6. Austin
CHAPTER 6
Austin
“ W hat has you smiling like that?”
“Hmm?” Taylor slowly lifts her eyes from her phone to look at me.
“Your phone,” I say, nodding toward it. “You’ve been buried in it this last week.”
“Oh.” She shrugs, her eyes dropping back down to the screen. “Yeah, I guess so.”
“Care to share?” I pick mindlessly at a piece of lint on my knee before pushing off from the love seat in her office when it’s clear she has no intention of actually talking to me.
“Sorry,” she says after finally turning her phone over and placing it face down on her desk. “What’s up?”
“I was just stopping by to say hey.” I give her a confused look as if we don’t do this same thing every damn Friday since we started this firm.
“Hey.” She smiles, a glint in her eye.
Any frustration I felt a second ago melts away the instant she looks at me with that smile, the one that has warmth spreading through my chest like a shot of whiskey. Every time I feel this way, I have to keep myself from saying something stupid like, Fuck that idiot; we both know you’re wasting time .
“So, Friday night in Chicago.” I flop back down onto the couch, reaching for my phone when it buzzes in my pocket. “Any big plans?”
I glance down, Mia’s name on my screen. I furrow my brows, remembering the way our first date ended, both of us confessing our unrequited love for someone else. An uncomfortable feeling settles in my stomach when I remember the way I drunkenly said the words out loud for the first time.
Mia
Bet you thought you wouldn’t hear from me again, huh? I have kind of a weird request… Would you maybe want to go on a second date?
“I don’t know why you even ask anymore.” She sighs, organizing the items on her desk. “What about you? How’d your date with Mia go?”
My eyes shoot to hers when she says her name, as if she can see through my phone or something. “Oh, yeah, Mia.” I laugh. “Funny you should ask.” I hold up my phone. “She just asked me on a second date.”
“Of course she did,” she half mutters, her focus still on rearranging her desk.
“Sorry, just going to respond to her really quick,” I say, turning back to my phone.
Austin
I can confidently say no, I did not expect to hear from you again. But considering how we left things… what has you asking for a second date? Looking to get over the last guy with a new one?
I contemplate how I would feel if she says yes, if I’d say yes if all it was going to be was just physical.
Of course you will. Pretty fucked up you’ll hook up with a complete stranger because she looks remotely like Taylor.
Mia
So this is going to be very unconventional but you’re the only person I’ve told I’m still in love with my ex who won’t judge me or remind me of all the awful things he did while we were together. My friends don’t want to hear it and while I don’t blame them, I need help getting over him but not sex. I just want a guy to give it to me straight, tell me what I’m doing wrong. And who knows, maybe I could give you some advice in return.
Austin
Intriguing… Can’t see why it would hurt.
I smile in surprise at her request, lifting my head just as Taylor drops her phone down toward her lap with a guilty look on her face, her wide eyes darting around wildly to avoid mine.
“Did you just—” I tilt my head, confused by what I thought was the shutter sound. “…take a picture of me?”
“No,” she says quickly… too quickly. “I was just putting my phone in my purse, thinking I’ll head out a little early this weekend for once.” She reaches for her purse, slinging it over her shoulder after shooting upward out of her chair.
“I heard the shutter sound.”
“No, you didn’t. Or if you did, it must have been on your phone.”
I don’t know why she’s lying, but I know damn well when she is and especially when she’s trying to hide something.
“What the hell is with you?” I stand when she walks around her desk and hold my arm out to block her. “Are you planning a birthday party or something? Need my picture for the cake?” I flash her a smile. “At least let me pose. Come on now.” She clutches the straps of her purse, rolling her eyes.
“Fine, yes, I’m planning a party for you.” She reaches into her purse and brings out her phone again, then opens the camera and holds it up. “Pose.” Before I can, she snaps the photo and drops her hands. “Perfect.”
“Hey, let me see it.” I hold out my hand, but she pulls the phone away to step around me. “Fine.” I reach around her, snatching it out of her hand and clicking on the photo she just took that is not only blurry but only has a fraction of my face actually in it. I lift my thumb to swipe across the photo when she darts her hand out.
“Don’t!” I stare at the panicked expression on her face, then back down at the phone.
“Well, now I gotta.” I smile wildly, swiping my thumb to bring up the next photo which is, in fact, another photo of me from just a moment ago when I was sitting on the couch. I scroll again. This time it’s a video of me on the couch, my head down when I was texting Mia. “What is this?”
I turn to face her, her cheeks flaming as she drops her gaze to the floor for a second. “Nothing, it’s nothing.”
“Nothing?” I crook my brow. “Are you making me a dating profile?”
“What? No,” she says in honest shock. “I just—you have great style, you know that; everyone knows that. I thought the internet might think so too and they do.”
“So you posted a picture of me to?—”
“Here.” She holds out her hand. “Let me just show you. It’s easier than explaining it.”
I hand her phone back to her and she switches over to another app. She taps the screen a few times and spins the phone around to face me. I squint, trying to understand what I’m staring at when I see a few other photos and videos of me clearly posted on a social media app.
“I think I still need an explanation.”
“So you know this app, everyone’s been posting videos on it and going viral?”
“Yeah, everyone uses it.”
“Except you,” she corrects. “So yeah, anyway, I got bored one night after scrolling on there and I decided to post a picture of you because—ugh, this is so embarrassing and hard to explain but there’s this thing called BookTok.”
“BookTok?”
She walks over to the love seat and takes a seat, patting the other cushion. “This might take a few minutes.”
After she finishes explaining it and lets me scroll through some of the comments, my cheeks hurt from smiling so much.
“So you’re not mad? I know it was stupid. I was just—lonely and bored like I said.”
“Nah, I’m not mad at all. I think it’s hilarious.” I click back to the profile, only four different posts on the account so far.
“You dress so well, you know that,” she says, gesturing toward me. “I thought women and even guys would love your outfits, but it seems they like a lot more than just that. And I certainly never expected your first video to go viral, but after that, I felt like I couldn’t stop and let everyone down.” We both laugh, her shoulder bumping into mine. “But I’m done with it; it was fun for a second but I’m over it now.”
“Over it? Looks like I’m just getting popular,” I tease, handing her back her phone. “And that last picture you took of me was decent so you can’t let it go to waste.”
She shakes her head, laughing. “I knew it would give you a big head. I promise to post the picture, give the people one last hoorah.”
Neither of us get up; we just stay seated, smiling and chuckling at each other. A pit forms in my stomach when I look over at her, that smile making me want to lean in and kiss her and tell her I don’t give a fuck what anyone else thinks about me but her.
“What’s Noah think about it? Jealous you didn’t post him?” I try to joke about it, even if the mention of his name pisses me off.
“Oh.” Her face falls, her shoulders sagging. “Might as well be honest about that too. We broke up six months ago.”
“What?” The shock is evident on my face, my back coming away from the love seat. “Shit, why didn’t you tell me?”
She lifts one shoulder in a half shrug. “I just needed some time. Wasn’t really in the sharing headspace.”
“I get it.” We both sit in silence for several seconds. “Want to talk about it?”
“Not really, or at least not right now. Is that okay?”
“Of course.” I don’t know why I do it, but I lift my hand and gently cup her chin. “Anything I can do to make it better?”
Her eyelids flutter, then her gaze drops from mine to my mouth and I feel the pull of her body. I lean in an inch closer and she does the same, the air so thick it’s suffocating any rational thought. But a second later, two laughing voices interrupt us as they echo down the hallway, pulling us apart.
“I’ll be okay but thank you.” She leans back to release herself from my hand and stand up. “I really would like to get home a little early tonight.”
“Of course.” I stand with her, walking her toward her office door which she shuts and locks behind us. I follow her to the elevator, trying to think of any reason to make her stay. “And if you ever do want to talk about it or just grab a drink if you’re bored, let me know. I miss how we used to do that.” I never asked her why it stopped because I already know what the answer is and I don’t want to hear it.
“And what would Mia say?” she teases.
Shit, Mia.
“I’m sure she would be understanding of me grabbing a drink with a friend. It was only one date.” I laugh.
“Friend?” she says with a coy grin. “I’m your lawyer, remember?”
“Ah, that’s right, client attorney privilege.” I motion between us, referring to our ongoing joke that we are, in fact, not friends; I merely pay her to listen to me vent on Fridays, knowing whatever I say to her is safe.
“Anyway, good night.” She pokes the button for the lobby and waves as the door closes between us.
I pull out my phone, typing out a response to Mia.
Austin
How does Monday night sound?
Mia
Send me the address. Seven?
I agree to her response, reminding myself to find a place local to send to her, then I flip over to the app store and download the one that Taylor was just showing me while I walk back to my office.
I go through the quick setup steps as I make my way back to my office, selecting a random vague name and a set of numbers for my profile and leave the picture blank. Then I type in the username I noticed Taylor was posting under. I chuckle to myself when I locate the_bored_lawyer and select follow.
Cringing, I click on the first video she posted of me. I want to look away as the image of me comes into focus. I’m laughing, my head thrown back as I talk in the break room, the video slowed down enough that it almost looks cinematic.
I can’t help but laugh at the thought of Taylor not only secretly recording me, but taking the time to edit this photo and find the perfect song to go with it. The video replays again while I hit the comment bubble, my eyes scanning over what feels like endless remarks, some with dozens of likes on them.
One in particular catches my eye.
How do you get anything done with that perfect specimen walking around your office? I’d be in a puddle!
Not only did Taylor like the person’s comment, but she even responded to it herself, complete with a sweating emoji.
It’s not easy. Did you peep those forearms?
My grin widens, and a deep pull in my belly sends a signal to my cock at the thought of Taylor checking me out. I couldn’t give a fuck what these random people are saying about me. Yeah, I guess it’s nice to read compliments about yourself but I’m not obtuse. I’m already aware of the way women look at me… but not Taylor.
I’m aware of the initial attraction we had to each other. We were seconds away from our tongues in each other’s mouths and tearing our clothes off when she accepted my job offer. I close my eyes, letting my head fall back against my chair as I replay that memory in my head.
I can still remember the smell of her perfume; it was floral with a touch of citrus. Her eyes were wide, her lips parted slightly as her eyes dropped from mine to my lips, then back up again.
“Fuck.”
I groan, rubbing my thumb and forefinger against the back of my eyelids. Five years later and I’m still mentally kicking myself for not kissing her. For not even trying to make her see that it would be worth the risk.