Love Unrequited

"Thank goodness, you're alive!" shouted Marilynn as she stormed into the room. "Honestly, I turn my back for one second and you dis-" She stopped short once she saw Ben. "Oh, I hope I'm not interrupting anything."

"Just getting a cup of coffee," Ben said as he grabbed his mug and headed out the door. Julia watched him as he went, and swore she saw a wide grin spreading across his face as he walked out.

It turned out Julia's exit from the party hadn't escaped everyone's attention, and Marilynn was dying to know the details.

"A little birdie tells me you spent the night at a certain someone's apartment on Saturday." Marilynn was barely suppressing a smile, and Julia couldn't help noticing how proud she sounded. Julia did her best to avoid the questions.

"It really wasn't a big deal," she said.

"Spill it."

Julia sighed and braced herself. "There's not much to tell really. I had a little too much to drink at the party, and Ben was nice enough to give me a ride." She immediately regretted her choice of words, but carried on. "He took me to his apartment and I slept it off, then went home the next morning."

Marilynn eyed her, the barrage of questions forming in her head. "Where did you sleep?"

"His bed," Julia replied.

"And where did he sleep?" Marilynn asked eagerly.

"On the couch."

"Did he try anything?" Marilynn asked, still eager for gossip.

"Not once," Julia said.

Marilynn deflated a bit at the answer, but still dug for information. "Was the couch in the same room?"

"Nope, different rooms."

She thought for a moment, still trying to extract some juicy information from the exchange. She made one last ditch effort. "Did he undress you before he put you in bed?"

"Marilynn!"

"So, nothing happened?" Marilynn had gone from deflated to completely disappointed.

"Like I said, he took me to his apartment so I could sleep it off, then in the morning I left. That's it." Julia was relieved the inquisition appeared to be ending.

Marilynn was disappointed with the report, but seemed satisfied that she had all the information. After a few formalities about the meeting that afternoon, Julia took her mug back to her cubicle. She was relieved to see Ben wasn't at his desk, and she turned her back to it in case he came back. She had a lot to think about, and the last thing she needed was more information to process.

What she definitely knew what this: Ben, her coworker of several months who she had always thought couldn't stand the sight of her, liked her much more than she could ever have imagined. Her heart was still pounding from this realization, and from his soft lips pressed against hers.

She stole a look over her shoulder and her heart started beating quickly again when she saw Ben sitting at his desk. He was talking on the phone and looking intently at his computer screen, and she quickly turned back before he could notice.

For the rest of the morning Julia tried to focus on her work, but her thoughts kept going back to Ben. She thought of how difficult it must have been to carry her from his car up to his apartment. She also remembered the glass of water and toast sitting next to the bed, and everything laid out in the bathroom. He had taken excellent care of her, and she had hardly thanked him.

Gradually her thoughts took another direction, and she thought more about Ben himself. The more she considered it, the more she realized how attractive he was. She started to wonder what it would be like to run her fingers through his hair, pulling him in for a kiss. She pictured him drumming his fingers up and down her back as she pulled his clothes off one piece at a time.

Her daydream was interrupted by the phone ringing.

"Time to make friends with the new editor," Marilynn said, "are you on your way?"

"Just about to leave," Julia replied, and picked up a file from her desk. She straightened up and made her way towards the conference room, but was disappointed that she didn't see Ben on her way out. She was already looking forward to the next time she would see him.

The rest of the day passed slowly, with no more unexpected revelations. Julia kept peeking over her shoulder in the hopes of seeing Ben at his desk, but this was a busy time for him. Their next issue was about to go to print, so he was probably tracking down writers who hadn't met their deadlines. It was just as well; by the end of the day Julia couldn't keep the fantasies of him having his way with her on the desk out of her mind, so heaven only knew what might have happened if the opportunity actually presented itself.

As the day drew to a close she packed up her bag and put on her coat, then took one last look at Ben's empty desk before wishing people a good evening on her way to the elevator. On her way out Marilynn cornered her.

"Don't forget about tomorrow," she said, in a rare serious mood. "It's the most important meeting of the year and we can't keep them waiting. I want you here an hour early to get everything ready."

Julia had remembered the meeting with their biggest client, and knew that she would have to earn her paycheck the next day. "Don't worry, I'll be here." She wished Marilynn a nice evening and headed to the elevator.

Her plan was to go home and take a hot bath, then let her mind explore some of her new fantasies as her hands explored her body. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she didn't hear the footsteps approaching the elevator, and her heart leapt to her throat when she saw who it was.

Ben stepped in beside her just as the doors were closing, and they began the long ride to the ground floor. She had blushed and looked away when he got on, but when she looked back his eyes were focused intently on her.

She could feel the tension building in the small space as they stared at one another, and her thoughts hovered between the kiss from that morning and her fantasies throughout the day.

When the elevator was halfway to the lobby she had made her decision, and without saying a word she stepped forward. He met her halfway, and their lips met once again. He wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her against him as their lips parted.

All too soon the elevator arrived at the ground floor, and they had to break their embrace. They straightened up, grabbed their dropped briefcases and walked out into the lobby.

Up until then neither had spoken, but Ben was the first to break the silence. "Would you like to have dinner with me?"

Julia smiled. "That would be nice." She had taken the bus to work, so the two of them got into his car and drove out of the parking lot.

"How does a home-cooked meal sound?" he asked as they turned onto the street.

Julia was pleasantly surprised by the offer. "That sounds great. Honestly, I can't remember the last time anyone cooked for me." After a short ride they were parked outside of the familiar building where she had spent the night on Saturday.

As they climbed the stairs Julia again thought of how hard it must have been to get her from the car into the apartment. She also considered how strong Ben must be, and how she would much rather be awake the next time he carried her to bed. When they got to the door Ben unlocked it and let her in, then shut and locked the door behind them.

He took Julia's bag and set it on the floor, then started taking her coat off her shoulders. He stood close behind her, running his hands down her arms as he pulled the coat away from her body.

She felt his warm breath on the back of her neck, and sighed when his lips pressed gently against her skin. She tilted her head forward as he kissed her neck, his arms circling her waist as a chill ran down her spine. She turned around and pulled his face towards hers, kissing him deeply as her fingers laced through his hair.

This was all the encouragement he needed, and in an instant he had her swept up in his arms headed toward the bedroom. He laid her gently on the sheets before kicking his shoes off and climbing in beside her.

Ben's lips never left her skin the entire time they were together. He kissed her lips, her neck, her shoulders, and any other place he could reach. With each moan and sigh she made, the greater effort he put forth to please her. The bed shook as he drove her over the edge more times than she could count, and he held off as long as he could before allowing his own orgasm to take over.

"That's not why I asked you here you know," Ben eventually managed to say, "I really do intend to cook you dinner." She laughed as he kissed her one more time, then rolled out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants and a t-shirt and grabbed his glasses. He made his way to the kitchen and she could hear the crashing sounds of cookware being retrieved from cabinets. She picked his dress shirt up off the floor and pulled it on before heading in to help.

While the two of them cooked and ate, they had a real conversation for the first time. It started with small talk about work, but eventually took a different direction.

"If you had to sum up your life in ten words or less, what would you say?" Julia asked. Ben was thoughtful for a moment, then started counting on his fingers.

"Grew up nearby, dad architect, mom painter, sister publisher," he paused with nine fingers held up. "Dog," he finished triumphantly. Julia laughed.

"Ok, now with as many words as you'd like."

"My parents live about an hour and a half away, still in the house I grew up in. My dad works for an architecture firm so I grew up in a house full of blueprints. And paintings, but those were my mom's."

"What does she paint?" Julia asked.

"People commission portraits from her, but what she really likes is landscapes," Ben explained.

"How about your sister?" Julia liked the way Ben's face had lit up while talking about his family.

"Works for a publisher. We both got our degrees in graphic design but ended up taking slightly different career paths. I think she designs book covers mostly, she seems to enjoy it."

"Is she older or younger?" Julia was genuinely curious about Ben's life.

"Younger, but only by a year. We looked a lot alike until I was in the sixth grade and had a huge growth spurt. Now I'm half a foot taller than she is, and she hates it." Ben smiled. "She has better eyesight though, so I'd say that makes us about even."

"And the dog?" she asked with a grin.

"Golden retriever," he answered, "still lives with my parents."

"How did you end up with this job?" Julia asked. It was a total fluke that she had ended up working at the magazine, so she was always interested to hear how other people started there.

"Mark hired me straight out of college. He had a competition to see who could design the best new logo, the prize was a job offer."

Julia hardly noticed the mention of Mark's name.

Ben quickly moved on. "Ok, your turn. Ten words or less."

Julia thought carefully, but no matter how she phrased it her life story would never sound as happy as Ben's. She counted off on her fingers as she spoke. "Grew up far away, dad investment banker, only child," she hesitated before adding her last two words, "no mom."

Without meaning to she had changed the mood in the room. She lowered her hands to the table and sat silently looking down. She watched as Ben put his hand over hers.

"That's actually eleven words," he said softly, interlacing his fingers with hers. "How far away is far away?" He asked gently.

"About 700 miles, give or take. My dad and I moved house a lot, but we always kept to the same area." She lifted her eyes to his; he was looking at their hands together on the table. Ben looked like he wanted to ask more questions, but she was relieved when he turned the conversation to a more benign topic.

"When's your birthday?" he asked

They discovered they were born only two weeks apart, though in completely different parts of the country. Julia still marveled at how their conversation had flowed so comfortably, and it felt like they had known each other for years.

Once they finished eating they stacked the dishes in the sink and went to sit on the couch. Julia laid her head on his shoulder, and Ben wrapped his arm around her.

"So, exactly how long have you been wanting to do this?" she asked with a smile. Ben answered immediately.

"Since your first day of work. I kept trying to think of excuses to come over and talk to you, but you were always busy with something or being introduced to someone else."

"Come to think of it, Marilynn didn't introduce us, did she?" Julia thought for a moment, but didn't remember meeting him on her first day. "That's strange, she made a point of introducing me to all the attractive men."

Ben raised an eyebrow. "Maybe she was planning to make a move herself. Either that or she forgot about me. Anyway, after a while I lost my nerve and never worked up the courage to talk to you. Well, until now." He leaned down and gave her a soft kiss on the lips.

"Will you stay the night?" he asked. It was an unexpected question, and one she didn't know the answer to. She looked into his eyes, and for the first time that evening saw they were filled with uncertainty.

Julia would be perfectly content to spend the night curled up in his arms, but they both had work the next day and she needed a clean change of clothes.

"I should probably be getting home," she replied. She could see the disappointment in his face as soon as she said it. "I would love to stay, but it would be a little strange to go into work wearing the same clothes as I did today."

He was clearly disappointed, but he nodded his head in agreement. Then a thought seemed to occur to him, and he gave a hopeful smile. "If you had something to wear tomorrow, would you stay?"

"Absolutely," she replied, wondering what his idea was. He gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before disappearing into the bedroom. After several minutes of digging through drawers he emerged carrying a small pile of clothes.

"My sister left these the last time she came to visit. She's about your size, and she wouldn't mind loaning them to you. If you want to that is. I understand if you don't." The uncertainty was back in his voice.

Julia held up the clothes and smiled broadly. "Perfect," she said, "just what I needed."

The rest of the evening passed in a strangely normal way. Julia got started on the dishes while Ben took a shower, then they switched places. When Julia got out of the shower she found a clean dress shirt sitting out for her.

"You must really like how I look in these," she said as she came out of the bathroom. Ben was sitting on the bed, wearing boxers and a t-shirt and setting the alarm clock.

"I think they look better on you than they do on me," he replied, moving over to make room for her on the bed. She climbed in beside him as he put his glasses on the bedside table and turned off the light. They curled up in each other's arms and fell asleep.

The next morning Julia opened her eyes slowly, her vision getting clearer with each blink. The early morning light streaming in through the windows made her smile, and she immediately remembered everything that had happened the night before. Gradually she inched closer to Ben, savoring the last few minutes in his arms before the alarm went off.

They got ready for work the same way they had gotten ready for bed: like they had been going through the same routine every day for years. They maneuvered around in the bathroom with no problems, and managed to both brush their teeth without even bumping into each other. While Ben shaved Julia made a quick breakfast, and they each had a slice of toast as they headed out the door to Ben's car.

"I think maybe we should keep this to ourselves," Julia said on their way to the office. "For now at least. The last thing we need is for the whole office to be talking about us constantly."

Ben nodded his agreement, and took her hand as he turned into the parking lot. "Dinner tonight?" he asked after he pulled into his parking spot.

She kissed him in response. "Maybe tonight I'll cook for you." They got out of the car, and both had big smiles on their faces as they walked from the parking lot to the building.

Julia stopped short when she saw Marilynn pacing inside the lobby, and remembered with horror that she was supposed to come in early that morning. Their biggest client would be there any minute, and Julia was just arriving to the office.

Marilynn opened her mouth to begin what would surely be a loud and thorough expression of her feelings, but stopped. Her mind immediately jumped to the right conclusion as she saw Julia and Ben walk into the building together. Ben gave a sheepish smile as he walked on to the elevator, leaving Julia to deal with her partner.

"Marilynn, I'm so sorry!" Her apology was dismissed with a wave of Marilynn's hand.

"Never mind, everything is under control. They arrive any minute, so just ditch your coat and stand up straight."

Julia did as she was told without another word, and was relieved that for once Marilynn didn't grill her for details. Marilynn just shook her head in amazement as they stood in the lobby, waiting for their clients to arrive so they could begin another day of work.

*

Special thanks to CWatson for the advice, and Mrtouf for the encouragement.