Chapter 5 Taylor
TAYLOR
Iwas stationed in the break room in front of the coffee machine, daydreaming about that midnight phone call from Gabriel and guarding my in-process mocha latte, when Kai bumped his hip into mine.
“Don’t get enough of me at home, so you have to come harass me at work, too?” I said.
“You know it.” He groaned. “My eyes are going cross-eyed staring at spreadsheets, and it’s only the first official week of January.”
“It happens every year.”
“And every year, I am unprepared. Why are you surprised by this?”
I wasn’t surprised, not really; we’d been attached at the hip since our CPA study sessions in college when he became my emotional support extrovert.
“Got any plans for this weekend?” Kai asked as I grabbed my mocha, and he popped his coffee pod into the machine.
“Actually… I have a date tonight.”
Not that I particularly wanted this information to be widely known, but I wasn’t going to be keeping anything from my roommate slash nosey AF bestie for long. Might as well surrender willingly.
“You. Have a date,” Kai repeated. “You never go on dates! You hardly leave the house unless it’s for work.”
“You exaggerate.” I left the house for more than work, in fact, almost every week I had lunch with—
“…or Margo. I can hardly get you to hit the bars with me anymore. Where did you meet this magical man?”
Ok, fine. Maybe he wasn’t exaggerating that much. “We met in a traffic jam on Monday afternoon when I left work early.”
“Ooh, damn. You can pull even in that basic Honda Civic, huh? Of course, you can.”
I rolled my eyes and deflected. “It’s probably going to be a casual thing, but I don’t think it’ll be terrible as far as first dates go. We’ve been texting, and he seems decent.”
“Decent, huh?” He chuckled. “Well, it’s a good thing you’re setting the bar so high.”
“Don’t get me started on Mark or Mike or whatever gym bro you’re currently getting under these days.”
“Hey!” His usually unflappable demeanor wavered slightly before a mischievous smile spread across his face.
“I never claimed to be looking for true love. I’m just in it for the excellent dicking down, obviously. And Matt knew what he was doing in that department.” Kai waggled his eyebrows at me suggestively. “But he’s old news now.”
I laughed at his straightforwardness. I was neither a prude nor a virgin, but I didn’t go broadcasting things as unabashedly as Kai did. He insisted that being blunt meant fewer misunderstandings when you finally made it to the bedroom.
I wasn’t hurting in the hookup department. I got my needs met. So what if it felt a little transactional? Transactions were clean. So what if I was lonely?
It was better to be lonely than hurt.
“Rachel wanted to see you,” Kai said, grabbing his mug from the machine. “She didn’t say why, just that she wanted you to stop into her office before you left for the day.”
I grimaced. Rachel was a great boss, but I couldn’t think of a positive reason she would want to meet with me out of the blue. I walked to her office with my feet feeling like lead.
Rachel’s corner office was well-appointed, with colorful modern art painted by one of our accounting clients. She was backlit by the floor-to-ceiling windows, so I couldn’t immediately see her face. Why was I so nervous? My heartbeat fluttered.
Were these the palpitations the doctor was referring to that I should watch out for?
“Are you alright, Taylor?” Rachel sounded concerned. “Sit, sit.”
“I am.” I plopped into the chair and rubbed my chest before remembering where I was. I immediately dropped my hands and squared my shoulders. “How can I help you?”
“Actually, I’m hoping I can help you. Did you know our company offers medical leave?”
My brow furrowed as Rachel continued.
“As your boss, I’m going to strongly suggest that you avail yourself of it. Alternatively, you have almost six weeks of PTO banked up.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re a great employee, and we’re so grateful for the work you do for our clients,” Rachel said, “but I’m concerned about your health. You regularly clock in at six a.m. and don’t clock out until eight p.m. And with your hospitalization earlier this week…”
“I’m fine. Everything is fine!” The frustration seeped into my voice, although I tried to keep it professional. “Have you received complaints about my work?”
“No. Your clients love you and consistently give you wonderful reviews.”
“Then why am I being punished?” I was so close to the finish line of paying off those debts, so close to being free. Now my body and my boss were betraying me.
“This is not a punishment. Think of it like a sabbatical.”
“What will happen to my clients? We’re right in the middle of the busiest time of year. I can’t abandon them.”
Lately, every little task felt like moving a boulder. All my love for the job had evaporated, but I wasn’t about to abandon Fiona and the others.
“Your projects will be handed off to others on the team. I’d like for you to take at least a month off. Focus on your health and your family, and you can pick things up when you get back.”
“It sounds like I don’t have a choice.”
“You do… but compliance is strongly encouraged.”
I stood abruptly. “Understood.”
“Fill Kai in on where all your current clients are in the workflow before you head out today and enjoy your time off.” Rachel rounded her desk to shake my hand.
“Will do,” I grunted. I knew I was being rude, but I struggled to make sense of what was happening.
Aside from Margo, my work was everything to me. Now, both were being taken away at the same time. I walked back to my desk in a haze. I contemplated texting Gabriel and canceling our date, but being alone with my thoughts felt equally terrifying.
Butterflies swam in my belly as I sat in the car outside the bar, my chest tight with nerves. It was my last chance to get out of this—I could turn the car around and never text Gabriel again. But knowing he was inside waiting for me, I couldn’t bring myself to do it.
I allowed myself three deep breaths before rolling back my shoulders, pulling myself out of the vehicle, and making my way inside.
I pushed the door open, letting my eyes adjust to the lowered lights of the bar, and scanned the room. The dance floor was abandoned this early in the evening, but every seat at the bar was full.
When I finally spotted Gabriel sliding out of a booth in the back corner, I couldn’t help but smile despite my anxiety.
Holy sex on a stick, the man was hot. Gabriel wore a loose-fit grey tee, and the V-neck showed off his sharp collarbones. His cuffed jeans hugged his legs, and he wore white sneakers. When our eyes met, his dimpled smile was totally captivating.
Shit, how did you greet someone on a first date?
If he’d stayed in the booth, that would have been easier, but he was getting up.
A handshake seemed too formal. Jumping right to peeling him out of those jeans was probably presumptuous, even though I could admit, at least to myself, that it was what I wanted.
Gabriel made me think ridiculous things.
Thankfully, he made the decision for me as he threw his arms around my neck and wrapped me in a hug. My mind quieted immediately as I put my hands around his waist and held him close. He was maybe two inches shorter than me, and he felt good in my arms.
After a beat, he leaned back and said, “It’s really good to see you.”
We were pressed against each other, looking into each other’s eyes like we were lovers who’d spent months apart, not relative strangers who’d chatted a few times and were now on a first date.
I laughed lightly to alleviate the tension. “You, too.”
He let his arms fall from my shoulders and stepped back, the moment broken.
“I hope this booth is ok,” Gabriel said, sliding onto the bench seat. “I figured it’d be easier to talk back here, although the dance floor doesn’t start to get rowdy until around eleven, so we have a few hours yet.”
I sat across from him. “Oh, have you been here before?”
Gabriel gave a rueful smile. “Yeah, a handful of times. Some of my buddies work here. In retrospect, I should have asked to meet somewhere else because I’m pretty sure at least one of them will try hard to embarrass me tonight.”
As if summoned, a waitress with dirty blonde hair, dark brown eyes, and hot pink lipstick appeared at the table. She gasped. “We would never.”
“So, it begins.” Gabriel rolled his eyes. “Taylor, meet Kat.”
“Hey, hun,” Kat said, looking me up and down.
I shifted under her gaze.
“Can I get you anything to drink? We have an excellent seasonal cocktail made with mezcal and orange agave bitters.”
“Nice to meet you,” I said. “That sounds awesome, actually. I’ll take one.”
Kat shot Gabriel a quick smile as if she was in on a secret. He ordered an old-fashioned, and we both decided on the burgers with fries. Once Kat left the table with our orders, Gabriel visibly relaxed.
“How do you two know each other?” I asked.
“I bartended for a few years after college, so we met when we worked at the same bar. Now we play in a volleyball league together.”
“What do you do for work now?”
“I’m in horticulture at the Beachside Botanic Gardens. I help care for the plants and plan exhibits, among other things.” Gabriel smiled. “I also, uh, make small batch bitters at home for fun.”
My eyes widened. “Like the kind, for example, that they might use at a gay bar for seasonal cocktail specials?”
He looked sheepish, sinking slightly in his seat. “Um, yeah, actually. Exactly like that.”
“Wow, ok, plant daddy. You are far too cool for me.” My eyes widened when I realized what came out of my mouth. Embarrassed, I covered my face with my hands.
Gabriel laughed. “Plant daddy. Oh my god.”
“So, when you said you were in a bathtub full of oranges last night…”
“They’re in season right now!” Gabriel peeled my fingers away from my face and held them lightly. “I really did have like three hundred oranges in my bathtub.”
I couldn’t believe this guy. Not only was he hot, but he also had fun hobbies, an interesting job, and a side hustle. I was so out of my league.
He smiled at me, and I got lost momentarily, noticing how thick his eyelashes were. When Kat reappeared with our drinks, I pulled my hands back reluctantly.
“Anyway,” Gabriel said. “It’s not like a real business or anything. Just a hobby.”
“Hey,” I said, more forcefully than I intended. “Just because you’re doing it for fun doesn’t mean it’s not a real business. I think it’s awesome.”
Gabriel peered at me. “Thanks, Taylor. What about you? How do you spend your time?”
“Well, I work in accounting, as you know. Although I just got forced into medical leave, which is a long story.”
Gabriel’s brow furrowed.
“Other than that, I’m helping my sister with her wedding. That’s practically a full-time job, since the woman decided to plan the whole thing in six weeks. I haven’t had time for hobbies or anything in a while.”
I sounded boring even to my own ears. You’re supposed to be putting your best foot forward here, Taylor. “Thrilling, I know.”
“I find you very thrilling.” Gabriel’s voice was low and warm.
My cheeks flushed. “Whatever. I know I’m not that interesting. I’m like the Honda Civic of people.”
“C’mon, Civics are reliable and low maintenance.” He winked. “There’s a reason so many people like them, but if it’s more fun you want to have, I can definitely help you.”
I couldn’t help smiling back at him and nodding. Gabriel had this way of off-roading across my carefully constructed plans and intentions. It wasn’t like me to sign a contract without reading the terms and conditions. What did I agree to, exactly?
“Let’s start with getting you out of the house. I have a volleyball tournament tomorrow. It’s a queer league, and we play at Huntington Beach. You should come.”
“Oh, uh… sure?” Normally, I worked at least a half day on the weekends during tax season, but now I’d have to find a new way to fill my time. This seemed as fine a plan as any.
“Great,” Gabriel said. “That’s settled, then. Sounds like you and your sister are close.”
“We are.” I was simultaneously grateful for the subject change and not about to walk into that whole mess.
“She’s eight years younger than me, but we’ve been close since we were kids.
Our parents weren’t exactly around a lot.
Although I think if I want you to like me, I should keep the family trauma dump for at least date three or four. ”
That made Gabriel laugh. “Can’t wait.”