Secret Admirer (5 page)

She droned on about all the times she thought he might actually propose while I took off my coat and stashed my bag under my desk. As my computer booted up, I turned my attention to logging in and hoped she’d get the hint I was ready to work.

“Meet me for lunch, and I’ll tell you the whole story.” She left my doorway she’d been slouching against.

I was now smack in the middle of tax season with no lack of work in sight. The morning flew by, and as lunchtime approached, I tried to complete as much as possible, but ran out of steam. Rummaging through my large hobo-style bag for a few candy hearts, I reasoned a little sugar couldn’t hurt. I took my coffee black, so the treat was a trade-off. I ripped open a fresh bag of large hearts and arranged
For Sure
,
True Love
, and
Cutie Pie
on my desk, then reached in for two more. I smirked at seeing
Go For It
and
Secret Admirer
.

While I crunched on the candy, I saw my phone vibrate on my desk. I picked it up right away, and I entered my passcode with curiosity.

Garrett—Hey!

Excited to hear from him, I stood then paced around my office while reading and replying.

Me—Hi, aren’t u at work?

Garrett—yup, bored

Me—2 bad here in the world of accounting there is never a dull moment

Garrett—I’m sure. Get any furniture deals?

Me—actually yes. Valentine’s Day special on a headboard, kind of ew but couldn’t pass up the savings

Garrett—too easy, V Day sale on a bed. Bet there were Superbowl deals on flat screen TVs

Me—Duh, of course!

Garrett—at least you have an actual bed. I spent the weekend sleeping on bottom bunk

Me—ha! Party fun?

Garrett—yeah, Grandfather is cool in a dirty-old-man way

Me—taught you everything you know?

Garrett—:)

Me—GTG, Bree is in my doorway

Garrett—ah, the Queen waits for no one

Me—LOL

Grabbing my coat from the hook behind my door gave me a chance to hide my delirious state from Bree. She didn’t even ask who I was texting with, but I would’ve lied and said it was someone from back home anyway.

Shutting out her tales of woe with thoughts of Garrett over lunch was easy. I genuinely cared about Bree, but she was getting close to whiny.

“I can’t think about my life another second. I’m driving myself nuts. What about you, anything fun to report from this weekend?”

I tried hard to keep a poker face. “Nope, unless you count buying a bed fun.”

She scooted croutons around her Styrofoam plate. “Could be if you’d talk to Connor.”

“I will,” I replied but my thoughts were now on Garrett.

“Well, you have two weeks to do it so you can bring him to my annual Superbowl party. Technically, it’s Alec’s event since the party is at his place and he started it, but of course I’m the one who organizes everything and makes the evening fabulous.”

I nodded. “Sounds good.” Walking back to our office, she resumed schooling me on the various sizes and shapes of engagement rings.

****

Wednesday was weird. The sky was a gun-metal gray, and my mood soon matched the gloominess. Connor talked with another guy about operating systems at a table in the coffee shop as if it were an actual meeting. They both had open laptops, and I felt approaching him would be awkward. As I walked toward the door, I thought I saw him lift his cup slightly off the table, but it was probably wishful thinking to believe the gesture was for my benefit.

The disappointment continued when I didn’t hear from Garrett, and my candy hearts boasted random messages.
U Rock
,
Sizzlin’
,
QT
, and
Nice Moves
meant nothing to me. I also felt a cold coming on. I had nothing stronger than ibuprofen at my apartment and thought I should stock up and prepare for whatever this stuffy nose and sore throat might turn into. After taking a basket at the drugstore’s entrance, I was once again reminded of Valentine’s Day looming.

The scene before me was far worse than the grocery store. Three full aisles and numerous displays were dedicated to the manufactured holiday. Foil-covered chocolate roses, silky heart-patterned boxer shorts, and dozens of teddy bears filled the shelves next to the cards and candy. Paper hearts even hung from the ceiling, suspended by fishing line to ensure no one missed the message. I picked out a card each and stickers for my niece and nephew even though Valentine’s Day was still three weeks away. I hoped the cards featuring cartoon characters would make buying the value pack of small candy heart boxes appear a little less pathetic. I had valentines, they were just eight years old.

Thursday was better. The sun shone despite the frigid temperature drop, and Connor and I made actual contact. He told me my coffee cup was leaking. That sucked, but it was encouraging because: a) I thought the warning showed he cared about my well-being, and b) the conversation was the longest we’d ever had. I thanked him and asked for another cup while he lifted his and whistled as he walked toward the door.

At eleven, the weekend texts began again.

Bree—Jake’s Friday?

555-3430—Yes! It’s Abbie—new phone, add me please!

Clare—welcome Abbie to the new millennium

Maggie—I can sneak out for a bit

Ethan—????

Maggie—a bit, I said

Me—looking forward to meeting the rest of you

Garrett—same here, to Andi that is

Bree—Josh? We’re almost all in

Alec—haven’t seen him at the gym this week, will find him

Bree—k, see everyone at 7

I felt upbeat having agreed to plans and meeting Garrett. My sinuses throbbing and my throat being on fire, however, did not feel so good. I ventured to the water cooler to chase more medicine, hoping to dull the pounding and scorching, and Bree saw me walk by.

Her head peeked over a gray cubical wall. “So, are you asking Connor to join us tomorrow?”

I stifled a small sneeze before answering, “Uh, I’ll try.”

“Try hard,” she said sternly, but with a smile before disappearing back behind the divider.

I couldn’t tell her I was looking forward to meeting Garrett and was still nowhere near asking Connor to hang out. I chugged my drugs and returned to my desk.

Later that night, attempting to sleep through the congestion and pain, I took the stuff one only takes when totally desperate. The green liquid. I slept right through my alarm.

At nine the next morning, Bree texted.

Bree—Are you having a nooner—or niner—with Connor?

Me—I’m dying. Can’t lift head off pillow

Bree—bummer

Me—yup. Can you explain to Bob?

Bree—will do. Check in later, sleep

Me—zzzzzzz

The sky was almost dark when I awoke next. My head felt clearer, but the pounding, mucus monster had simply moved from my head to my chest, and I felt like an elephant was sitting there.

At seven, Bree texted again to make sure I was really not going to the bar.

I called her back so she could hear my sick state and she finally relented. By eight o’clock, I heated soup and flicked through the movie channels and succumbed to a sappy romantic comedy.

An hour later, Garrett texted.

Seeing his contact appear on my screen jump-started the adrenaline rush I always experienced when hearing from him.

Garrett—how u doing?

Me—miserable, thx

Garrett—I’m close by, need anything?

Me—thx, but this is not the condition I want to meet you in

Garrett—☺you want to meet me?

Me—I meant, you know, I thought it would be tonight

Garrett—I’m teasing. I want to meet u

Me—K Me too

Garrett—get better Andressa then we’ll make a plan

Me—sounds good

I couldn’t help smiling, though my clogged sinuses made my face hurt. I actually liked him calling me Andressa. Before my recent conversations with Garrett, I couldn’t imagine accepting anyone but my parents using my full name. Now, it felt right and I wondered how his voice would sound addressing me.

Wanting to share and hear advice, I called my friend, Lizzie, back home the next day. We took turns filling each other in on events of the past weeks. I told her all about Garrett, even reading her some of the texts he sent.

“I don’t think it’s so weird, really. I think this is how relationships often begin now. People do meet this way, and I’m sure one of the other friends told him you were pretty and normal, or pretty normal at least.”

“Ha. I do hope that’s the case though.” I hesitated then spilled. “So, there’s this other problem.” I gave her a condensed version of the Cute Coffee Shop Guy, now known as Connor story.

She laughed before scolding me. “Andi, there are way worse problems to have than running into a cute guy every day or having two guys to crush on.”

“You’re right, of course, Lizzie. I’ll update you on the ‘situation’ then at the end of the week.”

“That’s the right attitude. You sound good, happy even. I wish you could’ve been happier up here, but I’m glad you’re better there.”

“It’s not that I wasn’t happy, I just wasn’t finding happiness. I finally might be, we’ll see.” All weekend, I caught up on my sleep. I drank lots of tea and depleted an entire family pack of tissues. I watched some football so I’d know what was happening next week at the big game party at Alec’s. I assumed, okay desperately hoped, Garrett and I would meet there. As much as I wanted to go on a date as he sort of suggested in our last text, I was nervous and thought meeting for the first time in a group would be more comfortable.

By Sunday night, I was feeling physically improved and emotionally optimistic. In only a couple of weeks in my new city, I’d gone from one-of-the-guys Andi, to Andressa who flirts via text with a stranger and in person with another guy.

Suddenly
Secret Admirer
took on a double meaning. I may have been Connor’s, but maybe Garret was mine.

Chapter Six

“Hi there.” I leaned over Connor to grab a lid and moved a little closer than necessary.

He didn’t back away.

I felt goose bumps appear where our arms brushed.

“Hey, have a good weekend?” he asked.

“Yeah, lots of fun. How about you?” I wasn’t about to tell a guy I was attracted to I’d spent the weekend hosting the snot monster.

“It was okay,” he answered with a slight shrug.

I wanted to stay there and introduce myself, but people jostled around us to get milk, sugar, and stirrers. Mondays were always crowded at the Fresh Start. The tingles of a minute earlier were replaced with annoying shoves. We both rolled our eyes at the obnoxious commuters and walked out. Still, I felt like we shared a moment, even if my new confidence stemmed from the weekend’s conversation with Garrett.

Just before opening the door of my car, I turned to catch a last glimpse. He was checking his phone with a frown and put it back in his pocket. I wondered what or who could be make him look so sad.

Back at the office, Bree and the other co-workers told me about their weekend, and I listened with jealousy. Josh didn’t show up on Friday night at the bar, so they stormed his apartment and found him licking his wounds and pints of ice cream in the wake of another break-up with Sam. Clare later told me this wasn’t the first time they had to drag him off the couch and fill him full of Margaritas and roast the unfaithful boyfriend. I wanted to be part of this loyal group of friends.

Though still not feeling my best, I trudged through the work day, microwaving soup from home for lunch instead of venturing out in the cold and wind for a salad. Guilt hit about not telling Garrett I was feeling better or thanking him for asking about me. Suddenly, I felt the confidence to initiate a conversation for the first time. I looked around the break room to make sure I was alone and selected his contact.

Me—thx for checking on me Friday. I’m better, at office & among the living

A moment later, my phone pinged.

Garrett—yay, I’m sure you’re happy to be back at work

Me—wouldn’t go that far. Going to Superbowl party?

Garrett—that’s the plan, c u there?

Me—yup, I’ll be the stranger

Garrett—I’ll find u

Me—☺

I never knew when to end a text conversation, but this one felt right. I sensed we were close now, flirting at a higher level. I liked our exchanges but was careful not to cross a line. Since we were both at work, ending it with the smiley face emoji I usually found cheesy seemed appropriate.

I treated my bold move to reach out to him by opening a new box of candy hearts and spilling them out on a paper towel.

“Oh, candy hearts! I love those.” A friendly voice filled the silence.

“Here, share the calories with me,” I told Clare.

She entered the communal room mid candy-dump. “You can’t just eat them, you have to sort first.” She removed a container from the refrigerator.

I laughed and pulled out the chair next to me, inviting her to sit. “Well, of course, come on and help me.”

We sorted by color, creating several piles, and then separated out the doubles of the same sayings. She only liked the pink ones, but for me the fun was in the meanings. At least, that’s what had happened over the last couple of weeks. “Do you have a guy?”