Right Here

Chapter 13

If this past few weeks taught me anything is that I needed to spend more time with Anya. I had been wary about work friendships after my last experience, and it took me a while to let Junmyeon and Anya in, but neither of them disappointed. They proved they were people I could trust and rely on, and I hoped they felt it was reciprocated. At first, it was hard to not compare it to my previous work relationships, namely Sophia, and my hope was that it wouldn't turn out the same. So far, so good.

Once we reached our floor and parted ways, I finally took out my phone. I saw a few notifications. There were text messages from both Baekhyun and Junmyeon. I hurried to my office before I opened them.

[Baek]: Globaviation is staying

I almost squealed.

[Brielle]: OMG that's amazing! Congratulations
[Baek]: Thank you
[Baek]: I'm taking a half day to go pass out. Maybe wanna come by later?

I felt my heart thud unnecessarily in my chest.

[Brielle]: Sure

The weather was warming up as April approached. Snow finally melting from the streets. Birds returning to chirp in the early morning. Green leaves and colorful flowers blooming on the trees. Fragrant flowers sprouting from the ground. Gray clouds being replaced by white fluffy ones. Moods lifting as seasonal depression slowly faded for most. Although New York never stops moving, like most other places when the weather started to thaw out, so did the citizens. People lingered outside for longer and the streets were slightly more crowded, making the city seem more alive than it did in the winter.

Along with the majority that had nothing to do on the long winter nights, Baekhyun and I had easily fallen back into our routine. It was comfortable and familiar. When we were bored, when work was stressing us out, when we felt a little lonely, we ended up tangled under the covers, folded on couches, pressed against walls or on top of counters. Then we would be back at work as if nothing happened. We still had our coffee breaks and sometimes lunch dates. I was glad our dynamic hadn't changed. He was still his cocky, playful self and his friendship was much appreciated. He encouraged me to start going on dates again while I gave him advice on navigating dating apps. He managed to finally go on two dates since he decided to be consistent on the apps. Neither worked out for his own strange reasoning, but I was still proud of him for putting in the effort.
"Don't wear that." I said. It was Saturday night and he had another date. He decided to video call me while he was getting ready because he didn't know what to wear. It was cute. He definitely didn't need my help picking an outfit. He was just nervous. This was yet another new side of Baekhyun that blew my mind. The ever so suave flirt nervous for a date like a teenager. He told me he clicked with this woman more than the others which told me he had high hopes for this date.
"What's wrong with this one?" He frowned, looking like a kicked puppy, standing in the middle of his bedroom in just his briefs.
"You're going to Reines, not Hummingbird." I said dryly. "Wear the black silk shirt."
"You don't think that's going to look sleazy?" He tossed the green button down he was holding back on his bed and picked up the black one, examining it as if it were the first time he was seeing it.
"Why would you have it in your closet if you thought it looked sleazy?"
"Yongsun was the one who bought it."
"Oh. Sorry." I said. He shrugged.
"It's a nice shirt. Just never wore it."
"Well, I think you can pull it off. As long as you don't have it unbuttoned to your navel, with leather pants, and beaucoup gold chains and rings, with your hair slicked back, you can't look sleazy." I said. He laughed. "Two buttons undone and one gold chain should suffice." He pouted and continued to stare at the shirt. "Why do you all of the sudden want to dress like someone's grandfather?"
"I'm not. I really like this shirt." He laughed, holding up the green one again. "It's nice."
"Not for a first date. That's playing it too safe. You need to give off some type of sex appeal."
"Yeah, I guess you're right." He picked the black one up again slipped it on. He buttoned it, leaving the top two undone. "What are your plans for the night?" He asked, putting on his black slacks.
"Just me and my ice cream." I took another bite of the chocolate fudge.
"I want some."
"Come get it." I teased. He chuckled. Even though my job was done, I continued to watch him get ready. We chatted about a show we both recently started to watch as he asked me how to style his hair and which accessories to wear and which cologne to spray. Once he was ready, I wished him luck and he thanked me before we ended the call. I was looking forward to hearing about how the date went and I was sure he was going to fill me in.