Legal Note From The Sarcasm Department
Do not read this story if:
You are not over 18 years old (or the legal age where you live). Reading this story will land you in jail (unless you're into that type of thing). You don't want to read about men touching other men in somewhat inappropriate places. You are prone to masturbatory spraining.
This story is completely fictional. It is not meant to represent or reproduce any person or situation. If this seems to mirror your life in any way, you're a lucky bastard.
Enjoy!
Crazy =====
My first date with Sinjin was an unmitigated disaster. He arrived 20 minutes late to the restaurant and mumbled an apology, but I could barely hear it over the drone of the maitre d' as he took his seat. Since I had been waiting so long, I had already ordered a drink for myself and some breadsticks for the table. I motioned for Sinjin to feel free to partake, but he just idly toyed with his empty water glass.
Sinjin couldn't be bothered to provide the thinnest explanation as to why he was so late, and his attention seemed to be elsewhere as I tried vainly to make small talk. On each of the few occasions that we had talked over the preceding week, he seemed like he had an upbeat demeanor. Once he was actually here, though, it was as if he had become a completely different person. The first time he showed any signs of life was when our waiter came by to take his drink order. Sinjin's attention suddenly snapped back to Earth as he realized that he hadn't even cracked the menu.
While the waiter gave Sinjin a moment to order, I took the opportunity to check him out. When he had first walked in, I was surprised to see that he looked almost exactly as he had in the picture that he sent to me. I was so used to people sending their "best" pictures that were years old or hid the fact that they were balding that it was refreshing to see a little bit of honesty.
His face was framed with sandy blond hair, and each time he looked down at the menu a large bunch slid down over his left eye. I wondered if he ever noticed how often he had to reach up to brush it back. The movement was fluid but not hurried, and he never stopped to tuck his hair behind his ear or make any other attempts to tame his forelock. His eyes, as infrequently as I actually saw them, were such a pale blue color that they looked to be almost violet. I couldn't really make them out in the picture that he sent, but I assumed that it was just the color from the tablecloth that was reflecting in his eyes. In the picture that he had sent he was wearing glasses, but he hadn't worn them to the restaurant. I thought it was a shame, really, as I had always found glasses to be amazingly sexy for some reason. I guess I'm just a sucker for cute guys with vision problems.
What really captivated me about his face was his beard. As a person who has never really been able to grow any facial hair in any meaningful fashion, guys with real beards have always seemed utterly exotic. Sinjin's goatee was perfectly trimmed, and he had a light dusting of stubble all over the lower portion of his face. I imagined that if he went a while without shaving his face would look like a hair explosion. I had to fight to suppress the giggle that rose to my lips at that mental image.
Once my quick examination of Sinjin was through, my mind wandered to more mundane thoughts. While I was busily trying to think of some way to actually engage him in a meaningful conversation, Sinjin placed his order and then looked at me with a guilty expression.
"I'm being a right shit, aren't I?"
A blush suffused his face as he spoke. The sudden change in his mood caught me off guard, and I blinked a few times as I tried to think of the most diplomatic way to respond. For the first time all evening, his eyes met and held my gaze for longer than two seconds. I realized that I definitely hadn't seen any reflections of the tablecloth, and that his eyes were a stunningly remarkable violet hue. Captivated though I was by his eyes, it wasn't enough to completely outweigh the simmering irritation that had built up over the course of the evening.
"Well, those aren't exactly the words I would have chosen, but I'm pretty sure that you don't want to hear just what I was thinking."
Thank you, brain, for utterly bypassing the tact sections of your functionality. You are dismissed until further notice.
Sinjin looked momentarily hurt, and then sighed gently.
"I guess I deserved that, huh?"
"Look, I'm sorry. That came out a bit more harshly than I had intended. Some times my mouth says things before my brain has a chance to filter them."
"No, no... I really did deserve it. If I was in your position, I'd probably have some choice words for me too."
Finally he seemed to relax a little bit and I saw him smile. Even though it was only for a short moment, it seemed as if he was finally acting more like the Sinjin I had talked to over Skype. He was once again contemplative, but it actually felt like he was in the same room as I was. I paused for a second and tried to think of what to say next. Just as I was about to try to "restart" our date, his phone began vibrating loudly in his breast pocket. I saw him tense and furrow his brow as he reached in to fish it out. He glanced at the caller ID, tensed even further and looked at me apologetically.
"I so sorry, but it's work. I'll get rid of them, and then I promise that the phone is going off."
I ground my teeth as Sinjin got up and hurried out of the restaurant. The brief fascination that I had felt with his entrancing eyes was quickly replaced by a resurgence of the irritation that I had been feeling earlier. I could only stay upset for so long, though, and my mood quickly changed to melancholy. I'm sure that the look on my face betrayed how I felt as I felt a hand rest gently on my shoulder. The waiter looked down on me with pity, which only served to make me feel worse.
"I'm sorry man... I have been on this same date many a time. Are you going to stick around or beat a hasty retreat?"
"I've wasted enough time on him already tonight. Please just bring me the check so that I can get out of here."
I offered a wan smile and gently removed his hand from my shoulder.
"Look, don't take this the wrong way, but your drink is on me. Like I said, I've been in your shoes too many times and it's the least I can do."
"That's really not necessary..."
"Hey, I'm not going to take no for an answer!"
He smiled as he ripped up our check and took my empty glass of wine.
I turned to offer my thanks again, but he was already walking away. He simply waggled his fingers in my direction as he returned to the kitchen. I stole a quick glance at his ass and then gathered my jacket. As I walked to the front of the restaurant, I saw Sinjin pacing angrily back and forth as he waved his free hand in the air. I leaned against the front entranceway of the building and had to chuckle. If not for the fact that we were supposed to be on our first date I really would have felt sorry for him. Instead I spent a few moments trying to decide whether to leave without saying anything or to wait until he got off the phone. It already felt like the night had been a complete waste, but I had been raised to be unfailingly polite whenever possible.
Luckily I didn't end up having to make the decision after all. I was leaning toward interrupting his call and making my escape while the night was still young, but he finally finished up and turned back to enter the building. As soon as he saw me standing outside, his face immediately flickered from anger about the phone call to one of profound sadness. I didn't want to make a scene, so I hastily bid my goodbyes and began walking to my car.
I had only managed to take a few steps before I felt his hand gently grasp my elbow. As I spun to face him, he simply looked at me and looked at me with a wholly sincere expression.
"I'm so very sorry, Jeff. This is not how I intended the night to go..."
"Look, Sinjin... I'll have to agree that tonight hasn't turned out like I had planned either. It's obvious that you're very busy, and we barely know each other. I say that we just go our separate ways right now. No harm, no foul, no hard feelings. OK?"
He knitted his brows and released my elbow.
"I'd rather not have it come to that, but if that's how you feel then I guess that there isn't much else I can do."
He extended his hand, and I reached out to shake it. He held my hand for longer than was necessary, and simply stared at me. While I was once again busily studying his eyes, he surprised me by leaning in to kiss me. I stiffened slightly, but the combination of his gaze and his lips truly were entrancing. His kiss was not insistent, but simply pleasant. The kiss was brief, but there was something so... comfortable in the way he briefly ran his hand through the back of my hair. It definitely wasn't the most spectacular kiss that I'd ever had, but after many months of being alone it felt wonderful.
As Sinjin broke off the kiss, I noticed that his eyes were slightly moist. I started to say something, but he put one finger over my lips and spoke very softly.
"I had to know, just in case I never saw you again..."
He hadn't even finished his sentence before his cell phone started to buzz again. His fingers curled into fists and he practically shouted his dismay.
"ARGHHH!!! Jeff, wait a second!"
It was too late. As nice as the kiss had been, the constant interruptions were too much for me to handle. I'd see-sawed back and forth between irritation and intrigue all evening and had had enough. I turned and walked back to my car before Sinjin got a chance to say anything else.
As I drove home, I was still somewhat conflicted about my overall thoughts about the evening. Sinjin had managed to do nearly everything that I hated about dating in one evening, but I still mainly thought of him in terms of the guy that I had talked to all week. I couldn't help wonder if "that" Sinjin was even real, but I had honestly hoped that he was. Try as I might to think of other things, my mind kept drifting back to the kiss that we had shared. It wasn't a hot, steamy, "oh my god I want to fuck you right now" kiss. It wasn't the measured kiss of a long time love. It was somehow different, worse and better all at the same time. As much as I tried to dismiss it as the product of my long standing reluctance to date, I couldn't quite push it out of my mind.
Once I was back in my house, I decided that the kiss just wasn't worth the hassle. Sinjin was a good kisser and incredibly cute, but I needed something more than just the physical to make me happy. If I had to deal with a distracted and unreliable guy to get the kissing and the looks then I decided that I was better off staying alone.
Song For A Friend ======================
The second that Jeff walked away I knew that I had made a terrible mess of things. I knew that kissing him out of the blue was a gamble, but I had to take what little chance I had to show him how I was already starting to feel about him. The look on his face when my phone rang for the second time convinced me that I hadn't done nearly enough.
It was bad enough that I had shown up 20 minutes late to dinner thanks to an emergency that arose at 6:05. A server literally blew up at work, and as the only network person on staff I had to coordinate the rescue efforts and transition to our backup servers. In the heat of the crisis, I panicked as I realized how late it was getting. I instinctively reached for my belt clip, and felt a void where my personal cell phone usually sat.
Cursing at my stupidity, I continued barking orders at people as I tried to remember Jeff's cell phone number. Since I had only actually dialed it once, and immediately saved it to my cell phone's memory, I couldn't even come close. I was already upset about the server malfunction, and my anger at myself only served to fuel my bad mood.
Once we had the situation under control, I dashed out of work and sped to the restaurant. As I drove, I hoped that Jeff hadn't gotten fed up with me and left already. I wasn't more than 5 minutes away from work when my cell rang.
"This had better be important!"
"Sinjin, the backup servers aren't playing nice with the floor computers. None of the CSRs can log into their machines, which means that they can't take any calls. Richard is breathing down my neck to get this fixed, ASAP!"
"Chris, I can't do a damned thing about it right now. I don't have my laptop, don't have a connection to the network, and I was supposed to meet someone for dinner 15 minutes ago. Call Matt... he should be able to fix whatever problems the floor servers are having from Denver."
"Alright, I'll call him now. Sorry to bother you."
Upon realizing that I had been harsh with Chris for no good reason, I sighed and gritted my teeth.
"I'm sorry, Chris. I'm not pissed at you, but this was the one night that I did not need something like this to happen."
"Gotcha. Look, have fun at dinner, and I hope that Matt can work his mojo."
"I'll call in after dinner and find out how things are going. Until then, please don't call unless it's an emergency."
"Hmphh! If you're lucky, you'll be too busy to call after dinner! I'll keep you posted on what's going on here by text message. Bye, Sinjin."
I knew that Chris was smiling on the other end of the line as he hung up the phone. He really did wish the best for me, and I knew that he and his wife Tiffany were desperately tired of hearing me gripe about my relationships (or lack thereof). Once I was off of the phone, I sincerely hoped that Jeff hadn't gotten tired of waiting for me.
The rest of the drive to the restaurant was filled with growing dread. I was always nervous when it came to meeting new people, and doubly so when it came to meeting guys on the Internet. You can never tell if people are hiding behind old pictures or "neglecting" to tell you about their rampant foot fetishes, but the lonely part of me kept making the effort to take chances. It had been a long while since I had dated anyone seriously, and I was tired of waking up alone. Work was fulfilling, but it just couldn't hold a candle to the sight of waking up next to someone who loved you.
I was lucky to find a spot close to the restaurant, and I inhaled a nervous breath as I stood at the door. My mind was already racing from the excitement at work, but the heady tension of meeting Jeff for the first time was causing my brain to work double overtime.
Just before I went inside, my phone beeped to tell me that I had a text message. All it said was "Still not working. Matt is on the case." At least Matt would be more helpful than I could remotely, but I still felt a twinge of guilt that I had bolted at the first possible opportunity. No sooner had I felt that than I felt the matching guilt at being late to my date without bothering to call, and I couldn't shake either feeling.
As the maitre d' showed me to the table, I breathed a small sigh of relief. Jeff was immediately recognizable from his picture, and I was glad to see that I wouldn't have to worry about that any longer.
The look on his face, however, was not a pleasant one.
As I sat down, I played with my empty water glass as I thought about the crisis at work. To his credit, Jeff did his best to mask his irritation, but my mind couldn't let go of the server issues we were having. When you eat, sleep, and breathe your job for so many years like I did it has a tendency to take over every waking moment. Here I was with a guy that I was genuinely interested in, and I couldn't even muster more than monosyllabic responses to his questions. What the hell was wrong with me?
The waiter came and asked if I wanted anything to drink. I just ordered water, but as I did I saw Jeff's brows knitted together. Seeing that was all it took to banish all thoughts of work from my mind. It suddenly seemed ludicrous for me to have thought of it at all when I was theoretically out on a date, and I refocused on the task at hand.
"I'm being a right shit, aren't I?"
Jeff was not so kind in his response. I knew that I deserved every word of what he said, and I could feel the blood rushing to my cheeks. Jeff had done nothing wrong, had been exceedingly patient with me, and here I was acting like a space cadet.
Try as I might, I couldn't hide the wince that came as he continued to call me out on my behavior. The worst part was that I couldn't argue with him in the slightest.
"I guess I deserved that, huh?"
"Look, I'm sorry. That came out a bit more harshly than I had intended. Some times my mouth says things before my brain has a chance to filter them."
"No, no... I really did deserve it. If I was in your position, I'd probably have some choice words for me too."
His face had softened, and I started to get the feeling that I might just have a chance to salvage a little bit of his goodwill toward me. For the first time all night I felt a little bit of relaxation and allowed myself to smile. The date may have started off with me making faux pas after faux pas, but I really was glad to be here with him.
I started to relax a bit more and took in the view in front of me. Jeff had returned my smile and I took a moment to get a good look at him. The picture that he sent me hadn't really done him justice. To most he would be average looking, but his smile really transformed his entire demeanor. When I had first sat down, the look on his face had been pleasant in a carefully artificial way. When he smiled, though, his eyes narrowed into little crescent moons and his eyes lit up. Even when he wasn't smiling, I could see that his brown eyes had little flecks of gold and dark brown scattered throughout his light brown irises.
My search of his face didn't make it much further than that, though. Ever the little troublemaker, my phone started vibrating in my breast pocket. Jeff's eyes lost their crescent shape and the flat gaze that had greeted me as I waked in was back.
"Shit, shit, shit, SHIT!"
Luckily for me I managed to keep that an internal monologue. Before I even reached for my phone I knew exactly who it was. There was no way that Chris would call me after our earlier conversation, so it had to mean trouble. Sure enough, I saw that the caller ID showed our company line in Denver. I figured that I had pushed things more than enough with Jeff already, but I just couldn't let this pass.
"I so sorry, but it's work. I'll get rid of them, and then I promise that the phone is going off."
As I rushed out to the front of the restaurant, I crossed my fingers in hopes that I could talk Matt through what he wanted to do and then explain the whole thing to Jeff. No matter what happened, I knew that he wouldn't be happy, but I at least owed him an explanation of the night's craziness.
I didn't even bother with hellos as I answered the phone.
"Matt, can't you handle this? I'm on a date and I swear to god..."
I was too pissed off to even finish my sentence. Matt knew me well enough to know what I would have said anyway.
"You know I wouldn't have called unless it was critical, Sin. We've narrowed it down, and the problem is definitely on your end. Chris is trying to help, but he doesn't have the passwords and clearance for half of the rooms holding the servers that we need to patch up."
"Did he try 'ihatethisfuckingcompany'? Because that's what I'm changing them to tomorrow!"
"I thought you did that last week? And the week before?"
"Too bad that idiot Keith would find out and I'd be tossed out on my ass. What in the hell is going on there?"
"I think that the physical link between SC-1 and SC-3 was severed when the machine went up in flames. Chris can't get in there and Gary isn't answering his phone."
"Fuck! Gary's just left for Ohio this week on vacation with the family. I find it hard to believe that we're the only ones with access to the room. Did you try calling Gina?"
"Her phone's off, probably out on... errr..."
"Oh, on a DATE? Could it possibly be that I'm the only one stupid enough to not turn my phone off in times like this?"
"Look, Sin, I'm sorry..."
"Sorry, my ass! Have Tony send Chris the overrides for that room so that he can get in. No, scratch that. Have Tony give Chris full access to all of the rooms on campus. If Keith wants to throw shit about it, I'll deal with him on Monday."
"I'm on it. Tell your date that I said I was sorry, and if he's willing to put up with this shit then he's worth keeping."
"I sure as hell am not going to pass on that second part. Do what you guys need to do, since my phone is going off as of now. If either one of you tries to call me again, I will fly Chris to Denver just to have the pleasure of killing you both at the same time. Got it?"
I didn't wait for a response. I snapped my phone closed and turned to see if I could grovel my way back into Jeff's good graces. The sight that greeted me as I spun on my heel was like a sledgehammer to the gut. Jeff was leaning against the wall in a casual pose, but his back was ramrod straight. His face wasn't even angry anymore... it was just devoid of emotion entirely. I'd seen that face before, and loosely translated into English it meant 'you just fucked up big time'.
I didn't even have a chance to get a word in as he stonily said goodbye and started walking to his car. On an impulse, I reached out and grabbed his elbow to try one last time to explain the comedy of errors that the night had been.
"I'm so very sorry, Jeff. This is not how I intended the night to go..."
My contrition was met with the same stony tone that he used when he said goodbye. The words were pleasant, but his voice was anything but.
"Look, Sinjin... I'll have to agree that tonight hasn't turned out like I had planned either. It's obvious that you're very busy, and we barely know each other. I say that we just go our separate ways right now. No harm, no foul, no hard feelings. OK?"
As much as it pained me to do so, I admitted my defeat. There was no way that I was going to convince him that I wasn't usually the total heel that I had been all night when he was already this perturbed.
"I'd rather not have it come to that, but if that's how you feel then I guess that there isn't much else I can do."
Surprisingly, he extended his hand to me. I took it, and couldn't make myself let go. A whole week of constant communication had been ruined by one night of my bad behavior, and I suddenly got the feeling that I would never see him again. For once that night, I gave in and just did what I felt was right. I leaned in and kissed him, hoping that I would at least leave with one pleasant memory of the evening. He didn't really return the kiss, but he didn't pull away either. He seemed somewhat shocked, but his eyes crinkled ever so slightly.
That kiss was my lame attempt at atonement for the night. I felt horrible about how I had treated Jeff, and I even felt bad about taking advantage of him like this. He started to say something, but I silenced him before he had a chance. I knew that I had been downright awful to him, but I couldn't take hearing that come from his lips.
"I had to know, just in case I never saw you again..."
Is there a worse feeling on the planet than to have your good intentions defeated by your own stupidity? The fatal stroke for our date buzzed insistently in my pocket. His face immediately flipped from cold to glacial, and I knew that my chance was gone. I still made one last effort out of desperation.
"ARGHHH!!! Jeff, wait a second!"
Just as I had thought, my chance was gone. He simply walked away without a sound. Crestfallen though I was, my phone just wouldn't stop ringing. I flipped open the phone and tried to take some calming breaths.
"This isn't working at all. Please don't kill me..."
Chris had clearly misinterpreted my calm breaths for bull-snorting rage. Well, he wasn't entirely incorrect. My only solace came from the fact that I could at least do something productive with my evening. If I couldn't fix my god awful night with Jeff I could fix something as simple as a busted server, right?
Dirge Of Swans ================
Of all of the places to find myself that evening, the last place that I would have expected to be was sitting alone on a swing set. When I had come home, my house seemed somehow claustrophobic and empty at the same time. After puttering around for a short while, I grabbed my keys and wallet and went for a walk around the neighborhood. Normally walking was a good release for me, but the dark streets around my house only served to make me feel even more somber.
The particular swing set that I sat on was in a park that was almost directly across the street from my house. I knew that I wasn't supposed to be there after dusk, but the police rarely drove around my neighborhood so I wasn't really worried. Besides, the swing set was barely visible from the street, and I doubted that anyone would have seen me even if they tried.
Apparently my assumption was completely incorrect. As I sat listlessly rocking back and forth, I was startled when a voice sounded from right behind me.
"Mind if I join you?"
I froze. My mind immediately flashed through gruesome thoughts of being robbed, or worse, and I swung my head around to find out just what I was dealing with. My initial panic was eased when saw a guy that I had seen around the neighborhood standing with his palms held up and outward. I guess I startled him almost as much as he startled me.
"Sure, go ahead. You just startled me a bit, that's all..."
He sat down on the swing next to me and extended his hand.
"We've never been properly introduced, have we? I'm Aaron. I live just down the street from your house."
I shook his hand briefly and couldn't help but think of what happened the last time I had done that.
"Hi, I'm Jeff. I know why I'm here, but what brings you to these parts this late at night?"
Aaron smiled at that comment.
"I was just about to ask you the same thing. I was walking my dog when I saw you sitting here, and as I got closer I realized who you were."
I immediately grew wary again. Just what dog was he walking?
He chuckled a bit and raised his fingers to his lips. He blew a short whistle, and a golden retriever eventually came trotting over from parts unknown. She was panting as if she had just had a good exercise and obediently trotted over to Aaron. She hadn't quite made it to his side when she noticed me sitting next to Aaron. All thoughts of her master were pushed aside by curiosity, and she began sniffing around my legs. Though I usually disliked dogs, I couldn't help but respond to her curiosity. I scratched her head behind her ears and turned once more to Aaron.
"What's his name?"
"It's a 'her', actually. The pound said that she answered to Goldie, which I thought was an incredibly stupid name for a golden retriever, but my wife refuses to call her anything else."
I started muttering in a silly "doggie voice" to the dog, and she responded immediately. She sat back on her haunches and placed her head in my lap. I continued to stroke her fur as I chatted with Aaron.
"She's beautiful. Have you had her long?"
"No, not really. We got her from the pound about 8 months ago and she's only recently started responding to people outside the family."
"Oh, you and your wife have kids?"
"Err... not really."
Aaron quickly changed the subject.
"So now that you know why I'm here, what brings you out along on a Friday night?"
I laughed somewhat bitterly.
"Oh, it's been a fantastic evening of stunning conversation and rapt attention from a wonderful date."
"My, my... we're laying that sarcasm on a bit thickly, no?"
"Just a wee bit..."
"This may seem a bit forward of me, but there's something that I've been meaning to ask you."
There is usually only one question that can follow such a pronouncement. Aaron's voice softened somewhat.
"Was it with the fellow that is always at your house? You two seem to get along so well."
"That was a clever little side step there. No, Terryn is my best friend and we've never dated."
"Oh, I'm so sorry for assuming..."
"No, your assumption was correct... it's just that the target was a bit off."
"So you are gay, then?"
I let a slight bit of irritation slip into my voice.
"Yep. Feel free to move along if you have a problem with it."
"No, no, I don't have a problem with it. My wife and I are gay as well."
"Wait... wouldn't that make 'her' your husband?"
"Nope."
Aaron laughed at my confusion.
"My wife is a lesbian and I am obviously therefore a gay man. My partner and her partner are married as well."
"That's an... interesting situation you've got there."
"Oh, indeed it is. So as not to bore you, I'll give you the Cliff's Notes version of the story."
"I've got all night, so feel free."
I relaxed a bit in the swing and watched Aaron's face as he told me the story. Listening to him was a nice distraction from my own thoughts.
"You see, when my wife and I met we were already in love. Not with each other, of course. I was dating her brother, and she was dating my sister, but none of us ever realized that there was any connection. The first time we met was at a barbeque at a mutual friend's house in high school. For me it was a bit of a shock to run into my sister at the party. As I explained to her that I was meeting my boyfriend there, we heard an oddly similar conversation around the corner of the house. Imagine our surprise as we all pointed at each other with our mouths open. It took a little bit of explaining, but the four of us have been together ever since."
"So, why did you two get married if you both have other partners?"
"That was actually my partner's idea. Since we can't legally marry each other, we decided to do the next best thing. It's mostly a ruse for our parents, though. We come from two families of strictly religious social climbers, so we formulated a plan to get them off of our backs. Even before we got married, Julie became a really close friend as Gina did to Robert. When you live in a house with the same person for a long while it's nice to have an "outside" voice to talk to. We make sporadic appearances at galas and things to keep our families happy and generally have a blast doing it, but other than that our marriage is mostly for the tax break."
Aaron smiled and looked at me strangely.
"Suddenly I don't know why I told you all of that. Usually I'm the one asking the questions."
"Well, technically you did, but I have quite a knack for dodging them."
"Congratulations! You actually managed to successfully evade the questions of a shrink!"
"Oh, you're a psychologist? Neat."
"OK, it's time for me to go into full-on work mode. Since I've been so forthcoming with you, I think it's only fair that you share a bit with me. If you don't, I'll sic Goldie on you!"
Aaron continued to grin as he said it so I took no offense. I had intended to give him a brief synopsis of what had happened, but true to his word he was in "full-on work mode". As expected of a shrink, he knew just how to ask questions without being overbearing, and I ended up giving him a pretty full run down of what had happened.
"So it seems to me that you behaved very admirably tonight. He really didn't offer any kind of explanation of his actions? That was rude of him."
"He didn't say a word. He kept answering his cell phone all night, so I'm assuming it was work related. I just can't respect a guy who treats a first date so casually."
"Well, if he's smart he'll figure out that he screwed up. If not, it's his loss."
Aaron stood up and stretched.
"Well, Jeff, it was very nice to meet you. I'm sorry that the conditions were so bad for you, but it was nice nonetheless. I think it's about time that Goldie and I got home, though, or else the mister and misses will wonder where we've gotten off to."
As I stood, I suddenly noticed that the air had grown chilly. I shivered slightly and shook Aaron's hand.
"Thanks for letting me vent. I don't know how long I would have sat here moping if you hadn't."
"Well, if you ever need to talk, I'm in the phone book. It's listed under 'E' for 'expensive but amazing shrink'".
He winked at me and called Goldie to his side.
"You should come by for dinner some time. I know that the rest of the family would love to meet you as well. We've all seen you around at one time or another, but never bothered to actually stop by and say hello."
"I'd like that. I'm sure I'll see you around some time, so I'll definitely drop by."
I reached down and gave Goldie a final pat on the head.
"Be good, girl!"
Aaron waved once more as he and Goldie turned to head home. Whether he realized it or not, I was truly glad to have met him. I crossed the street feeling better than I had all night and soon settled into bed peacefully.
Send Me An Email =====================
Sleep was late in coming that night.
After Jeff left, I headed back into the office to try and take care of the mess with Chris. Once I got there, I had to admit that Chris had been right... there was no way that he could have fixed the problem on his own. The damage was much more severe than we had originally thought, and problem after problem kept manifesting itself. It took us the better part of 3 hours just to get things back to a barely functional level, and another hour and a half of phone calls and emails to various worldwide departments to let them know what still needed to be done. We finally felt that the situation was stable enough to go home, and all of us were exhausted.
My head finally hit the pillow at 1:45 AM. After all of the mayhem, I thought that I would fall right to sleep and deal with Jeff in the morning. Unfortunately for me, my brain had other ideas. I tossed and turned, cursing myself for not just being up front with Jeff. Though it was far too late to do anything about it, my mind just wouldn't let me rest. I grumbled a bit and then hauled myself out of bed.
Thankfully, e-mail doesn't care what time it is. I stared at my monitor for a long while as I tried to compose some sort of apology that would get me out of the dog house. Part of me felt that I didn't really deserve it, but the rest of me felt that I had to at least try to make amends. I figured that the smartest move would be to send the email to his work. That way he'd have some time to cool off before seeing anything that I had to say. Instead of just blurting out what had transpired, I immediately felt that I had to explain it to Jeff in person. As my way of apology, I invited him to dinner again and promised that the cell phone would not be coming with me. Once the email had been sent, I surfed around the net a bit and made backup plans before I put my laptop back to sleep. I crawled into bed feeling slightly better, and slipped off to sleep with the knowledge that whatever came next was completely up to Jeff.
=================== Author's Note #11.5 ===================
It's been almost a year since I last put any more of this story to words. A year is far too long, and the need to write finally got the best of me. I hope you enjoy it.
This story is dedicated to the perfect man in an imperfect situation... here's to hoping that the future brings us better tidings. Life's so tough without you...
Copyright 2006 by TehGenius. Comments and constructive criticism welcome at stories@tehgenius.com.