It was Saturday, I wasn't sure how I was going to spend my day. I had been so wrapped up in work I really had not made time for myself. I lay in bed for a little while before deciding to get up and go to the nearby coffee shop. I was craving an iced caramel coffee. I jogged to the coffee shop down the road to see Johnathan, my boss there.
Johnathan was sitting at a table outside, sipping at his morning coffee and he looked up when I approached him, he had a smirk on his face which showed he wasn't surprised to see me. I smiled at him, "stalk me much."
"What can I say, I always notice when my employees are here and you're always so nice to look at." He smirked as he took another sip of his coffee and he seemed to be in a very good mood.
"Thank you, sir, for the compliment."
"You're welcome." He nodded his head before he paused and asked me a question. "So, how did your appointment with Archer go yesterday?"
I smiled at him. "It went swell."
"It did? I'm surprised, you usually leave him angry. I thought you guys got into another argument. What did you guys do to have such a good session?"
"We simply just communicated."
He thought for a good minute as he sipped his coffee again. "Really? You made the most progress with him by just doing nothing and talking like normal? That's it?"
I smiled. "I took your advice and it worked." I lied. I couldn't tell him the truth or else he would remove me from being his shrink.
He smiled, "Well, I am glad that you took my advice. I am the professional after all, I know what I am talking about." He said, arrogantly. He paused in between his sentences. "May I ask you a question?" His tone seemed, curious.
I nodded my head.
"This may come off as inappropriate, however, I find you really attractive. Would you want to go on a date with me next Saturday?" He asked, slightly smiling.
I was stunned. I have only been working here for a week, and he has only shown concern twice, the whole time I have been here. I cleared my throat. "Sir, I only just started to work here. I am still getting to know everyone in the building. I don't think it is smart to move on quickly in our relationship Why, we are only mere acquaintances, not even friends yet. Shall we build our friendship up before we even think about dating?" I did not want to hurt him, however, I also was not attracted to him in that way.
He smiled, yet he looked defeated. "Of course, I am sorry if I made you uncomfortable. I will try not to get too ahead of myself next time."
I tilted my head, "It's okay. Baby steps. That is all I am asking." I said with a confident smile. The rest of the morning coffee was peaceful. We got to know each other for a little bit before he needed to return home. I returned home shortly after he did and spent my weekend soaking in bubble baths and watching movies. I hoped that my next working days would not be as awkward as I feared them to be. The weekend came to a quick end and tomorrow was Monday.
Archer was escorted back to my office and was strapped down in his chair. He was in a better mood today it seemed as if he was grinning from ear to ear when he saw me walk in. He then spoke to me before I could even say anything.
"I wanna try something this session. Let's just talk like normal, talk about anything we want. I know it sounds weird, but I don't want you to bring up anything about my issues. I just want to make a good connection with you before we get deep in my feelings again."
I nodded. "Okay. What shall we talk about?"
He took a moment to think of the first topic that came to mind and then he seemed to get an idea. "How about our interests? Do you have any hobbies or anything that you like to do in your free time? We can start with that."
I pondered the question over. The truth is I loved many things, I just never had time for any of them. "I would say music. I love playing guitar."
"That's interesting, I didn't know you could play the guitar. Who's your favorite artist? What kind of music do you usually like to play?"
"I don't normally play other's music, I like to write my own when I have time."
"Oh, you write your own music?" He raised an eyebrow, he never expected me to be one to write my own music. "That's quite cool. So, you compose the music, write the lyrics, and everything?"
"Yes, I do. What are your hobbies?"
He didn't really have any hobbies, but he wanted to keep the conversation going for as long as possible, so he lied."I like to draw. I'm not a *professional* artist or anything like that, I just draw on my free time when I want to unwind. It's a nice relaxing way for me to just let my mind run free."
"Ah, would you draw something for me?"
He hesitated for a moment before he spoke, he was clearly a bit embarrassed."Sure, I guess I could do that. What do you want me to draw?"
"Anything." I motioned the doctors to free him from his binds and hand him a pencil and paper.
"Alright, so basically anything goes." His mind was racing, trying to think of what he could draw to impress me. He was thinking something romantic, but that was a little bit too soon. He then finally decided on what to draw and he chuckled. "I got it. Just, one question, I don't mean to be inappropriate, but do you have a significant other?"
I chuckled a bit at his question. "No, I do not."
That made him relieved as he could have drawn something a little bit inappropriate. But then he remembered that I did ask for* anything *so he decided to ask me another question."And does romance make you feel uncomfortable? Like, do you mind if the drawing is a little intimate?"
"No, I don't mind," I was curious to see what he would draw me.
He smirked, that was good, he would definitely draw something that I would love. With a smirk on his face, he took the pencil and quickly but carefully got started on the drawing. He had started with the outline and now he was carefully shading in the drawing, I could tell he was taking this drawing very seriously. After about 15 minutes he stopped what he was doing and sat back, taking a second before speaking.
"I do have a question before I continue with the drawing. This drawing is just for you right? You won't show it to anyone else?"
"Of course. It is for my eyes only."
That was exactly the answer he was hoping to hear, that was good. He continued to shade, the drawing was almost complete. After 10 minutes he finished off the last bit of shading and he spoke up once again."Just to get another confirmation, you aren't going to tell anyone about this drawing, right?"
I laugh slightly. "I will not show or tell anyone."
He smirked and nodded his head as he put the pencil away before speaking again."Then may I ask you one last thing?"
"Of course."
He took a moment to think of what he was gonna ask me before speaking again. "Would you mind... could you keep this drawing with you? Just so you can keep it since it's for your eyes only?"
I nodded. "I will keep it in my purse."
He smiled once again and a small chuckle escaped his lips. "Good, good. Then I think I'm done with the drawing. Do you want to see it now?"
"Yes, yes I do."
He pulled the drawing out and showed it to me, it was of me. It was a very detailed drawing of me, every single one of my features was perfectly drawn. He had even drawn every little detail, including the small crease that I have next to my eyes. The drawing was just perfect.
"Archer, this is beautiful." I was in complete awe.
He smiled as he watched my reaction, he was genuinely proud of the drawing and it showed as he spoke again."So, it lives up to your expectations? I know you said I can draw whatever I want, but I wanted to make this as special as possible for you. Do you recognize the facial expression I gave you?"
"I'm smiling. Why did you make me smile in your drawing?"
He chuckled slightly as he saw the puzzled look on my face."I just wanted it to be as special as possible for you. Your smile is one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. So I just wanted to make sure that the drawing had an expression you would recognize but with the most adorable one at the same time."
Was he flirting with me? I cleared my throat noticing the time, I figured it was time to end the session before things got too serious. "Ah, it seems as if our session is up. I will see you in the morning."
He noticed that I probably didn't want to engage in that conversation anymore, and he didn't press the issue any further. He smirked as he saw the time as well."I guess it is. That drawing took me longer than expected, but it was worth it in the end. See you tomorrow as well."
As he was escorted out. My face was turning redder by the minute. I was completely flustered by this morning's session.