Office Love: Prologue
Office Love: Prologue
A/N: This book's part of the Awkward Love Series. The other three stories in the
series are Gym love, Fleeting Love, and Record Love and all four of these make up
the AL Series. While you don't have to read the other installments to read this
story, you should consider it anyways since doing so greatly enhances the
experience!
<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>-<>
-Eric-
The pounding of the music poured from the speakers, manifesting itself
through unavoidable beats, shaking the house from the very core. That was the first
noticeable factor aside, of course, from the chaotic crowd of hollering drunk
people. Somehow, I caught a glimpse of my friends Mason and Bennett in the
background and smirked, watching them head to the back. Perhaps all my wonderful
wing-man work was finally going to pay off tonight; I'd been playing cupid for them
for way too long so, clearly, it was time they got a clue. Enough of that though;
I'd already spent too much time focusing on my friends' love life and not enough on
mine.
In fact, it'd gotten to the point where I didn't even have one. I
focused on the beautiful girl who was dancing seductively in front of me, noting
the clear way she signaled me forward. She was gorgeous, with short blond hair and
bright blue eyes that seemed to capture my attention almost immediately. As I
stepped forward, I immediately caught the strong aroma of her perfume.
An intriguing blend of strawberry and vanilla surrounded her whole body
and made me breath in admiration. How was it that girls always smelled so amazing?
Hell, even her hair smelled great as I slowly pressed my forehead against hers and
danced to the beat of whatever song was on, boldly initiating small talk before she
had the chance to slip away.
"So, who are you here with?" I asked over the crowd, smiling as she
leaned in closer.
She settled her hands on my shoulder, slowly mouthing that she couldn't
hear me. Naturally, I pressed my mouth against her ear and tried again, making sure
to snake a hand around her waist for effect. It was certainly nice to enjoy a night
out.
"Who are you here with?" I asked, this time lower because of the
closeness Yet, it was that very realization that prompted me to take a quick step
back; she seemed a bit taken aback by the bold proximity.
She didn't reply right away, glancing around curiously before pointing
towards a partying woman in the distance. "My cousin let me tag along!"
I glanced around for anyone looking similar to her, but gave up when I
realized half of the people here looked like her, what with the style of outfit
they wore. It wasn't any type of judgment on my part, though; the resemblance was
honestly uncanny. Too many others looked awfully similar her with the same blond,
straight hair, simple top and a pair of faded short shorts. The brown boots were
also there, which was odd considering those were worn during cold seasons yet the
rest of the outfit made it seem like nobody felt the least cold.
"So, tell me your name," I continued, lowering my hand slightly, softly
grazing her waist.
"Meghan," she said over the loud beat of the music, giggling. "It's so
loud in here!"
I nodded my head in agreement, glancing back towards my friends had
gone off before asking if she wanted to get out of here.
-Shawn-
Allowing Kate and Meghan to stay home alone was probably the worst idea
I'd ever had. I was barely getting into my home after a long day at work when I
received the hysterical call from my niece, Kate.
"Hey," Kate sighed into the phone, already sounding troubled. "I'm
really sorry about this..."
Almost immediately, I felt my heart pounding against my chest, somehow
knowing something was wrong before she'd even had the chance to explain. I could
sense the fear of her voice. What had they done now?
"What did you girls do?" I snapped into the phone, gripping it tightly
while holding it up against my ear.
"Uncle Shawn, there's this man that's trying to take Meghan from the
party and I don't know what to do! Please, could you please come pick us up?" she
begged, repeating the word "please" a couple more times for emphasis.
I stared at the ceiling, my jaw slacking as soon as she mentioned that
Meghan was in danger. Why would they go to a random party without telling me? Fuck,
why would Kate take my daughter to a party, knowing very well it wasn't right?
There was no pleasing them, truly! Every time I gave Meghan some freedom, she just
disobeyed and did something as stupid as heading to a college party while being
underage!
"I'm coming! Text me the damn address and hold on tight." I growled.
"You two better pray for a miracle because I'm making sure you're both grounded for
the rest of eternity!"
This was the last time I trusted Meghan to be responsible on her own. I
received the text and glanced at the address wearily, realizing it wasn't too far
from here. I set the phone down on the counter then, turning around and looking for
my keys. My damn keys had been in my hand not to long ago. Now, where had I put
them? They'd been in my damn hand just-By chance, I checked in my pocket, feeling
them against the palm of my hand before dashing out the door and towards my car.
I might have forgotten to put on my seat-belt before pulling out of my
driveway and accelerating to an illegal speed, but who could blame me?
-Eric-
I followed her out the door willing, smirking at the idea that she'd
been rather excited to ditch the party. There was a buzzing in my mind as her soft
hands pressed against my arm, spreading across my body as she followed me towards
the car.
Perhaps I was being a jackass for leaving Mason and Bennett behind, but
it wasn't as if I didn't have a perfectly good excuse. After all, some fun couldn't
kill me. I was suddenly so glad that I had those spare keys for Mason's car that
he'd given me when we moved into the dorm together, already trusting me simply
because we were long time best friends. I'd buy him a cake or something as an
apology for ditching him at the party; he liked cakes.
"So, tell me about yourself," I asked as we slowly walked towards my
car. "Like, what classes are you taking?"
Meghan thought about it for a second, biting her bottom lip as we
casually walked side by side. Her hands were still clinging to my arm, something
that made me smile. She twirled her hair for a second, moving it to the back of her
shoulder before continuing. The scent of strawberry and vanilla was still present,
but the windy air was making it somewhat difficult to catch.
"I'm taking Algebra 4?" she tried, to which I raised an eyebrow.
There wasn't such a thing as Algebra 4, even if her smile made me want
to ignore that fact. I thought back to her posture and then opened my eyes in
realization.
"Did you skip a year or something? I mean, there's no shame in that. I
almost did, except that I couldn't due to scholarships and-but hey, I definitely
would've if I had the option." I smiled, trying to be reassuring as possible. Some
of my friends had done that, and there was no shame in taking a break!
She closed her eyes tightly before shaking her head. There was a sound
of a car passing by, but I ignored it in favor of glancing at her curiously. What
did she mean then?
"See, I'm not exactly-"
Then, I heard the sound of a car door slamming, followed by a
hysterical outburst.
"What the fuck do you think you're doing?" an older male voice was
suddenly yelling from the other side of the street, glaring viciously while rushing
