at the MoMa, we made our way to Scott's office. I had texted him around 11 in the morning, claiming to be on my way to work since that was 8 California time. I asked him what his plans for the day were and he told me he was going to work through lunch so he could leave early to pick me up from the airport. I started to feel kind of bad that I was messing up his plans, since I really like to have set plans whenever I do anything, but I figured he'd be happy once I showed up at noon for an impromptu lunch.

I tried calling Scott but he didn't answer. Then, I texted him asking him if he was busy. I still didn't get an answer. I finally decided to just meet him in his office. Maybe my plan was going to backfire. If he was too busy for lunch, though, I'd just go with my sister and meet him at my house later. He knew we were having dinner with my family and now that he wasn't picking me up from the airport, I was hoping to have some alone time before our meal.

My sister wanted to grab an iced coffee, so I went up to his office on my own. Since I was in such a casual outfit, I definitely stuck out. Oh, well.

I felt like I stuck out even more once I arrived in the doorway of Scott's office. I expected to see him hunched over a computer screen, unable to take his eyes off the screen. This turned out to be somewhat correct. However, he wasn't hunched over. He was leisurely leaning back. There was also a tiny blonde girl sitting on his desk with her back to me. She wasn't saying anything, but her giggling went through me like a cold winter wind.

"Caroline!" Scott exclaimed and it sounded like an excited exclamation and not an "oh, shit," exclamation. I think.

"Hey, babe," I enthusiastically greeted, giving the best possible smile to his blonde friend who was now blankly looking at me. "Guess who's home early!"

He immediately stood up and walked over to me. He wrapped me in a huge hug, lifting me off the ground in the process and swinging me around. I lost a visual on the girl, but before he twirled me, she had turned back around. I know this is mean, but I was hoping now she felt uncomfortable.

Once he put me down, he flattened his purple tie down and caught his breathe before realizing the situation.

"Oh, Caroline," he began. "This is Melissa. She's been interning her for a couple weeks."

Cool. Scott never mentioned that there were interns working over the summer, especially not pretty ones. I gave Melissa a quick smile and told her it was nice to meet her. She smiled back at me with the same fake enthusiasm and waved her dainty little hand, her Alex and Ani bracelets rattling against each other.

"Can I steal you away for lunch?" I asked, turning away from Melissa and pretending she wasn't there.

"Um," Scott began as he looked back at his desk and pressed his lips together. I was about to yell at him for even pausing when he finally responded. "Sure, I can finish up what I have left for the day when I get back."

I gave him a quick kiss on the lips before turning and waving to Melissa.

Lunch with Pete

It felt weird walking side by side with Pete outside of the office. I had worn flats that day, because of the mental exhaustion I experienced from having to say goodbye to Scott, so Pete was easily towering over me by at least 6 inches. I clutched the strap of my tote with both hands as I tried to keep up with his long strides.

The burger place Pete wanted to go to was about two blocks from our office and while I had passed it before, it never caught my interest enough to go in. It kind of looked run down and I never thought Pete would eat at a place like this. When I imagined him dining out, he was being served $300 bottles of wine and surrounded by blonde models.

Pete held the door open for me, which felt strangely intimate. I awkwardly smiled before stepping in. Then, I waited for him to lead me to a booth by the window.

A young, chubby brunette walked over to take our order, but Pete didn't even have to say anything before she asked if we wanted the, "Monday Special Burgers." Pete nodded and I followed his lead before she walked away.

"Does everyone pretty much get this amazing burger you speak of?" I asked with a smile. I don't know if it was the laid back feeling of this particular restaurant or if it was the time I had now put in with Pete, but I was finally beginning to feel comfortable around him.

"I come here at least a couple Mondays a month," Pete said while glaring out the window. "Sometimes, you just need a cure for 'the Mondays,' you know?"

I giggled and nodded. Who would imagine that someone as handsome as Pete ever felt gloomy?

We received our waters and Pete wasted no time before diving in to work related talk. I was surprised by how much information he was throwing at me. I mean, I knew most of it, since it was information about my performance, but I was surprised at how on top of it Pete was. He definitely gives off the impression at work that he's a laid back manager and it always made me feel like he didn't actually know what was going on. I was wrong. He sounded so smart as he went over the information with me.

Once he was done rambling on, he pulled a small cloth notebook out of his pocket and clicked a pen in his right hand. "So," he began. "What do you attribute your success to? How are you connecting to the customer base so well? Do you have any tips on how we can improve the service so far?"

My heartbeat sped up a bit. I know this lunch was because I was doing well, but I felt very on the spot. I didn't have a list prepared of reasons why I was doing well.

I pushed a piece of hair before my ear before I opened my mouth and just spoke what was on my mind. Whatever I was doing was obviously working, right? So I just talked about trying to really connecting to the customers I talked to, even if that meant telling them that this particular service might not be completely right for them. "I'm not good at doing hard sells, but I do want to help people find happiness. I feel like this service is good enough for me to just tell it how it is."

Pete seemed happy with that answer. We went back and forth for a while about basically everything that I had taken from the job the past couple weeks. I was beginning to feel a lot better than I had that morning. Lunch with Pete was reminding me of exactly why I moved to California, even though I missed my life back in New York.

Our burgers came and I was especially careful not to get anything on my white blouse. It tasted interesting to say the least, but it was definitely good.

"I can see why this cures your 'Mondays,'" I said after my first bite.

"Right?" Pete said and I swear his eyes actually got bigger. "I'm glad we got to get lunch, today." He picked up his burger and got ready to take another bite. "I like to really get to know my employees."

"Thanks for inviting me," I responded as he took another bite. "I'm looking forward to my future with the company. I had no idea I was doing so well."

Pete nodded while finishing his bite. "Yeah, my bosses are impressed. I had a feeling you'd be a star, though."

I smiled and continued eating my burger. I figured the faster I ate, the less time we'd have to make awkward small talk, now that the work portion of the conversation seemed to be over.

"So, do you miss New York?" Pete asked. I guess I wasn't going to finish fast enough.

I shrugged. "Yeah," I honestly answered in between bites. "It's a weird feeling. I grew up on Long Island and until now, I never lived anywhere else. It's an adjustment, but so far, I'm happy."

"You said your boyfriend was in town," Pete continued. "I'm guessing he's from home?"

I nodded. "I started dating him around Thanksgiving."

"Wow," Pete replied as his eyebrows went up. "So that's a relatively new relationship. How's long distance going?"

Way to kick me while I'm down, Pete. "It's rough," I said as I uncomfortably giggled. "But, you know, we're making it work."

 "Well, it's tough," Pete replied. "But good for you."

The way Pete said, "but good for you," really rubbed me the wrong way. It was so condescending. "Thanks," I began. "For me, it's worth it. I know it will be difficult, though."

We finished up lunch and made our way back to the office. Despite Pete's one rude comment, I felt good about getting to know him better.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Burger

"Me?" I asked with a finger to my chest. It was a pretty stupid question considering he addressed me by name but it was unfortunately my reflex reaction.

He put his hands in his pant pockets and laughed. "Unless there's another Caroline in the office who has the best work performance so far, yes, you."

I blushed and pressed my lips together. I wasn't completely opposed to going to lunch, but the question totally caught me off guard. Plus, I wasn't mentally prepared for an awkward lunch with Pete.

"It's just, I brought a sandwich so, um, maybe I can take a rain check?" It was a lame excuse, but the truth, and it would totally buy me 24 hours.

He laughed again. I don't know what is so entertaining about my discomfort, but Pete definitely spends half of our face to face time laughing at me.

"It's not in your job description that you have to accept lunch invites from your awesome boss," Pete began with a smile. "But I'm only asking because you're doing so well. We just launched this service and not only are you getting rave reviews from our customers, but the the number of customers you've spoken to that have preordered the service is higher than anyone else. Needless to say, for the youngest one on the team right now, you are making quite the splash."

I modestly smiled at Pete but inside my head, I was doing cartwheels and pumping my fists in the air. "That many customers signed up?"

"Yes, ma'am," Pete replied as he displayed his purely white teeth in a smile. "Now, I have a company credit card and I'm instructed to take exemplary employees to lunch. It's especially encouraged when we launch a new service so we can learn what's working and not working. So, to be honest, we're supposed to spin this as a motivational reward, but in actuality, you're working through lunch." Pete smiled and looked out at the view that we have from the conference room. "We don't have to go, but there is a burger place that serves a peanut butter and jelly burger on Mondays and I'm kind of craving it." He lifted up his wrist and looked down at his watch. "I'm going to leave in about ten minutes. Let me know if you would like to join me." With that, Pete nodded at me and slowly walked out of the conference room towards his office.

I felt pretty silly after Pete walked away. Why couldn't I graciously accept his lunch invite and not act like a weirdo? I also couldn't deny that the peanut butter and jelly burger intrigued me.

I took a deep breathe and followed the path Pete had just taken to his office. "Hey," I said as I gripped the door frame with one hand and leaned off of it. "My sandwich will be great for dinner tonight. I'm ready for lunch whenever you are!"

Time for a professional lunch!

*Writer's Note* Sorry for the short post, today! Things are super hectic with me right now, but I promise you'll get to read about "the lunch" on Friday! Forgive me. Love you all :-*

First Weekend Down

Scott and I spent the rest of his visit together. It was so nice to get home from work and have the next 48 hours with the man I love, especially after my intimidating boss told me I was doing well. That was a call for celebration!

Scott and I sat at the bar at this cool taco place that he picked out. He tried to be a perfect gentleman and let me pick the place, but I insisted he pick since he was visiting. I tried to limit myself to two tacos, since I want West Coast Caroline to be super fit and healthy, but as the drinks kept coming, so did the food.

"Would you like to try some spicy strawberries?" The bartender asked me.

Scott was in the bathroom, so I shrugged and said sure. My curiosity was caught. I watched as he scooped them out of a pitcher and placed them into a bowl. They were heavy from being soaked in a mystery liquid and their color was very dark.

Before I tried one, I waited for Scott to come back. He seemed confused by why I would even want to try them.

"It's something new," I casually replied as I lifted one out of the bowl. At the exact moment that I placed a strawberry in my mouth, I regretted my decision. As my face twisted in what I assume was a very unattractive expression, Scott and the bartender both burst out laughing.

I forced myself to swallow it, even though it was one of the grossest things I'd ever tasted. Not only was it drenched in a mixture of alcohol, but it tasted like a jalapeño. I do not recommend ever trying this.

"Why would you give us those?" I lightheartedly asked the bartender.

He shrugged. "Some people like 'em. You going to try one, buddy?"

I looked over at Scott, who pushed the bowl toward the bartender. "No, thanks," he said before putting his arm around my waist and simultaneously pulling my stool closer to his. I love when he pulls me closer to him in front of other guys!

The rest of our weekend was filled with a lot of walking around and exploring Santa Monica. I had checked a lot out on my own, but it was a million times more enjoyable doing it with Scott. Plus, we scheduled plenty of stops back to my apartment for play time, so that kept us both happy, if not a little more exhausted.

It was a perfect visit. I wouldn't have changed anything, except for the fact that he had to get back on a plane Sunday night.

I sat with him in my apartment while he got his stuff together. I felt silly for wanting to cry. This is what I signed up for, isn't it? And we just had an amazing weekend. There was no reason for tears! Emotions obviously don't work that way, though.

As we took an Uber to the airport together, I could tell he was just as down as I was. I made him talk to me about work, hoping to distract us both.

It worked for a little while, before he let out a heavy sigh and said, "well, this part sucks."

I rested my head on his shoulder. "You read my mind," I replied. "Maybe it'll start to suck less?"

"Maybe," Scott replied, but he didn't sound as optimistic as I was. "I guess we'll just take it a day at a time."

"Yeah," I replied with my head still on his shoulder. I paused for a second before adding, "I love you so much, Scott."

He took his hand, placed it on my chin, and guided my face to his before planting a sweet, light kiss on my lips. "I love you, too, Caroline."

I smiled as I felt my eyes well with tears. I prevented myself from actually crying by shifting the tone of the conversation. "I'll see you in a couple weeks at my brother's engagement party, though. Right?"

He smiled and nodded. "I wouldn't miss it."

We were at the airport a few minutes later and Scott insisted that I let him continue on his own. "We can't have a huge emotional send off every time we visit each other."

I laughed. "You're right. Just call me when you land, okay?"

Scott agreed before giving me a kiss goodbye. Then, he was off. I softly cried on the ride back to my apartment. I'm sure the driver was judging me.

The next day at work was definitely hard. I miss Scott, of course, but it was more that I felt deflated. Our long distance relationship was a marathon, not a sprint, with no end in sight. How long would I be able to sustain only seeing him a couple of days every couple of weeks if it was already getting hard?

Then I remembered what Scott said; 

"we'll just take it a day at a time." Everything would be fine.

We had a meeting at 11 so I didn't feel compelled to do too much work before that.

I walked into the conference room a few minutes before 11 and settled in a seat next to Shelby.

"Hey," she whispered to me. "How are you doing today?" 

"Eh," I honestly answered. She knew that Scott had visited me over the weekend and that he went back the night before.

Our conversation was cut short by Pete walking into the room and starting. For most of the meeting, I was half listening to Pete and taking notes, but toward the end of the meeting, Pete suddenly said my name.

"Caroline," he began as he looked toward me. "I'd like to highlight her hard work. She has the highest customer reviews and performance reports so far. Great job." Then, he winked.

People clapped and then Pete concluded the meeting. As everyone shuffled out, Pete approached me.

"Caroline, can I take you to lunch?"

Caprese Sandwich

As the elevator doors closed, I was still wondering about Pete's weird comment. He could tell there was a guy? Had he been eavesdropping on me? Even if he had, I don't think I ever mentioned Scott in the office. Shelby asked me if I was single in what I like to call the 'getting to know you' period of our first couple lunches together.

The realization that I hadn't mentioned Scott to my very attractive new boss made me feel terrible for a moment. If Scott had a hot female boss, I would sure as Hell want her to know about me. By the time I reached the lobby, I was done with feeling bad, though. I was just about done with my first two weeks at this job and there really wasn't a whole lot of personal sharing going on in our few meetings. Everything was work related so it made sense for me not to mention Scott.

Besides, for whatever reason, Pete seemed to know about Scott now. As I rode the bus to my apartment, where I knew Scott was waiting, work was no longer on my mind.

When I opened the door, I saw Scott standing against my air conditioning unit with his shirt off.

"Look at my genius boyfriend," I teased. His entire back was red. "Did you think your Italian skin would protect you from Santa Monica's wrath?"

Scott let out a heavy sigh before he began to protest. "I was only on the beach for a few hours!"

I laughed. "Well, that sucks."

I ignored the sandwiches I saw sitting on my kitchen counter and walked straight toward Scott. Within seconds, I was kissing him with the same intensity as I had the night before. It didn't matter that I'd seen him a few hours before, because I still  felt a sense of urgency. I only had a couple of days before he had to fly back across the country.

We made our way to the bed within breaking our make out session. I guided him to sit on the edge of the bed as I positioned my legs over his lap.

"I've been thinking about this all day," I said as I slowly pulled up the bottom of my pencil skirt. As I lowered myself onto him, I could feel his excitement.

I began kissing him again and, without thinking, I gripped my hands into his back.

"Ow," he suddenly yelped, interrupting our kissing.

As I peered down at his pained facial expression, I had to suppress my urge to giggle. "Sorry," I innocently replied. "I forgot. I'll be gentle."

After doing my best not to irritate his sunburn while still doing all the things I wanted to do to him, I forced myself off the bed to grab our sandwiches before settling next to him.

"Yum," I immediately said after unwrapping my sandwich. "How did you know I was totally in the mood for caprese."

Scott laughed. "Well, I knew you'd have enough meat before we even got to the sandwiches." He winked at me before turning his attention back to his BLT.

After a few bites, he asked me how much time I had. "My boss told me not to rush," I casually replied.

"Oh? Why's that?" Scott asked.

I shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe Friday has put him in a good mood." I changed the subject by asking Scott what he had done all day.

"Well," he began. "As you can probably guess, I spent a few hours at the beach. I figured we could do most of the real activities over the weekend while we're together."

"Yay!" I enthusiastically replied. "I can't wait." I gave him a quick kiss and had to suppress the urge to jump his bones again. Even though Pete had told me to take two hours, I figured it'd be safer to head back before that. So, I just cuddled up next to Scott and we talked for a bit more. Then, he took the bus with me back to work before heading off on his own again.

I walked into work and immediately went to my cubicle to continue working. My goal was to avoid Pete for the rest of the day so that there wasn't any more awkwardness. I stayed busy working and he didn't seem to be out of his office much, so I felt victory within my reach.

However, my bladder unfortunately interfered. After a 4:30 trip to the bathroom that just couldn't wait, I crossed paths with Pete.

"Hello," I said with a smile. Even though Pete is nice enough, I still feel intimidated by him and I felt particularly awkward around him that day. I tried my best to play it cool.

"Good afternoon," Pete replied, stopping in front of me. Well, I guess I wasn't going to just continue to my desk as planned.

"Um," I began, trying to fill the growing silence. "Thank you for the extra time during lunch. That was really nice of you."

"I was right, wasn't I?" Pete asked with his arrogant smile. I was unfortunately growing too familiar of that expression.

"Well, my boyfriend is in town." I smiled and tried to focus on maintaining good posture. Why did I have such a hard time talking to Pete like he was a normal person? Just because he is my supervisor and extremely attractive doesn't mean I need to lose my shit around him.

Pete's eyebrows went up. "Ah, so I was on the right path," he replied with a quick laugh. "Listen, I'm sorry if I made you uncomfortable this morning. I didn't mean to pry into your personal life. But I did want to let you know, you've been doing an amazing job. I'm really happy to have you here."

I felt a sense of relief. I was so glad Pete ended on that. What a great way to end your first two weeks at a new job!