itâs a friday night and youâve decided to join your colleagues for a drink after work.
heâs there too - the odd but really handsome guy who works on the same floor as you and who always looks like he canât bring himself to stomach you fully just yet. thereâs only one person in-between your spot in the booth and his, and once they stand up to go pee, you decide to take up the chance and slide closer.
he stiffens even before he feels you tap him on the shoulder, but of course you donât notice it. youâre tipsy just the right amount after two drinks, bubbly and chatty and pliant but still mostly sober, and when he turns to look at you, your scent tells him just that.
his voice is low and his gaze has dropped even lower. heâs not looking at you even as he greets you back, rather focusing on the bottle of beer heâs been nursing the entire night.
ânot a big drinker?â you ask.
âsomething like that.â
what would be the point? he couldnât get drunk even if he wanted to.
but itâs not like you would know that.
the bar is full of chatter and other general noise and yet silence still falls between you. it lasts quite a while. he doesnât give you much to chew on, does he?
âso, are you having fun?â you utter suddenly, still trying.
he merely glances up. angles his head in a slight nod. his body has gotten so tense at this point that itâs making his shoulders ache. you smell so good that it hurts.
but you donât know that.
thereâs another long stretch of silence.
âwanna know what iâm thinking about?â
âiâm wondering,â you pause to take a sip from your straw. âhow come youâve actually decided to join us for drinks this time?â
how come? easy. he canât resist being away from his mate any longer. the mate, who as of right now, is sitting right next to him, smiling innocently as she tries making conversation with him, making him sweat and barely control the urges that heâs tried so hard, so fucking hard to stifle within himself. the mate, who has been making his job a living nightmare these last few months.
the mate who, of course, doesnât know a thing about this either.
he inhales deeply and forces back a groan as your scent fills his nose, his mouth, his lungs. does his best to shrug as nonchalantly as possible.
âbeats being at home, i guess.â