First Love

by Lena Hart

  Sabrina nodded, completely understanding. Her cubicle was far from the other Marketing Assistants, but she didn’t mind the solitude. She valued a bit of peace and quiet, too.

  “What are you doing?”

  Sabrina glanced over at him and found him staring at her wrap with a raised eyebrow. She looked back down at her open sandwich, her face warming. She could picture her best friend shaking her head at her. Dee had told her repeatedly that she needed to stop being particular about her food when she was on a first date. It made her look picky and high-maintenance, Dee would say. But this wasn’t a date, Sabrina reminded herself. With a small shrug, she resumed her picking.

  “I don’t like iceberg lettuce. If I had known that was the lettuce they used to make their wraps, I would have gotten something else.”

  Jake chuckled softly. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of anyone not liking a specific kind of lettuce before.”

  Sabrina shrugged again, trying not to feel silly. “It tastes like wet paper,” she muttered. Her friends and family were used to her picky eating habits, but she didn’t want Jake to think she was a weirdo.

  Well, too late for that now. He was the one who’d insisted they have lunch together and she could only be herself.

  Sabrina forced her embarrassment aside and changed the subject, hoping to take his attention away from her. “How long have you been working here?”

  “Not long. Since April, so a little over four months. This was only supposed to last through July, but things aren’t moving as fast as they’d like.”

  Jake proceeded to tell her about the company-wide network restructuring that was happening, which would allow for more space on their servers, faster operation, and even the ability to work remotely. With all the upgrades, it sounded like she’d gotten here at a good time.

  They spent the rest of their lunch hour talking about work and the company. Even after they’d finished eating, they lingered a little while longer as she talked about her recent graduation and decision to get into marketing.

  “Where did you go to school?”

  “DePaul. I got into the program right after I got my bachelor’s, so it was an easy transition. Then I landed here.”

  She avoided the subject of her last position, where she had spent four months as an intern—an internship that had only led to the most humiliating experience in her professional life. Despite her MBA degree and experience, Sabrina was forced to take the lower position because of that incident. Sabrina could only hope that her current supervisors would see the value she brought to the team.

  “What school did you go to?”

  Jake gave her a curious look before he shook his head. “College wasn’t for me. I spent some money at the local college and some other tech schools before I realized I wasn’t learning anything new.”

  “Oh, okay.” Those were the only words Sabrina could think to say.

  “Is having a degree part of your requirements before dating a guy?”

  Sabrina could sense the tension invading his muscular frame. “No, of course not. I always believed college wasn’t for everyone. As long as you’re happy with what you’re doing and it isn’t hurting anyone, I say, go for it.” He nodded and relaxed some. She couldn’t help but tease him. “But after meeting you, I’m definitely going to add a ‘must’ on my list.”

  He cocked a brow. “What?”

  “Must be a computer geek.”

  His lips curved into a smile and she found herself gazing at him, enjoying the way the small action transformed his handsome face.

  “Freelancing isn’t a lifelong career plan of mine,” he confessed.

  “Oh? What are your plans, then?”

  He hesitated for a moment. “I’d like to start my own company someday. I find I work better on my own.”

  Sabrina smiled encouragingly at him. People always talked about wanting to be their own boss, but she believed Jake was one of those people who would actually go for it. And even succeed.

  “Right now, I can’t decide whether I should start here or someplace else.”

  “Where would you start if not here?”

  He shrugged. “I don’t know. Maybe New York or LA. I mean, I love Chicago, but I’m ready for a different scene.”

  She nodded, though couldn’t help the disappointment that filled her. She knew that his freelance position would mean that she wouldn’t see him around every day, but to think that he would pack up and leave the state was extremely depressing. She’d known him for only a few days and was already resentful at the thought.

  Burying the irrational feeling, she offered him a strained smile. “That’s cool. What kind of business would you start?”

  He shrugged again. “Something in computer science or information technology. It’s my specialty, and an area that’s high in demand.”

  “Smart. Not many people are good around a computer. Myself included, as you already know.”

  “If you keep me around, you won’t have to worry about that.”

  There was that devastating smile again. Sabrina glanced down at his collar to regroup her senses. “I don’t know… I always felt you techies were a cross between mechanics and mad scientists.”

  He leaned forward, a gleam of curiosity glinting in his deep blue eyes. “How so?”

  “Not only are you guys part of an elite group of nerds,” she teased, “but they get to charge whatever they want, and us regular folk can’t do anything about it.”

  A mischievous grin spread across his handsome face. “Well, I see you’ve got me all figured out. Now I just need my very own Igor, and a chop shop, and I’ll be ready for business.”

  Sabrina rolled her eyes, biting her lip to hold back a laugh. “Just be sure to go with the lab coat, then. Overalls just wouldn’t do on you.”

  ****

  The following week, they continued their noontime lunch ritual, and it was by far one of the best weeks he’d had in a while. Each day, Jake would meet her at her cubicle and they would go down for lunch together, spending the hour talking about their day or sitting in complete silence, content just to enjoy each other’s company. He figured if they kept things casual, then they wouldn’t have to worry about things turning awkward between them if nothing came out of this.

  Except, it seemed that their friendship was getting a bit more intense each time they got together, and the more time he spent with her, the more serious Jake wanted it to get. For Sabrina’s sake, he tried to maintain discretion around the office, but he never wasted an opportunity to touch her. They were small, harmless contacts—a hand on the small of her back or a touch on her elbow—but they were enough for him to realize that he wanted more than just a casual work relationship between them.

  He wanted all of her.

  From the way Sabrina looked at him at times, there was a strong chance she might want the same thing. Except, with each passing day she was getting harder to read. She maintained a friendly yet professional attitude whenever they were together. It wasn’t until that brief moment in the elevator after one of their lunch dates that he finally got a bit more of a reaction from her.

  They stood inside the small chamber as they made their way back to their desks a bit later than usual. Part of their lateness was because he hadn’t been ready to leave her just yet and she hadn’t seem to be in any rush either.

  Jake watched as the elevator skipped his floor and continued its slow climb up to her department.

  “You really didn’t have to walk me back to my desk, you know.”

  He grinned and couldn’t help but tease, “I’m going for chivalry here, remember?”

  She shook her head again but didn’t protest further. He took that as a good sign.

  “What do you know about chivalry, anyway?”

  He winked at her. “I know that’s how I’ll get the girl.”

  She snorted.

  “Hmm, sexy,” he murmured.

  Jake shared in her laughter just as the elevator stopped midway to her floo
r. A crowd piled into the elevator, pushing them further back into the closed space. He glanced over at Sabrina and found her eyes tightly shut. Her requests to have them wait for a near empty elevator every time wasn’t something he brought up since he didn’t mind their extra seconds together. It was clear, however, that the crowd was getting to her. From the tension radiating from her at that moment, she was clearly having a time of it.

  Jake had never met anyone with claustrophobia before, but it bothered him to see how much she was suffering. Without thinking, he reached down and took her hand in his, giving it a gentle squeeze. Her eyes flew open, and she glanced up at him. There was surprise, gratitude, and relief in her pretty, dark eyes and he gave her hand another gentle squeeze. To his own surprise—and pleasure—she tightened her grip around his.

  They finally exited the crowded elevator and made their way to her desk. She’d carefully slipped her hand from his, and he found that he missed the soft feel of her palm against his.

  “Do you have any plans this weekend?”

  He surprised himself with his blurted question. Maybe it was the long holiday weekend they had ahead of them but Jake found himself already missing her. The end of summer was here, and they would soon be welcoming the start of the fall season, which meant more indoor activities, like his best friend’s game night parties, which was happening this weekend.

  Sabrina hesitated, and Jake figured she either did have plans and didn’t want to say or was thinking of an excuse not to be available. He didn’t like the idea of either.

  “My friend’s having a small party tomorrow night,” he continued. “It’s something he throws once a month to get us all to hang regularly.” Adam’s parties were usually popular and with the long weekend, Jake anticipated a good turnout. He probably wouldn’t get a chance to get Sabrina alone, but just being able to be near her outside of work was enough for him. “It’s pretty laid back and there’ll be free food and drinks all night. I think you’d have fun.”

  “It sound fun, but I was going to take my best friend out tomorrow. She’s going through a bad break-up, and I promised her a girls’ night out.”

  “Bring her,” Jake offered. “Adam won’t mind and she’ll get to meet some new people. You can never have enough friends, right?”

  “Okay,” she said after a while, and he hadn’t realized how much joy that one word would give him. “Is it in the city?”

  “Yeah. I’ll email you the info.”

  As they neared her desk, they spotted a bent head inside her cubicle.

  “Dale?” Sabrina called out.

  The man looked up surprised and then smiled at her as they approached him. Dale glanced over at him, and the grin fell from his face. Jake cocked a brow, recognizing the scorn in the other man’s eyes. He would have laughed if he hadn’t been so annoyed. Right now, the guy was really starting to piss him off. Dale obviously wanted the same thing he did, but Jake wanted her more, and the way Sabrina responded to him, he knew she wanted him, too. Despite his irritation, Jake wasn’t worried about Dale. Annoyed, but not worried.

  “Sabrina, I was just leaving you a note,” Dale said. “I have the revised comps for you to review.”

  “Great, thanks, Dale.” Sabrina stepped into her cubicle and picked up the folder that lay across her keyboard. “I’ll take a look and give you my comments later today.”

  “Take your time. I won’t start working on it again until next week anyway.”

  “All right.” When awkward silence fell between the three of them, Sabrina turned to Jake, a sweet smile on her full lips. “Thanks again for lunch.”

  “Anytime.” She was referring to the second time these past few days he’d had to cover her meal. Not that Jake minded, but she seemed to have a thing against a guy buying her lunch, too. He could feel Dale’s hard stare, but kept his focus on the beautiful woman smiling at him. “I’ll see you tomorrow night.” He’d let the other man infer whatever he wanted from that. With a quick wink, Jake turned and left.

  As Jake waited for an elevator, he was irritated to find Dale headed his way. The man stood beside him silently, and Jake continued to keep his eyes trained on the red digital number displayed above the elevator doors.

  “You may want to stay in your lane, Landon.”

  Jake brought his gaze down to the silver elevator doors as he fought to keep his temper in check. He didn’t pretend not to know what the other man was referring to, but he couldn’t believe the jackass was actually going there. Who he dated was no one’s damn concern. Certainly not this prick’s.

  “And you may want to mind your damn business,” Jake said smoothly, forcing himself to relax, but his blood still boiled.

  Dale scoffed. “You white boys are something else. A pretty, black girl shows up and you waste no time, huh?”

  Jake’s glared at the other man, his fingers flexing involuntarily. Dale returned his hard stare with one of his own and, at that moment, Jake wanted nothing more than to ram his fist into the other guy’s face. But what would Sabrina think of me then?

  Rumor had it that a former girlfriend who had once worked at the company had burned the man. According to the gossipers, Dale’s ex had left him for some new guy in finance. Jake didn’t know if any of it were true, but it was clear Dale was still bitter about it. Maybe the guy in Finance had even been another “white boy.” Either way, Jake couldn’t feel sorry for him. Dale was too busy being an asshole to see that the problem was really him.

  “Look, Connors, I don’t give two shits what you think or what your issues are. Just don’t talk to me about Sabrina again.”

  Dale snickered. “Or you’ll do what? Swap my computer with a broken one? Don’t you think you’ve done enough of that?”

  Jake clenched his fists just as the elevator arrived. He really needed to start looking for a new gig or he would soon end up getting himself fired. Then again, knocking the smug look from that bastard’s face might be worth it.

  “You know,” Dale added as the elevator doors slid open. “She’s only being nice to you because you hooked her up. That’s it.”

  Jake shrugged as he stepped into the empty chamber. “You seem more pissed off about that than me so I guess in the end, I still win.”

  Chapter Four

  “Ugh, I knew we shouldn’t have come,” Deidra Dennis mumbled. “My freaking feet hurt.”

  Sabrina shot her best friend of eighteen years an irritated glance as they made their way toward the brownstone apartment building. Her freaking feet were hurting her too, but she sucked it up and continued walking.

  “Don’t start, Dee. You’re the one who said we should make a left.”

  “Well, maybe if you’d remembered your phone, we wouldn’t have to be playing these guessing games.”

  Sabrina sighed. The night air was fresh and crisp, but walking nearly two miles in her brand new heels was no fun. Sabrina, however, suppressed her pain and tried to remain enthusiastic. “I’m not arguing with you tonight. We’re here now, so just smile and be nice.”

  Dee glared at her instead. “What happened to ‘I’m never dating anyone from my job’? I’m just trying to save you from embarrassing yourself again.”

  Sabrina narrowed her eyes at her friend. Dee was really starting to work her nerves. Sabrina could understand that she was depressed and bitter—a bad breakup would do that to any woman—but it had been four months now, and she had hoped Dee would be over her no-good, cheating ex-boyfriend by now. Or at least over her bitterness.

  “This isn’t a date,” Sabrina reminded her for the third time that night. “He’s just a friend who invited us to this party. So kill the attitude and try to enjoy yourself tonight. Okay?”

  Dee’s lips tightened. She said nothing as they walked into the building and up to the third floor. There were noise and laughter coming from behind the apartment door, and Sabrina smoothed her sweaty palms down her jeans. She’d been nervous since the train ride to Jake’s friend’s place and she had hoped it would have
disappeared by now. Evidently, it hadn’t. No matter how often she kept telling herself this wasn’t a date, her body kept reacting as if it were.

  After a few knocks on the door, which probably took someone a while to hear over the noise inside, a tall, attractive man filled the doorway. He raised a black brow at them curiously as mild annoyance flashed on his dark brown face.

  “If you’re here to tell us to keep the noise down, we already got the memo.”

  Sabrina shook her head. “No, Jake invited me. Is he here?”

  The man’s eyes widened and he looked from her to Deidra then back to her again. Suddenly, a wide smile softened his stern face. “Yeah, he’s in the back. You must be Sabrina.”

  “Yes, and this is my friend Dee.” Sabrina glanced behind him into his crowded apartment, trying to see if she could catch a glimpse of Jake.

  “Nice to meet you. I’m Adam.” He stepped back to let them in. At their hesitation, he smiled understandingly. “You can come in or you can wait out here and I can go get him. But just so you know, half of us in here are attorneys so no one is stupid enough to try anything.”

  With a small shrug from Dee, Sabrina decided to go with her instincts and they both followed Adam inside.

  “There’s pizza, wings, and beer in the kitchen,” Adam said over his shoulder, pointing to his right. “And the bathroom’s through there.” He made an arbitrary gesture in front of them, but Sabrina wasn’t paying any attention. She scanned the crowd to see if she could find Jake. The apartment was surprisingly larger than she expected, and there were small groups of people in every available space playing some sort of board, trivia, or card game. And it was there she spotted Jake.

  She smiled gingerly at him as he looked up from his cards and gave him a small wave. His eyes widened and he got up from his seat, despite the loud protest from the other players.

  “I’m out.” Jake threw his cards down and made his way toward them. He sized her up, looking at her as if he liked what he saw and she was glad she’d taken her time getting dressed tonight. The look on his face almost made the long walk in her skinny jeans and high heeled ankle boots worth it.