Oh, shit.
Half of my vision is blurred by white as I lift my head, the report I had been working on sticking to the side of my face like wet clothes in the rain. The clock on the off-gray walls of my office is silently laughing at me, mocking me for even dreaming of falling asleep on such an important day. The hands continue to move around as I try to get my sleep-altered eyes to concentrate on the actual time and not the time my body is announcing in my head.
Oh, shit.
My coffee cup is overturned on my desk, my finger still curved around the handle almost like I had been meaning to take a small sip when I passed out a couple of hours earlier. The golden brown liquid has already managed to ruin everything that I had been working so damn hard on when I clocked in earlier this morning. Such a damn waste to come early, losing sleep in the process, just to wake up somewhere in between life and death and realize that I had continued my beauty rest after getting comfortable. With a soft sigh, I uncurl my finger and stretch it out to align with my other fingers, staring at the handle mark for a second too long before I realize it is getting later as I sit there.
Sliding my boots off of the small shelf on the inside of my desk, I grunt as my feet hit the soft carpet. Getting up proves to be much harder than I would have thought it would be, and a soft whimper leaves my lips as my back straightens and lets out a low crack of displeasure. My knees follow suit as I take a few hesitant steps away from my desk chair, my right leg popping twice before everything goes back to normal. I snatch my briefcase off of the lone chair on the sidewall of my office, shuffling back to my desk and shoving random papers in without even realizing what I'm taking. I disregard the worst of the coffee-stained pieces, and end up chunking my pencil holder in as my eyes drift up towards the clock.
Oh, shit.
Tucking the briefcase under my arm, and ignoring the huge lump that I would later find out to be the pencil holder, I snatch my black coat off of the coat rack before stepping out into the hallway. One of my co-workers gives me a curious glance from down the hallway as I slam my door closed and search for my keys. I give him a small smile and a shrug before ripping the keys out of my pocket and shoving one into the lock. Once my office is nice and closed, I jerk my key out and work my way down the hallway.
I pause for just a second on the stairs leading towards the ground floor, realizing that I left all the lights on and may have even dropped my wallet somewhere. Oh well. Halfway down, I stumble and come very close to tripping, my hand clenching onto the railing for dear life as I drop to one knee to prevent the fall. Thankfully, I regain composure quick enough where I'm still down on the ground floor in record timing.
"Mr. Maxwell, you're taking your lunch break a little later than usual."
The nice lady at the front counter gives me a little smile as I turn my head to acknowledge her.
"I fell asleep."
She lifts her hand up to the pencil behind her ear, pulling it down and scribbling some notes onto her agenda. Her eyes drift up to meet mine as soon as the pencil is back in the safety of its temporary holder.
"Our secret, doll. Your lunch officially starts now."
What a sweetheart.
"I owe you one. How about dinner? You and me. Somewhere nice."
I'm almost at the door when I hear her soft reply.
"Too modest. You must bring your lovely boyfriend."
Laughter bubbles up in my throat as I start to track towards my car, carefully crossing the street to head towards the small parking lot across from my workplace. As soon as I'm safely in the car, a rush of fear starts to settle as I start the engine and the radio clock pops on.
Oh, shit.
I somehow manage to stay a little below the speed limit as I start to drive, glancing at the time a little too often for any sort of comfort to settle on my troubled mind. I can't believe that I broke my promise to him. The one thing he wanted me to do, and I let myself fall asleep for a little too long. Of course, all the stops manage to royally piss me off until I want to run through those, too. The pedestrians that I do let cross take precious time that I don't feel like I have, and I never seem to get closer to where he should be waiting for me.
When I do finally manage to get closer to the small restaurant, my heart starts to ache a little when I mentally calculate how long he had to wait alone for me. I almost wish he was sick or something so that I would know he was safe at our house in bed, watching television and tucked under his wool blanket, his sock-covered feet probably being one of the few things not blocked by the blanket. I turn a corner, and nearly slam on the brakes as I see him sitting on the small bench outside of the cafe, his head lowered.
He doesn't look up as I park my car in the free space a little down the sidewalk, his hands messing with the hem of the shirt that I had given him as a gift for Christmas.
Oh... shit.
I almost back down as I walk around to the other side of my car, stepping up onto the sidewalk. Taking a couple of hesitant steps towards him, my mouth opens and words spill out before I can really take the time to consider them.
"Am I late?"
His head jerks up and he meets my gaze head on, his eyes flashing with anger for a brief second before he stands and moves towards the store entrance. If he goes in the store without talking to me, we're going to leave later on with him not talking to me, and I can't have that, can I?
My hand on his forearm stops him with the door half opened. He steps away from the doorway and goes back to the bench, tugging me along with him. Plopping down, I stare up at him as he looks everywhere but at me.
"Yes."
"Yes what?"
He shoots me an annoyed glance.
"You're late."
"I know. I fell asleep halfway through some paperwork." I give him a cheerful smile, hoping he smiles back. "If it makes you feel better, I ruined half my work by spilling coffee all over it. Must have been dreaming and thinking of you..."
He's not amused.
"I told you not to go to work. You've been sick for the last week and a half, so why did you choose today to go? Why today..."
... of all days.
"... of all the damn days. Today."
He lets out a little huff, scrunching his nose up for just a small second. Blink and you'd have missed it.
"I just wanted to spend time with you. You're leaving tomorrow."
I climb to my feet again, suddenly feeling very tired.
"Was it worth it?"
Seriously expecting an answer from me, he bends down a little to lock eyes with me, trying to read my expression.
"No."
His eyes soften a little as I take his hand in mine, rubbing my thumb across his smooth skin until he looks directly at me. A chunk of dark brown hair spills over those gorgeous eyes as he shifts his gaze from mine to look down at our joined hands. Finally, he looks back up and frowns at me.
"You said you would be here. I had to call my boss and tell her that I wasn't sure I would be back today." A soft sigh falls from his lips. "I was going to wait right here until you decided you wanted to show."
"I'm so sorry, babe. I'll have to make it up to you somehow."
"Let's just go inside and eat. That's what we had planned on, right?"
"Babe..."
"We can talk inside. That's what I wanted. Just give me that..."
As he tries to move away from me, I give a quick tug on his hand until he's back in front of me. Ignoring his confused look, I lean forward to brush a little kiss against the corner of his lips, slipping my tongue out for just a brief second to dance across his skin.
Putting space between the two of us, I watch as his beautiful lips curve into a small smile. He ducks his head down and plays with the hem of his shirt like he had done a couple of minutes ago. I watch his tense shoulders relax slightly as he accepts, probably unwillingly, my little apology.
"Am I late?"
He presses a quick kiss to my lips, pulling away and walking towards the restaurant again.
"Not anymore."