Nicola Heights
1 February
February, the month of love. The month that single people hate and that time of the year when people in relationships get to blow it in our face. It's also the month that makes me realize how desperately I am in need of a boyfriend.
I scrolled through my latest Facebook feeds, catching up with my friends lives.
I can't believe Sydney from high school got engaged and here I was, still with no serious relationship seven years later.
Valentine's day was approaching, and I needed to do something urgently about my relationship status. I wasn't spending it at home again watching a rom-com while others were posting their romantic dinners.
I looked away from my phone to see if my boss was still busy with his board meeting. We've been so busy lately that he is literally the only man in my life.
Colwen, I love him to bits though. We've been friends for as long as I could remember, we used to take baths together. After high school, while I went out to get a business degree only to end up a dropout, he ventured into the business world and made a big success out of his life.
He now owns a company that manufactures luxury furniture, an aluminium company as well as a few restaurants.
He has always been driven, that is what I loved about him. When I was buried up to my neck in debt, he took me into his mansion and gave me a job.
I continued scrolling through the feed as I tried to look for a potential suitor.
Someone cleared their throat, grabbing my attention. I looked up to see Colwen standing in front of me.
His grey eyes held mine as he stared at me with his eyebrows raised.
"You on Facebook, "he said in his usual business tone.
He was usually very informal with me.
"No." I lied, I put my phone on the table. "I was just answering some of 'your' very important emails." I lied.
He shook his head at me, clearly knowing I was lying.
"Anyways, I need you to get some lunch. I have a few documents I need to run through. " He said.
"Yes, Mr Bass," I said imitating one of his girlfriends.
He laughed and then returned to his office.
Colwen was always a very likeable person. With his dark hair and sharp jawline, some even found him incredibly attractive, but I'd never admit this to his face.
I opened the drawer and searched for his bank card, I pretty much knew everything about him, including all his passwords.
While I stayed at his house rent-free as well other from other costs, he made sure I paid for it in some way. I was in charge of buying all the groceries right down to his underwear sometimes. I didn't mind at all considering my previous history as a Shopaholic. This was a good deal for both of us.
Usually, Colwen and I went to lunch together, but today was one of those busy days.
I went to our usual lunch bar which was about two blocks away.
I ordered the usual hamburger with fries as well as a Salad for takeaway. I stood on the side enjoying my iced tea while I waited for the order.
"What would you recommend here?" A voice said over my shoulder.
I looked up to find the source of the voice.
A tall man with shoulder-length hair stood in front of me. What caught my attention was his strong muscular arms. I know knew what I wanted for Christmas; his arms gift wrapped.
He looked at me as a smile extended across his face.
''It depends on what you are into," I stuttered, feeling a little lost for words.
"I'm into many things," he replied.
"Well," I said turning to look at the large board displaying, the menu. "They have really great pizzas, if you are feeling a little Spicy you could try their Indian food," I answered.
He kept his gaze on me.
"I'm Eden by the way," he said holding out his hand for me to shake. I happily obliged.
"I'm Nicola," I said.
"So, aside from taking my breath away, what else do you do for a living?" He asked.
'That was cheesy,' I thought to myself. But his face made for it.
"I am an executive assistant," I answered.
My phone vibrated in my pocket. I looked at the screen to see Colwen's name. The words: 'I'm starving' were written in bold.
I shoved my phone back into my pocket and returned my attention to Eden.
Just then, I was called to take my order.
I felt my phone vibrate several times in my pocket. Colwen always did this, he hardly gave me space to breath
"I'd like to see you again, how about dinner? Tonight?" He asked following after me.
I grabbed a napkin and scribbled my number onto it.
"Call me," I said handing him the napkin.
Sydney could suck it; I wasn't going to be alone for Valentine's Day after all.
I left in hurry and returned to the office
***
"So, you liked a guy because of his arms?" Colwen asked looking at me confused.
"Yeah," I answered truthfully.
He dropped his fork into his salad.
He had that look in his eyes of disappointment that your parents have when they find out that you don't know what one plus one is after spending an hour helping you with your homework.
"This is why you need me." He said defeatedly. "You don't just give out your number to the first creep you meet."
"He was not a creep. "I said defensively. At least I didn't think he was.
"With your taste in men he probably is. No one who is not a creep says corny lines like that. All men are the same, believe me." He spoke.
Right now, we were in his office trying to have lunch. "
"You haven't even met him," I said.
He sighed once again. "You know what, you are a hopeless case." He spoke.
He spun around in his chair while staring at the ceiling.
My phone vibrated on the table as on new message appeared.
'Hi, it's Eden.' The message read. I quickly grabbed my phone from the table not wanting Colwen to notice anything.
'So, dinner tonight? I'll send the address.' Another message followed.
A smile formed on my face.
'Sure, thing.' I replied to the text.
"What are you smiling about?" Colwen asked.
"Eden is taking me out to dinner tonight," I said happily.
"You really are hopeless, "Colwen said. "Besides, we really have a lot of work to do. You better call him to cancel." He warned.
I sighed, glaring at him. I can't believe he was doing this today.
He smiled at me victoriously.
If I wasn't going to enjoy dinner with Eden, I was going to enjoy my lunch. Maybe Colwen was right. I fall in love too quickly.
I rubbed my hands together and then held my burger with both hands. I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the explosive flavour, but Colwen wouldn't even let me enjoy that. He grabbed the burger from my hands and took a big bite into it.
I looked at him in disbelief. "You can have my salad." He said in between chews. This was the last time I was letting him steal my lunch.
***
When Colwen said we had a lot of work to do, I thought he was joking.
He kept throwing more work at me after the other. I hadn't cancelled with Eden, I thought that I would still have enough time left.
I kept staring at my watch as the hours went by.
Colwen kept a sardonic smirk as he added another pile of documents. The faster I tried to work, the more work he kept bringing up.
I finally gave up once I realized there was only half an hour until our 'date'. Colwen had won, I was just going to have to cancel.
"You can go," Colwen said bringing me out of my thoughts.
I looked up at him. "You can go, I can see how much you want this." He spoke. "You can take the driver, I'll catch a cab,"
I ran from the desk and into his arms. "Thank you," I said kissing him on the cheek.
"I'll probably regret this later." He muttered.
I walked away with a happy smile.
It was already half past eight. The dinner was forty-five minutes away from the office.
I waved Peter, Colmen's driver away as I stepped out of the car.
I shoved my hands into my pocket as the freezing air hit. I was relieved to walk into the warm diner.
I scanned the small diner to see Eder nowhere in sight. I was already late, and he wasn't even here.
Did I just get stood up? Maybe Colwen was right, I had bad taste in men. I moved too quickly or maybe I was just stupid.
I picked a table in the corner of the room. I ordered some juice and began screwing through my phone for old emails I still hadn't checked.
Ten minutes later, Eden walked in breathing heavily. "I'm so sorry I am late; I have one terrible boss. " He said pulling out a chair to sit. "I hope I didn't keep you waiting for long?" He asked.
"I was beginning to think you weren't showing up," I joked.
I place my phone into my pocket, giving him my full attention. I needed to see if this could go anywhere.
"So, tell me a little something about yourself," I said folding my arms.
"Well... I work as a photographer. I travel a lot for my job, I work for a travel magazine so I'm also looking for the next best destination." He explained.
"That must be wonderful," I said intrigued.
"Yeah, it is. But it has its moment, I am always travelling I never really get to settle in one place. I do miss home sometimes " He spoke. He sounded like one of those people who try to complain about their jobs but are just secretly bragging.
"So, have you been to any places?" He asked.
"Not really," I answered truthfully. "Nowhere outside the city, but my Colwen loves to travel. He never takes me with him mostly because of my fear of flights. Plus, someone has to be around to take care of everything.
"Colwen?" He asked confused.
I sighed realizing I had just brought up Colwen's name. I had the unintentional habit of always mentioning his name. It's because I was always around him.
"He is my boss, "I clarified.
"You sound very fond of him, I wish my boss was that nice to me," he laughed.
"Believe me, he has his moments. "I said.
Just at that moment, a notification popped up on my phone. It was a message from Colwen: 'I am so tired, when are you coming back?'
I furious typed: 'Then go to sleep.'
'I don't want.' He texted back less than a minute later.
'Then have a cup of coffee,' I furiously replied.
"So, at what kind of company do you work for?" Eden asked.
My phone song again.
"Just one second," I said to Eden.
'You know I don't drink coffee made by anyone else besides you,' Colwen replied.
'Can we not do this right now; I am on a date!' I texted back.
Eden called the waiter to our table.
I ordered some Spaghetti and meatballs while Eden had lasagne.
I then began explaining my work situation, including the fact that we stayed together.
"Isn't it a little uncomfortable, staying with your boss?" He asked
"Not of all, Colwen and I are so used to each other."
I received another message from Colwen, 'I can't eat.' The message read.
I rolled my eyes then replied: 'I'm not your mother' I texted.
He was starting to get on my last nerves.
'I know but I miss having someone to talk to.' He replied.
'Please just stop texting me!' I texted.
I put my phone aside and began eating.
Eden began telling me about all the countries he had visited and how fulfilling it is to do what he loves.
After dinner, we both ordered a chocolate milkshake.
"In about two weeks, I'll be leaving for Dubai. Maybe you could give me a tour of the city, I don't know much around here." Eden suggested
"Sure, "I answered.
"Just tell me when and I'd be happy to help.
Just when I thought Colwen was finished, the sent me another text: 'Last question, what is my Netflix password?'
'It's your birthday,' I replied.
"You seem occupied," Eden said snapping me out of my thoughts.
"It's just this one very annoying person," I answered.
'When is my birthday again?' Colwen asked.
That is when I finally had enough of him. I switched my phone off and placed it in my pocket. I was done allowing him to continue asking his stupid questions. He was going to get an earful.
Once our milkshakes had finished, we drifted off talking about high school memories.
Two hours later, our date had ended. He offered me a ride home, something I was a little sceptical about. I just hoped he would drop me in front of the gate and then leave shortly after.
Eden opened the car door for me, the whole ride home we listened to some great old ninety's songs.
My worst fear happened; Eden insisted that would leave me right in front of the door.
The gates to the mansion opened. It was nearly a ten-minute drive before we finally got to the door.
"The house is huge "Eden commented. "It must be great to live here."
Once again, he rushed to open the door for me. I responded with a thankful smile.
He walked me to the doorsteps. "I had a wonderful time tonight, hopefully, we could do that again, without so many text messages." He joked.
"Yeah, I'm so sorry about that," I said,
Just then, the door opened.
As if Colwen had not already ruined my date enough, he showed up half naked with only a towel around his waist.
His hair was still dripping wet as well as the rest of his body, highlighting his abs. He stood there smirking at the two of us.
At first, I stood there not knowing how to react because I was stunned, but I soon found myself admiring the view as I unconsciously bit my lip. All those hours at the gym had really paid off.
I was drawn out of my thoughts by the reality of what was happening.
"Colwen," I whispered in a warning tone.
"You must be... "Colwen said running his hands through his hair. I could tell that he was pretending as if he did not remember Eden's name.
"I'm Eden," Eden interrupted." You must be the boss. " Eden added.
"Yes, " Colwen answered. "And I've heard almost nothing at all about you," Colwen added.
As if the situation wasn't already bad enough, Colwen took me by surprise and grabbed me into his arms.
I just stood there with eyes wide open in shock.
"You see, Nicola and I here are really close. Did she tell you about that?" Colwen said squeezing my arm.
This is why I should have set boundaries between Colwen and me. Now I know what my dad meant when he said Colwen, and I were too close.
"I can see that." Eden replied. "It was great meeting you Nicola," Eden said.
He gave me a defeated smile before walking away.
"He is not coming back," Colwen said with a smile.
I pulled my arm away and then knocked it into Colwen's chest.
"What was that for, "he said stepping away in pain.
"You know what, "I replied.
Of all the clothes he had, he just had to walk around half naked.
I waited until Eden's car was out of the driveway. I pushed past Colwen and walked into the house.
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