HAPPY FOREVER AFTER

Daniel was a distraction.

With his beautiful hair and his perfect ass, he looked like the stuff heroes on the covers of romance novels were made of. Put him in a billowing white shirt unbuttoned to reveal his chest, with a beautiful damsel draped on one arm, and he would look right at home.

But right here in the office, he was a terrible distraction. In fact, she realized, as she glanced at her laptop and the files on her table, that she wasn’t making any reasonable progress.

Her attraction to him was slightly bizarre. Once she had thought she was completely immune to the charms of calendar hunks with too-perfect hair. Yet here she was, her girl parts getting all tingly every time he strolled by. And obviously that one time with him wasn’t even enough. It had to be the lack of available attractive men in her life. That had to be it… She had been alone for too long.

He disappeared into the break room, and Emma tried to turn her attention back to her work. But her mind kept wandering. And she found herself wondering if one more night of intense love making was such a bad idea.

The break room door opened, and the object of her whacked fantasies came out carrying a bottle of water. Oh please, she thought, he had an assistant for crying out loud. He didn’t have to get that himself. The man was just showing off.

She watched him walk to the printer, his pants advertising the well-sculpted muscles beneath them, and shook her head. It was official-Emma was losing her freaking mind.

She glared at her laptop screen and promised herself she would do no more ogling today. She would focus on her work. Focus, focus, focus.

If only he looked like a code-slinging brainiac who spent too much time indoors and could use a trip to the nearest fashion consultant, there would be no problem. But he didn’t.

She just needed to get laid, maybe screw someone else and she would stop drooling over him.

“Excuse me,” she heard the familiar male voice say.

Emma looked up to see the object of her constant ogling looming beside her desk.

He smiled faintly, his gaze locked on her. She opened her mouth to say hi, but nothing came out.

“This is yours” he said

She stared at the document she had printed an hour ago and nodded. “I, um, I… forgot to go pick it up.”

He placed it on top of her desk and smiled. Showing off his perfect white teeth.

“We should stop this, don’t you think?” he said

“Stop what?”

“Staring at each other but never talking.”

Emma wanted to bang her head on the table.

“We are talking now,” she said stupidly.

“Yeah we are. How are you, Emma?,” he asked

She had missed his voice…and his eyes. His damn mesmerizing eyes.

“I’m fine,” she croaked. “How are you?”

Would it be too forward if she asked to take him home and have her way with him? A second time. She thought.

“I’m okay.” He said, smiling and nodding.

He had this attitude going on, as if he knew he was gorgeous enough to make most women feel… To make her feel… What was the word?… She didn’t know. Everything just seemed to fly right out of her head.

Had he been thinking about her?. She wondered. Had he missed her? Had he maybe even been as distracted by overwrought office lust as she had? All those questions danced in her head.

There was an awkward pause.

He studied her. “It’s really nice to see you again, Emma” he said, his tone almost languorous, as if he had no intention of leaving anytime soon.

“Is there, um, something I can help you with?” she asked

She knew she sounded like an uptight bitch, but she was unnerved by his unexpected presence, his seeming awareness of his effect on her.

“Would you maybe like to go for drinks after work?” he asked

She wanted to say yes. Really bad. But Emma knew better than to follow such wild impulses. Look what happened last time.

She could barely look at him now. She knew the right thing to do, the safe thing, would be to end this silly mating ritual right here, right now.

“I’m sorry-I have plans with a friend after work.” Which was actually kinda true.

“Okay, how about another night?”

“I have been working late most nights…. Lately” she said, making herself sound like the workaholic she was.

He gave her a look that said he wasn’t buying her excuses.

“You could make out time… For me” he said

“I’m sorry. I don’t know if I can”

“Are you avoiding me, Emma?” he asked

“No I’m not, I’m just really busy that’s all,” she blurted.

Idiot, idiot, idiot.

What was she so afraid of? Why did she have to play it too far on the safe side all the time?

Yeah, they worked together, but he wasn’t anyone she worked closely with….

She really did feel lonely sometimes…. And she had been feeling the urge to do something a tiny bit wild-maybe even something that could remind her what being in love felt like…

Love? She thought suddenly. Where had that come from? She definitely shouldn’t and wasn’t falling in love with Daniel. For her own peace of mind. But damn… Daniel did make her squirm like no guy had in God knows how long.

“Come on, Emma. ” he said. “I just want to talk to you. It’s been a while… and I have missed you.”

She shuddered. He missed her? Did he actually? Or was he just saying stuff? Maybe going on a date wouldn’t be such a bad idea.

“Well, I guess it’s okay.” she said. “You know… Since you asked very nicely”Contentt bel0ngs to N0ve/lDrâ/ma.O(r)g!

Daniel smiled. Emma smiled back, and a weight she hadn’t even noticed was lifted from her shoulders.

“I will pick you up at six o’clock then?” he asked.

“Great”

“We haven’t fixed a day yet” he said. “but I will leave that to you. Don’t want to.. You know… Disrupt your really busy schedule”

Emma couldn’t help but smile.

If only he knew he had done that already.