Just one night(3)

Chapter 3.

Erica stood by the door with her arms folded against her chest…the same one that was naked against Henry’s the night before. 

“Take a seat”…Henry said..pointing his hand towards the chair in front of his desk. 

“No”…Erica replied…”you’ve been ignoring me all day”

Henry kept tapping on his keyboard with no emotion on his face…like he wasn’t hearing what Erica was saying.  

“Look”…Erica said as she walked up to his desk…”I don’t know how you do your things but I’m not one to just get in bed with a person I just met..to be honest I don’t even know what I was thinking…I’m not one of your little girls you just knock up and never contact them again”…erica continued. 

“I need you to sort these files in chronological order for me before tomorrow..”…Henry said as he Handed her a flash drive with his focus still on his keyboard. 

“What the fuck?”…Erica thought to herself..she slammed his ring on his table, raved the flash drive from his hand and stormed out. 

The rest of the week went by and Henry was still like this…cold. He kept ignoring her like she hadn’t seen and felt every bit of him. 

Wednesday night.. Erica was the only worker left at the company. She’d been given so much work to do within a very short time and she had to complete it…

Henry, on the other hand, was still in his office. Not because he had work to do… but because he’d been watching her.

He could see her from the glass wall of his office…her head down, her fingers flying over the keyboard, shoulders tense, brows furrowed in focus. She hadn’t taken a break in hours. Not once had she looked in his direction. Not once had she asked for help.

And somehow… that hurt more than her yelling ever could.

He had not meant to hurt her. He just didn’t know how to be close to someone and not mess it up. So he shut down. Pushed her away before he starts liking her. 

But now, watching her sitting there alone in a cold office at almost 10pm, refusing to fall apart… something in him twisted.

And before he could think twice, he was standing in front of her desk.

Erica didn’t even flinch. She kept typing.

“You should take a break,” he said quietly.

She didn’t respond…she didn’t even look at him.

He sighed. “I’ll get someone to help-”

“I don’t need your help,” she snapped.

Her voice was calm, but it cut deep. Deeper than the yelling. Deeper than anything else she'd said that week.

“I just want to finish my work and go home. The less we talk, the better.”

Henry opened his mouth to say something but closed it again. He didn’t even know what to say anymore.

He just nodded slowly and walked away.

The next few days at work were brutal…not because of the workload, but because of Henry.

He didn’t speak to her unless it was work-related. Didn’t look at her unless he had to. It was like she’d been erased from his world completely.

So she erased him too…at least she tried. 

She stopped trying to fix anything. Stopped wondering if it was her fault. She dressed better. Smiled harder. Laughed louder. Especially when other men were around.

Let him watch her be unbothered.

Even if she wasn’t…

But everytime she got home she couldn’t help but think about everything. Sometimes she’d even wait for a call or a text from him. It was a never ending cycle…

Thursday evening, Erica sat cross-legged on her couch with a bowl of half-melted ice cream in her lap, while Nadia paced around her living room like she was trying to solve a murder.

“No offense,” Nadia started, arms waving, “but you’re giving sad girl who got ghosted by a man who wears loafers to bed energy right now.”

Erica scoffed. “You’re dramatic.”

“No, babe, you’re dramatic. Crying into coffee. Ignoring my texts. Stalking him with your eyes at work like you’re in a N*****x documentary.”

“I am not-”

“You are.” Nadia dropped onto the couch beside her and stole a spoonful of ice cream. “And I get it. I do. But also…what are we doing here?”

Erica shrugged. “I don’t know. I just feel stupid. Like, we barely even knew each other. And then I opened up to him that night…really opened up. It wasn’t just sex. It didn’t feel like just sex. But now he’s acting like I never existed.”

Nadia’s expression softened. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Eri.. you were just honest. That’s not something to feel bad about.”

Erica stared at the spoon in her hand.

“Okay. So what now?” she asked. “I wait for him to magically apologize? Hope he suddenly grows emotional maturity?”

“Nope.” Nadia reached into her bag and pulled out her phone. “You go on a date with Jake.”

Erica blinked. “Jake? Jake from your law firm Jake?”

“Yes. He’s tall, funny, not emotionally unavailable, and most importantly.. he’s not Henry!”

“Nadia…”

“I already told him you’d think about it. He wants to take you out Friday. Drinks at that rooftop bar downtown.”

Erica groaned. “I can’t just date someone to get over someone else…we didn’t even date that makes it crazier”

“You’re not marrying him, you’re just reminding yourself that you still got it. And you do, by the way. You’re Erica. You are hot. Smart. A little scary when you want to be. But you? You’re not the kind of girl that gets forgotten.”

Erica’s lips twitched. “That’s the speech you’ve been practicing, huh?”

Nadia grinned. “Yeah right.”

They paused for a while. 

Then Erica sighed. “Fine. One date. But if he turns out to be weird, I’m leaving early.”

“As you should. And wear that green dress,” Nadia added. “The one that makes people lose their morals.” Nadia said as she winked at Erica. 

“Nooo”…Erica replied as they both giggled and continued to devour their bowl of ice cream.