From the time I entered the team, Kevin had done nothing but openly flirt with me and everyone knew how he felt. They also knew how I felt as I would rebuke his flirtatious manner every day. At length and loudly.
"No, Kevin, I will not date you, for what feels like the one thousandth time this week!" I shouted at him whilst I was at the copier. This was an everyday occurrence and the office got a kick out of it.
"C'mon! One date, it's not going to kill you." He smirked, leaned against the wall and looked at me. He wasn't a bad looking man. He was about 6 foot in height with dark hair and a beard. His blue eyes with flecks of green held a bit of mischief and his smile was infectious. His large hands looked calloused but strong and he was very well built as well.
I shot him an annoyed look and walked away without saying anything, a scowl on my face. I was getting more and more annoyed with him but I couldn't understand why. Marzia noticed this as I sat beside her.
"Kevin asked you out again?" She gave me a knowing look. I sighed out of frustration.
"I'm getting sick of it! Every fucking day he has to ask me out at least, oh, 6 billion times!" I exclaimed sarcastically and tidied up my papers.
"Well, it's not long until the weekend hits and you'll be free of him for 2 weeks!" I smiled at her and nodded. We were gong to head home and spend time with family then go on a girly holiday for a weekend.
"I cannot wait until it is 5 o'clock on Friday! Ah!" I smiled broadly and she laughed. My phone suddenly vibrated in my pocket and I quickly and sneakily looked at it.
"Another match?" Marzia teased and I rolled my eyes at her.
"Nope, it's Dr. Dick!" We both giggled. It was a nickname to a PhD student I was seeing on/off at the time. His name was Richard but Marzia called him Dr. Dick.
"You meeting him tonight?"
"Meh. Maybe. I'll see how I feel later...if Kevin will leave me be for the rest of the day." I muttered and scanned the room for him. He was at the coffee maker talking to another guy in our team and caught me looking. He winked and smiled at me. I shot him a glare and looked back to my screen, typing away.
"Why don't you go out with him? He's a decent guy." I looked at Marzia like she was insane.
"Are you insane? Marzia, what happened at your last job?" She looked down and gave me a meek look.
"Donald." She said quietly. She looked up with an apologetic look on her face. I hated bringing up that bastard for what he did to her, but I had to make my point. He shattered her heart and she hadn't been with anyone for a year and a half. Not that she didn't try though. She told me her date with Monty went well but she decided to remain as friends. She was a wreck after Donald left her after proposing to her and moving to a different state.
I took her hand and squeezed it. "Sorry, but considering what happened to you, I don't think I could deal with that."
"I know, but I don't want you missing out on what could be a good thing." I sighed and let go.
"I'm not missing out. I put myself out there on OKCupid. I talk and meet with men. I like where I am!" I lied to myself and Marzia.
I didn't trust men after my own debacle of a relationship. I met Owen through some mutual friends at a party and we hit it off famously. We talked the whole night, flirting, singing and by the end of the night, we had kissed. It felt amazing and I didn't want it to be a one night thing. I met him a week later for a date and that was us in a relationship that lasted under 2 years. It had its good times, but more often than nought, it was bad. He worked for his dads plumbing company and he took on a lot of responsibilities. He told me about his abusive past with his dad and how his mom suffered at his hands. Sometimes he would hit Owen to spite his mom and Owen was just a kid. And then his sister, Hope, was born and it seemed to calm down. But his dad still mentally put his mom through her paces and Owen would rarely vent his frustrations. When he did, I was always there to comfort him, no matter what. It made him distrust love and himself. He would mentally abuse me as well and I put on a lot of weight due to comfort eating. Of course I didn't admit that to myself and gave him more and more of my heart.
And then one day, whilst we were out shopping in the city, he called it off and broke my heart. I gave him everything I could and he threw it back in my face. I was devastated and went to my friend Zaras place. She lived in the city, as Marzia and Donald were living 2 states over and I needed company. I cried so much and Zara gave me alcohol, which numbed the pain, but didn't take it away. I stayed in bed for 3 days, only leaving for the bathroom and work. I hadn't seen him since and I didn't trust myself to not punch him in the face, or worse, if I ever did again.
I snapped back to reality when my phone rang. It was hard not to think about Owen when people brought up relationships. But since I was dating, it made it easier to not commit to people. But I still felt lonely even when I was on dates. I had figured that since men didn't give a shit who they bedded, then I could do the same. I had went on 4 dates already that week and they all ended the same: sex with me not making a commitment, even if they seemed perfect. No one was perfect and I was not disillusioned.
That week went in pretty slow but it was finally 5PM on Friday and we were about to bid this place farewell for 2 weeks of bliss. I was getting my stuff from my locker when Kevin came in. He had been oddly quiet all day but smiled when he saw me.
"Hey, Briana. Up to much this weekend?" He looked at me fondly. I sighed and looked through my bag.
"I actually won't see you for 2 weeks as I'm going home to see family and then on a short break away with Marzia." I smiled and closed my locker.
"Enjoy. You'll be missed a lot." He still looked at me fondly and there was a kind of sadness in his voice. I went still for a second and mentally shook myself.
"I know." I said overly confident that I knew what he meant, looking him dead in the eye and he looked surprised. I smirked and walked off. "See you in 2 weeks!" I called out smugly and waved back at him. I thought that I honestly heard him laugh quietly.
