That one summer

Orion

It had been 4 days since I had sent the request and Aurora had not responded yet. I had seen her every day at the office and we had passed the pleasantry smiles to each other while walking by. I still remember the first day I saw her 6 months ago. She was waiting at the reception for Declan the Marketing head for the interview. Her wavy brown hair was bouncing on her shoulders and I could slightly see purple hair hidden underneath when she moved her head. And that smile of hers, my world stopped right then and there. She had worn plum pants with a white blouse which did nothing but enhance her curves. Since that day on I have been drooling and praying that she got the job more than I had prayed for mine.

Declan was also my childhood mate; we had grown up together and even ended up going to the university together. He had recently caught me a few times looking over at Aurora but hadn't said anything yet.

It was past 3 pm, and usually, this time Aurora goes for a cup of coffee in the small pantry, I wanted to use this chance to speak with her. Just then, I saw her get up with her navy-blue mug towards the pantry and I like a puppy followed her and almost startled her with "Hey, how you doing?" It is a small pantry and no more than 2 people can stand there also, it is hidden in the corner of the floor, perfect for a conversation.

"It has been good, how are you?" I could see she was avoiding eye contact, and I was not sure if I should be proud that she might be feeling nervous or should feel guilty that I was making her uncomfortable. And at that moment, I decided to ask her assuming what is the worst that could happen!

"So, why haven't you accepted my request yet?"

She finally looked up at me, and her eyes had turned wide for a moment as if I had announced her favourite boy band was going on hiatus and regained herself quickly. "What request are you talking about, I did not find any documents on my desk."

"You very well know what request I am talking about, but I will humor you on this. The following request on Instagram, you know where people usually get to see what other people are posting"

"Oh that, I do not use Instagram that often. So, I haven't seen your request yet. I will get to it soon." And she smiled awkwardly.

And then I gave her a grin and said "But I saw you staring at my name and deciding what to do earlier."

Her eyes went wide again.  "You saw that! I do not add people from work on my social media" and walked away leaving her coffee behind. I was totally bluffing when I said that I had caught her, but knowing that it was true and she was conflicted was a win for me. I left her coffee on her desk with a note on it and left for home.

I had bought my childhood home from my parents after they decided to move back to Scarborough. It was a big house outside Leeds City, but it was home. I had renovated it a little to my taste giving it more sunlight and ventilation. After a quick run and shower, I headed towards Mrs Patel's house. She had always been my neighbour but nobody at work knew that. And usually during weekends, I help her with the deliveries since the orders are through the roof on Fridays and Saturdays.

After winding up as I was walking back home, I pulled my phone out and stopped right there in my tracks. Aurora had not only accepted my request and was following me back but most importantly she had dropped me a text "You need to work on your concentration skills."