The Attention Span of a Dolphin

“Can you put that down, please?” I asked Pete as I continued typing on my laptop.

“It helps me focus,” Pete replied as he took his fidget spinner and attempted to balance it on his nose. He obviously failed that task.

“Aren’t those made for kids with ADHD?” I asked as I looked up from my computer and gave him a pointed look. This conversation was a few months ago and fidget spinners had just started to become a craze. Pete was the first, and only, person I knew who had actually went out and bought one.

“What’s your point? You know I have the attention span of a dolphin.” Pete began attempting more tricks with it as he spoke to me.

“Do you even know if dolphins have short attention spans? The attention span of a goldfish is probably a more accurate comparison,” I replied. I wasn’t actually annoyed with him, but this was our normal, brother and sister type banter.

“Someone’s gotten real snippy since she started getting laid on the regular,” Pete responded as he tried to spin his toy up in the air and catch it. I laughed at another failed attempt.

The laugh only slightly diffused my embarrassment at Pete’s comment. We were close, but not ‘talking about our sex lives’ close. I hadn’t even told him Pete that Tom and I had started regularly seeing each other and yes, sleeping together, but he quickly picked up on my improved mood and perhaps a more luminous complexion.

“Like I wouldn’t have made fun of you for a fidget spinner any other time that I worked here,” I responded as I sat up a little straighter.

“You would’ve never said it to me when you first started. You have acquired quite a good deal of sass.”

I rolled my eyes. “I’ve always been this sassy, but I didn’t want to get fired. Now, I know you’d never fire me. I mean, who would do all your work for you while you spin a toy?”

Pete abruptly stopped his spinner, dramatically whipped his head towards me, and stared at me in silence for a moment before speaking. “Fair.”

We both laughed before he let out a sigh and began opening up his own work. He typed out a few things before speaking to me again. “Hey, don’t forget to dress nice tomorrow.”

I leaned back and shot him a mock offended look. “Are you saying I don’t look good today?”

Pete raised his eyebrows and sarcastically replied, “Sometimes, you’re a real slob, Caroline.”

On that particular day, it was true that I was wearing a more casual outfit, with a tank top over black leggings and sandals, but Pete had told me several times over the past few weeks that some big wigs were coming in to the office the next day. Even Mr. Larson was on edge over them. We had to make sure everything was perfect for their arrival and that included a completely professionally dressed staff.

Tom and I weren’t hanging out that night because I wanted to make sure to get plenty of sleep before this huge day, but otherwise, things had been going great. As Pete figured out, we had begun seeing each other about twice a week and texting each other even more than before. I felt like we were in constant contact and that I could always go to him with even the most mundane of problems. We were clicking on every level, as well. We were able to talk about everything from our families, to politics, to overall goals in life.

The next day, I arrived at work super early and dressed with my nicest button down, pencil skirt, and heels. While I wasn’t involved in any of these meetings, it seemed like everything went well. Whenever I saw Pete or Mr. Larson, they seemed comfortable and smiling with the two individuals who flew in from New York. I felt good as I left work and made my way over to Tom’s apartment.

As I knocked on the door, I could already smell the chicken Tom was making for the tacos I told him I was craving. This guy was too considerate to put into words and I couldn’t help but compare him to other guys from my past. I never had to question where I stood with Tom; he made it obvious.

“Hey, beautiful,” Tom replied as he opened the door and stepped out of the way for me to enter.

“Your cooking smells amazing,” I replied before moving in for a hello kiss. “I can’t wait to eat.”

“Just a few more minutes,” he responded as he made his way back towards the kitchen.

I followed him in and tried to help as much as I could, but he really had a very particular system down when he cooked so I ended up just kind of standing off to the side and asking him about his day. He had a lot of projects in the works during this time of year, so he had to go in during a lot of really off hours to get things done.

“I hate seeing you so stressed,” I responded as he finished telling me about a particular tiff over one particular project.

“Yeah, well you’re in the same boat,” he replied with a laugh. Then we talked about my day and a few other little things as we sat and ate tacos. I may or may not have engulfed five.

“Do you want to go away this weekend?” Tom suddenly asked as we began cleaning up. “I was thinking we could drive down to San Diego.” He then proceeded to tell me all these fun things he thought we could do down there.

Naturally, I agreed with a huge smile. And then, of course, I was so ecstatic that we had sex on the kitchen counter before he carried me to his bedroom and we had sex two more times.