n i n e t e e n
" sorry "
-

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Simon's stomach rumbled. He'd forgotten his lunch again and, when he'd gone to buy some he realised he'd also forgotten his wallet. He'd picked up the sandwich, scanned it through and cursed as soon as he realised his wallet was not where he thought it was. He'd apologised to the cashier and sheepishly exited the store, pride hurt.

He took another swig of his water in an attempt to quieten his hungry belly. As he put the cup back down, he realised Catherine was stood at his desk, waiting for him to swallow the water he held in his cheeks.

Simon's eyes widened slightly, realising how idiotic he looked, and he quickly swallowed, sitting up straighter in his chair.

"Is something wrong?" He asked, and then reprimanded himself for the rudeness of his question.

Catherine didn't seem bothered. "No, um, actually I just came over here to apologise for snapping at you earlier," She said, glancing down for a moment before meeting his eyes again. They were calm now. A cool brown, silky and effortless as they looked right at him.

He almost forgot to answer and rushed to say, "It's fine, I get why you were upset."

Catherine sighed. "I wasn't upset. I was angry. There's a difference." She sighed again, pulling her hand through her hair. "Sorry."

"It's ok, you don't need to apologise."

"Right, yeah, but I do. I also could hear your stomach rumbling and wanted to know if you were up for going to get a coffee and a slice of cake to make up for snapping at you? I know you mean well, but I get defensive very easily."

By now, Cal was looking over, bewildered as to why Catherine was asking the new guy out for coffee instead of him.

"After work? Sure," Simon replied, surprised at her offer but surprised that he was pleased about her offer.

"No, let's go now. We've done our share of work and more today thanks to those idiots being late, again. Besides, if they dob us in, I'll dob them in for being late." She winked playfully.

Simon almost fell from his chair. Catherine was the least playful person he had ever met. A workaholic through and through. But she had winked at him nonetheless.

He pulled himself together and responded, "Great, yeah, let's go then." He was far too quick at logging off and shutting down his computer, gathering his things and pulling on his jacket.

Whether that was from practice of impatience in wanting to get out of the office, or if it was because he was actually pleased to be going out for coffee with his very beautiful co-worker, it didn't matter because they were walking into the elevator before anyone could object.

-

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"It was the best day, honestly, I've never seen Alice laugh so hard," Adela explained, laughing at the memory. She was telling Lewis about the time they'd watched a girl from their school slip and fall in the mud and then fall again when she tried to stand up. It was cruel, yes, but funny as hell.

Lewis chuckled and leant back in the chair. It creaked behind him. "I bet," He replied. "I'd love to meet Alice properly sometime. She seems like a blast."

"She's hilarious and helps me a lot with... everything really," Adela said and took a sip of her coffee. "I don't know what I'd do without her. She actually encouraged me to move out and get a new job... and to finally call you up."

"Then I definitely want to meet her to thank her for persuading you to call me because I've had one of the nicest days in a long time," Lewis told her, sending butterflies scattering through her system.

He was extremely smooth in everything he said, but she knew he meant every single word of it, unlike some guys who just wanted a fling. It really did feel like Lewis wanted to get to know her and to be her friend before anything else. And it felt good to realise that.

"Really?" Adela raised her eyebrows from over her mug. "All we did was walk and talk and drink."

"Sometimes that's all you need to have a good time. It was actually really refreshing," He said and then went on to explain himself. "Usually my friends and I would go out clubbing or drinking rather than taking the time to slow down and just talk."

"Oh," Adela breathed, setting the mug down. The response was for Lewis, but it became barely audible as she saw a familiar face walk into the café.

Her eyes immediately locked onto Simon, offering him a slight, quaint smile as their gaze met. He looked between her and Lewis and then back to her with a confused, surprised expression. Adela shifted uncomfortably, shaking her head.

He almost smiled back before a woman stepped up beside him, smiling up at him with the biggest smile Adela thought she'd ever seen and with her hand on Simon's arm.

"I think I need to go to the toilet," She told Lewis, tearing her eyes away from Simon. "I'll be back in a minute." her voice cracked as she spoke and stood from the table, slipping away before he could say a word.

-

-

Adela drew a deep breath in as she leant back against the firmly locked door of the one and only ladies' toilets, pushing her hands through her hair.

Seeing him with that gorgeous girl with her hand on his arm, her wonderful smile and the way he looked oh-so-terribly guilty the moment he laid eyes on Adela sat there. It might not have even been a thing. It could've just been Adela's mind playing tricks on her broken heart, but she was far from stupid and could know a girl with eyes for a boy when she saw one.

It just really sucked that the guy the girl had eyes for was her ex-boyfriend.

And she knew she had no claim over him anymore. For all she knew, he thought exactly the same thing of her sat with Lewis, but she just couldn't shake all that Alice had told her about what Simon was probably doing whilst she was crying over him. It was wrong to assume before she knew any facts, but she couldn't help what love was doing to her rational mind.

"Adela?" Lewis' voice came from the other side of the door. She didn't even know if she could face him right now. "Are you alright?" After no response, he added, "Our coffees are going cold." Knowing she didn't care, but knowing she'd appreciate the light humour in an awful situation.

"I don't care," She replied, but couldn't stop the giggle before it escaped her through the tears that stained her cheeks.

"If you want to come out and talk about it, I'll be out here for you," He told her comfortingly; she appreciated it.

"Thank you," She said. "But I don't want to go back out there when he's sat there with her right in front of me."

"We can sit out here. There's enough room," He offered, sounding hopeful and encouraging. It was nice to hear that from someone for once.

She flicked open the lock, yanking the door open before she changed her mind. They stood there for a moment just looking at one another.

"Thank you," She whispered, eventually.

Lewis didn't reply. He simply pulled her into a hug, holding her and rubbing her back, and it was everything she needed in that moment.

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1275 words
no chris this chapter, but he'll be going on a date next chapter with a very... special lady