Stuart's POV
Three years ago, Y/F/N Y/L/N went through the internship trials. She got the internship and that turned into a full-time graphic designing job.
This past summer, I went through the internship trails with my group. By some miracle, we got the internship.
And now, I'm interning in the office next door to hers. Which means I see her every single day.
It's torture. . . Well, sort of.
Every day I see her and she's practically perfect. But, of course, she has no idea who I am. I've tried the whole Hallmark level "meet cute" by accidentally bumping into her. But instead of looking up and falling in love with me, she stutters a sorry, picks up her stuff, and scurries off to some meeting.
My interning group and I were currently sitting outside eating lunch when something across the Google campus caught my eye. I froze when I saw Y/N walking back into the office as she rummaged through her bag. I smiled as she was somehow able to grab a file, read through it, write notes, and walk without bumping into anyone.
I jumped out of the trance she put me in when I felt something hit my head. I turned around to see my group smirking at me.
"Damn," Nick said under his breath. "You've got it bad for Ms. Y/N, huh?"
"I don't know what you're talking about," I stuttered and cleared my throat before going back to eating my lunch.
"We all know, Stuart," Billy said, glancing around our table. I looked at all of their knowing looks, finally giving in.
"Okay, fine," I sighed. "But it doesn't matter. She's completely oblivious to any advancement I try to make towards her."
"Have you ever thought that, maybe, she isn't the kind of girl who goes for guys who have "moves"? Maybe Y/N isn't the kind of girl who goes for the douchy ladies man type?" Neha shrugged.
"Yeah," Nick added. "Have you thought about simply asking her out?"
"Are you kidding?" I scoffed. "She'd think I was a complete stalker freak."
"Aren't you?" Yo-yo said slightly under his breath. The whole group laughed at his comment as I rolled my eyes.
"Stuart," Neha sighed once everyone had calmed down. "You say she's ignored all your "passes", but why not try something you've never done before?"
"And what's that?" I sighed.
"Just talk to her," she said, laughing slightly. "Go up to her, introduce yourself, and start a friendship. If she's like most girls, Y/N would rather have a relationship that came from a friendship than one that came from a pickup line."
* * * * *
It's been a few days since my friends found out I have a crush on Y/N. They don't tease me about it. Instead, whenever we see her, they send me sympathetic looks.
I was in the copier room alone when someone walked in. I bit my lip when I looked over my shoulder to see Y/N walking in with her arms full of papers.
Someone bumped into her, making everything she had in her hands fall. "Great," she said under his breath.
I didn't hesitate to lean down and help her start picking up the papers. "Thanks," she sighed. "I swear, people in this office can be so rude."
"I know," I said, chuckling. "Always focused on what they're doing, not on what's going on around them."
I held my breath as she slowly looked up at me. I sucked in a breath when she smiled at me. We slowly stood back up, our arms full of her papers. She smiled as I carefully handed my armful over to her.
"Thanks." My heart did a weird flip as she looked at me without breaking her smile.
"I'm Stuart," I stuttered as I nervously wiped my hands on my jeans.
"Y/N," she introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you," I said, still nervous.
"You're a new intern here, right?" She asked, tilting her head slightly.
"Umm, yeah," I said, my cheeks burning as I ran my fingers through my hair.
"And how's that going?" She teased.
"It's actually not as bad as I thought it would be," I chuckled. "Not nearly as bad as what we had to go through to get here."
"Oh yeah," she laughed. "I remember going through those. It was stressful and awful. I used to have anxiety attacks every time I passed Mr. Chetty in the hallway."
"I still do," I joked. I smiled when I made her laugh.
Before I could say anything else, someone came in and asked for Y/N's help. Things started to be different between Y/N and me after that. Now whenever we saw each other in the hallway, we would wave and sometimes even stop and have a short conversation.
One day, I was walking down the hallway and I ended up passing Y/N's office. "Son of a bitch," I heard her mumble. I stopped outside her office and hesitated.
"Everything okay in here?" I asked, popping my head in.
"Oh, hey Stuart," she sighed. I watched as she ran her fingers through her hair.
"You okay?"
"No," she said, sending me a look. "I hate computers."
I laughed as I walked in and sat down at a chair across from her desk. "What's going on?"
"I don't know," she said, slumping more into her chair. "I've been trying to get this stupid thing to work all day. I've tried calling IT, but they were no help. Shocker there."
"Want me to give it a try?" I offered, slightly chuckling.
"Really?" She asked, sitting up.
"Yeah," I shrugged as I stood up. "I mean, I'm pretty good with all this."
"Thanks, Stuart," she smiled as she stood up and moved to the side.
I sat down and immediately started working on her computer. As I fixed it, I tried to ignore the fact that Y/N was standing behind me. Thanks to a few cheat codes I know, I got her computer cleaned up and fixed in roughly twenty minutes.
"Done," I said as her computer rebooted.
"Seriously?" She asked. I sucked in a breath when she stood behind me and put her hands on my shoulders as she leaned over me to get a better look at her computer screen.
"Yeah," I stuttered, ignoring the feeling of her squeezing my shoulders.
"That seemed. . . Easy," she chuckled. "How'd you do it?"
"Well with all the stuff our computers go through, there's a lot of build-up. I know a few cheat codes that work around the system to break down the roadblocks and viruses."
"I have no idea what any of that means," she chuckled. "How do you know those codes?"
"I learned them," I stuttered. I looked over my shoulder to see her sending me a knowing look.
"You learned them?" She asked, crossing her arms over her chest. "From where?"
"From. . . Fine," I sighed. "I used to decode video games and "borrow" their codes. I tweak them a little bit depending on what I need them for," I explained.
"Well, I guess I should say thank you," she giggled.
"Anytime," I said, clearing my throat. I stood up and pulled her chair out for her. She smiled as she sat down. I waited as she logged in, making sure everything still works.
"Wow," Y/N said under her breath. "Everything is perfect. Thank you, Stuart."
I smiled before turning around and leaving her office. Right as I got to the door, I hesitated. I slowly turned around to see her immediately back to work.
"Hey, Y/N?" I said before I could stop myself. She looked up at me, sending me the smile that always makes my heart skip a beat.
"Can I umm. . . Can I take you to dinner sometime?" I bit my lip and held my breath, eagerly waiting for her answer.
"I'd love to," she said, slightly giggling. "I'm free this weekend."
"Great," I stuttered, unable to wipe the smile from my face. "I'll call you later to set it up."
"I'll be waiting," she said, sending me another smile. I turned on my heel, finally leaving her office.
"What's with the goofy smile?" Neha asked when I walked into our office. I walked over to her, instantly kissing her cheek. "Whoa, what's gotten into you?"
"Thank you," I laughed, grabbing her shoulders.
"For what?" She giggled.
"You were right."
"Stuart," she sighed, pulling my hands away from her. "What is going on?"
"You were right the other day when you told me that Y/N wasn't the kind of girl who could get picked up. So, I started a friendship with her. I introduced myself to her in the copier room and we started a little friendship. I just fixed her computer."
"That's great," she smiled.
"And I asked her out."
"You did!" She giggled excitedly. "What did she say?"
"She said yes." I laughed as she jumped up and down, wrapping me in a hug.
"Oh Stuart," she said as she pulled out of the hug. "I'm really happy for you."
"Thanks," I said, nervously scratching the back of my neck. "Now we just have to hope I don't screw it up."
"Hey," she laughed, "you're a great guy, Stuart. As long as you act like yourself and not some asshole, she'll see that too."
"Gee thanks," I scoffed as I walked over to my desk.
"I'm serious," she sighed as she followed me. "Now that you know what kind of girl Y/N is, you know how she would like to be treated. Just be yourself, Stuart. You'll be fine."
* * * * *
I hesitated before knocking on her door. I sucked in a breath when the door opened, Y/N standing there.
"Wow," I said under my breath. "You look beautiful."
"Thanks," she said, tucking a piece of hair behind her ear.
I cleared my throat, trying to shake away the nerves. "You ready?"
"As I'll ever be," she shrugged jokingly. I held my arm out for her to take, smiling when she blushed as she looped her arm through mine.
Throughout dinner, we talked about a lot. We talked about our pasts, our jobs, our likes, our dislikes. Everything. By the end of the night, I felt like I knew everything about her.
"I had a lot of fun tonight, Stuart," she smiled as I walked her back to her apartment.
"I did too," I chuckled.
When we got to her door, we both hesitated. We both stood there awkwardly, neither of us really knowing what to do or say. I ran my fingers through my hair as my eyes glanced down at her lips.
"So," I cleared my throat, finally breaking the awkward silence. "I guess I'll see you at work?"
"Yeah," she giggled. She bit her lip, taking a small step towards me as she hesitated something. "Or you could. . ."
I took a step towards her, glancing back down at her lips. "Or I could," I said under my breath. Before I could stop myself, I leaned in and pressed my lips to hers. I felt her smile into the kiss as I wrapped my arms around her waist, pulling her closer.
Our lips moved in sync as she snaked her arms up my chest, running her fingers through the hair on the back of my head. I slid my tongue across her bottom lip, silently asking her for access. The second she opened her mouth, I slipped my tongue in and instantly started exploring. Our tongues fought for dominance as I gently pushed her up against her front door.
We finally broke the kiss, leaning our foreheads against each other as we caught our breaths.
"Or you could come upstairs," she finally finished saying. "If you want to."
Part 2 Coming Soon