Why do I always have such trouble leaving the office on time these days? Once again, I found myself racing out after work, desperately trying to make it to the drinks I'd organized at the promise start time of 6:30, but of course it was closer to 7 by the time I managed to breathlessly arrive at the club.
When I arrived, Max, Doro, S and three others I didn't recognize were already there. Unfortunately S was tucked in the furthest corner of the couch, so I couldn't go over and say hello to him. Instead I got trapped in polite conversation with numerous others, completely distracted and not paying attention to what they were saying, because of course I would rather just be talking to S.
Given that I was the organizer of this whole thing, the others pressured me to go talk to folks at the bar and see if they were supposed to be part of our group, and so I got involved in more distracting conversations. My friend Alex arrived, but I didn't get to talk to him nearly as much as I wanted. Yet with the crowd finally expanding, I moved everyone on to the drawing room so we'd have some more space to socialize.
At this point, I finally got to properly say hello to S, who gratified me by warmly greeting me and then lingering at the bar with me, as though we didn't want to walk into the drawing room and get distracted by the conversation of others, so we stayed just the two of us until we couldn't possibly stay any longer.
I found msyelf drinking water the entire evening, mostly because of my cold, and also because it was then easy not to have to buy drinks or worry about refills, I could always just go pour myself another glass of water. Thankfully, since it is January, everyone seems to accept that as an excuse for why I'm off alcohol. (The truth being, sometimes I really just don't like drinking.)
I did a miserably poor job of circulating, as I kept getting trapped in conversations with people when they couldn't seem to come up with conversation topics on their own, and I couldn't figure out how to exit the conversation. Thankfully G went to dinner with two friends at 8, which at least got me out of that conversation. I spent as much time as I could in the same conversational group as S, where I got to know his friend Alistair, a northern Irish boy (the accent was a dead giveaway) who had apparently been a member of the club for several years without really being involved. I found him to be really interesting and funny, and definitely the discovery of the night.
Of course it was also a surprise when I started talking to S about XKCD and it turns out he'd never even heard of it! Once again, I had one of those moments of doubt, wondering, "Is he really nerdy enough for me? Would we actually get along?"
Doro had made dinner reservations for 9 PM, and although I didn't want to leave (I was worried about late arrivals, and of course was having fun talking to S and Alistair) but I was also starving and about to pass out for a lack of food. So I went with them and somehow stumbled through dinner, trying to do my best to be sociable but of course wishing that I were back out just talking and having drinks with S.
So you can imagine my delight when just as we were finishing our main courses, S appeared at my side, letting me know that the others who had been at drinks were still there. Suddenly I became incredibly impatient to finish dinner, skip dessert, and head back to the bar. I do hope I wasn't too rude, but it seemed worth it when I was rewarded with a smile from S, and a look of gratitude that I'd arrived. Apparently one of the girls he'd been stuck talking to he described as a "real piece of work", and I think he was much happier to see me at last. And so I was incredibly grateful that he'd stuck it out in boring conversation to still be around to see me later.
Finally, as it was reaching the end of the evening, I decided to join a few others in making my good-byes, and so made the rounds kissing everyone on each cheek. Except when I reached S, he said, "We have to kiss three times!" And I laughed, but of course went for it, as everyone else was laughing at the two of us saying our giggly good-byes.
Yet of course it always takes me ages to actually make an exit anywhere, and so by the time I made it outside, S was already there on the steps, stripping off his tie and unbuttoning his shirt, releasing himself from the confines of being formally attired for the club. I've always thought that he looked a bit crazy and wild, with his long hair and mountain man beard, somehow incredibly natty in a suit yet also looking a bit like someone yearning to break free of it. And so I went up to him and we were weirdly close and intimate as I murmured, "Feel better now?" He laughed, then the rest of the crowd poured out of the club and joined us, and we said another round of good-byes, where of course he once again had to kiss me three times.
I then found myself sharing a cab with a chap from the Oriental Club who I see frequently at the O&C, who is quite a wine buff, and truth be told, a rather nice guy. Perhaps I should have paid more attention to him (I'd been sitting next to him at dinner), but of course I'd been distracted by S.
Doro later told me (in her usual bout of frustration about how S and I never seem to get our acts together), "S was telling me that he thought your hairband was very beautiful. I really can't figure him out. He obviously has a special affection for you, but I guess we going on about why he doesn't make move is just getting us in a loop and I could just re-read the pre-christmas e-mails!"
I replied that S indeed appears to have an affection for me, as I do for him. Who knows why it doesn't go any further? Still, not much to be done about it, except to enjoy it for what it is. Because the honest-to-goodness truth is that I simply enjoy his company, as I think he does mine. And maybe we're both a bit unsure in the 80% (I wonder sometimes if he's nerdy enough for me, because I have some seriously uber-nerd tendencies), but over time maybe we'll figure that out. For now, it just does make me giggle and feel lots of warm fuzzies when some boy repeatedly insists on kissing me three times good-bye...
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