His Name Is Jake Saunders

Pushing Buttons

Okay, so my little failure back at the office wasn't a total failure. I had worried that Jake was going to tell his father that it was him I was talking to on the phone, but as it turned out, Jake corroborated my story by basically doing nothing and having another fight with his father. Robert trudged the hallway with a deep-cutting glare over his usually smoothed out features. His shoulders were restricted upwards and he barely noticed people walking passed him as he knocked them over, one by one, on his way to his office.

As I recalled, Jake had a habit of pushing people's buttons, and he loved to push his father's buttons more than anyone's. The problem with that is, because no punishments worked on Jake anymore, Robert became overcome with such a bad mood that he had a tendency to lash out at everyone else. You know how in The Ghostbusters there was the 'gate keeper' and the 'key master'? Well, I was the gate keeper telling all key masters to avoid Robert whenever they could because he was in such a bad mood. Those days usually ran the quickest and by 4PM, most people were home. Except me. Call me a dork, or what-you-will, but I love my work. I love work so much that I don't even realise sun-down is just around the corner, and even Robert has left.

Most days were like this. Most nights my head was down into my work. And before I knew it, the week was up. I don't know, I'm starting to think that my life has become pretty boring, and Angela agrees with me.

"Whole-heartedly!" she said as we were having pre-drinks before I was catching a cab to Jake's place. "You may as well buy a cat already."

"And become a discount Taylor Swift?" I grinned.

Angela waved me off. "That girl is beyond cat lady—"

I shrugged. "Well it is T-swizzle. No one can shit on her."

"I'll shit on her," Angela said, rather seriously that we both paused to stare at each other half-confused and half-disgusted and burst out laughing.

"Eww," I chuckled.

Angela put her hands up in surrender. "My bad. Why'd you even wait a week before going straight to Jake's? I would have gone in a heartbeat."

I shrugged. "I didn't want him to think I was desperate."

Angela rolled her eyes and poured herself some more wine. "Oh honey, I think that ship has come and gone and you are not on it."

"Thanks?" I tilted my head in wonder.

"Yes, it is compliment," Angela said, addressing my confusion with a hint of condescension as if she were talking to a child. "What if you and him become one of those fairy tales or movies where you guys just fall in love in the end and he can't live without you and—"

"Uh-uh!" I waved my forefinger from side to side, forcibly stopping her in her tracks and staring at her sternly. "Ain't going to happen. It's just sex."

"Yeah, but it's not going to be just sex. Eventually it's going to turn into something more. Something different. You're heart's going to flutter—"

"—my heart already flutters—"

"—in that way where he makes you want him for more than sexual reasons—"

I shook my head. "—there's no other reason."

Her thin brown brows jumped up and down. "For intimate reasons. I can already see you guys turning into a clichéd book or movie. Nicholas Sparks will have a field day."

I threw my dress at her. "Ain't going to happen!"

She shrieked at her reflex reaction, missing the dress and blindly pouring wine all over herself. "Aww, Sophia, look what you made me do."

"HA!" I said, crossing my arms over my chest.

Angela laughed wickedly. "Oh, you're going to get yours, you just wait."

I smiled and, knowing Angela, I just knew she was already coming up with a plan as she wiped away in the bathroom.

When she wasn't looking, I grabbed the bottle of wine and, like a sloshy slob, took a couple of swigs straight out of the bottle to calm my nerves. Oh come on, like you've never done that?

***Hi all! If you like what you read and you'd like to show support please vote, comment and share; and even visit my blog CaliforniaSoulBlog for a similar story where I post twice a week. Thank you to those who already do so, means a lot! More to come, of course! What do you think will happen on Sophia's and Jake's dinner-date? Soul xo***