The Beginning | Facts About Myself | Don't Mess With An English Major | The Bake SaleThe Favor | The Rescue | The Brothel | The Number | The Wrist, Part One | The Wrist, Part TwoThe Sighting | The Question | The Concern | The Explanation | The Star Wars Debate The Phone Call | The Holiday Thursday | The Rain Check | The First Freak Out | The TwistThe Second Freak Out | The Clarification | The Confusion | The Awkward ConversationThe Accident | The Show, Part One | The Show, Part Two | The Birthday Dinner | The MoveThe Other Guy | The Final Freak Out | The Reflections | The Friday Night Date | The MonthaversaryThe Beginning (as explained by Office Boy)
It had been a pretty typical Thursday. A relatively quiet day that ended with a fitness assessment at the gym. I walked out to my car, hopped in and headed home. Much to my surprise, the phone did not ring with Office Boy on the other line during the drive.
(I can't always be the one calling — that's not fair. Plus, I'm not sure what I was up to at the time...)
Around 6:30, I still hadn't heard from him, which was quite abnormal. As I walked into the Chipotle, I pulled out my phone and settled in for what was going to be a very long wait.
Please tell me you're not still at work, I texted. (side note: He had been stuck in the office until 6:45 the night before.)
(I do work late sometimes. I was given two programs to manage the financials for, which means I have 8 hours to work 16 — which it sometimes ends up being for me — no bueno.)
I looked at the line and sighed. I wasn't sure if I wanted to wait so long for food, but I really wanted Chipotle. I resigned myself to wait and figured I at least had my phone to keep me entertained. A minute later, it buzzed.
Nope. I'm home.
Ok, good. I didn't get a call from you so I thought you might still be stuck in the office.
You were at work late.
No, I wasn't.
You were still there when I left.
I went to the gym afterward.
I went over there to find you but I didn't see you.
I had a fitness assessment today, so I was in the office with the trainer.
Oh. Well, I tried.
It's okay. It's sweet. You should've called though.
Your car was still there when I left, so I thought you were busy. I wanted to though.
(I thought I was being considerate. If Sarah was busy I didn't want to bother her — not knowing what she was up to.)
I smiled. What a sweetheart.
I like calling you, he said.
Well, that's good. Because I like when you call. (To this day, I still like calling her.)
Yay!
I chuckled to myself. Goofball.
So what are you doing?
Waiting in line at Chipotle.
Which Chipotle?
The one in Springfield.
I don't know where that one is.
It's right by the mixing bowl, on Old Keene Mill.
I still don't know where that is. :'(
Why are you crying?
Because I don't know anything. (I wasn't serious, obviously. I don't cry when I don't know things...I Google it.)
That's not true. You just don't know my city. If you asked me a question about something in your city, I probably wouldn't know where it was.
Royal* Street.
Well, of course I know where that is. I was near there just the other day.
For what?
...umm. I was at your apartment?
Oh, yea. Sometimes I'm kind of dumb. (True. I am kind of dumb.) <editor's note> I disagree with this. He is really quite smart. He just...lacks common sense, occasionally. :P </editor's note>
All I could do was laugh.
We continued to text back and forth as I waited in line at Chipotle...for 40 minutes. Yep. That's right. A 40 minute wait. Twenty minutes in I should've just given up, but I was already so far. And I had already wasted 20 minutes. Leaving would've just been even more of a waste. Anyway. I digress.
Finally, around 7:15, I headed home, Chipotle in hand, and settled in front of the TV for watch some How I Met Your Mother.
So what are you up to tonight? I asked.
Watching How I Met Your Mother.
Hah. Why am I not surprised? (Sarah is like a drug dealer. She gets you hooked on all these shows. She's a little evil.)
How about you?
Same.
We discussed which episode he was on, in comparison to where I was, with him occasionally texting exclamations as major plot points occurred. He sent one message and then a second, immediately after it. I read it and I felt an immediate combination of confusion and what-the-heck...if that's even an emotion.
I read it again, just to be sure. And I had read it right.
Hey, so would you be interested in going on a date with a friend of mine?
Okay, people. Let me explain this whole situation. Yes, I did try to set Sarah up with my friend. But I had a good reason. See, at this point, I was starting to develop feelings for Miss Hayes. Now for any of you who work with folks, you know how hard it is to balance work and dating life — more so when the person you're dating is at work. I had a bad experience going out with another girl from the office. It ended pretty badly — not my fault (honest).
Back on point, et me walk you through what I was thinking: if I knew Sarah was with someone else, my brain would HAVE to stop thinking thoughts about her — simple, right? Now, what you may not know is that the person I was trying to set her up with is my Best Friend. So I know he's ultimately a good guy. I wasn't going to set her up with gutter trash. I thought about it, somewhat. I also figured that if she dated him, we'd still always hang out — so kind of a win-win, if you think about it. Now, thinking back on this, it would have probally made me miserable. And if it got serious, my emotionally underdeveloped boy brain would not know how to handle this. I have no idea how this would manifest itself. Perhaps I would slowly destroy myself by irrationally lashing out at everyone at work. Or maybe I would develop an uncontrollable rage and "hulk" out at random people. There's also the possibility that I start blogging about it, but who does that?
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Check back Friday for the next installment in The Saga of Office Boy!
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