by Sarah Pond
'Don't mention it. So, what's been going on?'
Daisy sighed, 'Well, you know when I met you at the club, I was telling you about Ryan.'
'Yes, I remember. Did anything happen?'
'Well, kind of. There was definitely something between us, major flirting at the office.' She smiled at the memory, before her face falling sullen again. 'We had a date, and it seemed to go really well. Then out of the blue he cancelled our second date with a vague and rubbish excuse. He probably thought better of it.'
Kate felt for her. 'Why would you even say that?'
Daisy looked at the floor, 'I had a couple of drinks before I met him. I was feeling so nervous. I did tell him though, explain why.'
Kate spoke softly, 'I think if that was a problem, you would have known right away.'
'Maybe the flirting at the office was more fun than a proper date with me.'
'Now don't be daft. Whatever his reason is, if it's not meant to be...' she smiled kindly at Daisy.
'But I really like him. I can't help being attracted to him.' She sighed, 'Well, I was. At the moment, I'm just pissed off with him.'
Kate smiled, 'That's good, you're moving forward already!'
'Do you think I was too forward? I asked him out. Also, I kissed him first.'
Kate laughed, 'Really? Good for you!'
'Yes, well, after the club, the way you kissed me so easily…' Daisy was blushing profusely now, 'It gave me the courage to just go for it.'
'Wow. You're a quick learner!' Kate was impressed.
'I just wondered whether it might have been a bit of a turn off for him.' Daisy sighed heavily, 'Oh, I don't know.'
'I'm sure it wasn't. I would have thought it would be quite the reverse, actually.' Now it was Kate's turn to blush.
The two women looked at each other for a moment, and burst out laughing.
This time, the tear Daisy wiped away was one of laughter, 'It feels so good to laugh like that. Thank you.'
'What for?'
'For being there.' Daisy looked sincerely into Kate's eyes.
Her reply was soft, 'You're welcome.'
'Now, let me get some more drinks. What would you like?'
They spent a relaxed couple of hours chatting, and Daisy was feeling much happier. Standing back outside in George Street, Daisy said, 'I'd better start heading towards school, I've got to pick up Jess. Thank you, again.' Daisy hugged Kate, 'I really appreciate it.'
'Hey, any time. Also, you've got my number now. So if you ever need anyone to talk to, just call me.'
Daisy was touched, 'Thank you, that's really sweet of you. Hopefully see you soon.'
'Hope so. Bye.' Kate watched as Daisy waved, turned and headed off, back towards Brighton.
Jess came running out to greet Daisy. Her pigtails had started to undo, looking a bit like the hair on her well-loved Toy Story Jessie doll. Daisy loved that film, and it gave her the inspiration for her daughter's name. When she was born, Jessica had seemed more fitting, although hardly anyone used her full name. Jess loved her namesake too, and Daisy had lost count of the times that they had watched the film together, snuggled up on the sofa. If ever Jess was feeling poorly, it was always the film she wanted to watch, wrapped up under a blanket on the sofa.
'Did you have a good day, darling?'
Jess was beaming, faint smudges of paint across her face and arms, 'Yes, it was great. We had art today.'
'I can see, it looks like you painted yourself too!' Jess grinned widely at her mum.
'Mum, please can we get fish and chips for tea today?' She looked up with big, hopeful eyes.
'Yes, darling. Let's.'
'Yay!' Jess happily skipped alongside Daisy. Having felt really down this morning, the day had turned out a lot better than she had expected. Chatting with Kate had really helped to lift her spirits, and seeing the happiness on Jess's face always made her heart swell with love.
Daisy and Jess found a sheltered spot on the beach to eat. What was it about eating fish and chips straight out of the paper that made them taste so much better. The smell of the salt and vinegar wafted into their nostrils, mixing with the salty sea air.
Once they had finished, they wiped their greasy fingers on the paper, and grinned happily at one another. Jess now had a smudge of tomato ketchup on her chin to add to the paint, which Daisy wiped off with a serviette, causing Jess to beam happily at her mum.
Zumba was also really helping Daisy to take her mind off things. For the time she was at the sports centre, and particularly in the class, she didn't think of anything else. The music was uplifting, the people were wonderful, and she also felt that she was getting fitter. She had heard that exercise was an endorphin release, and she certainly felt good after the class. Maybe she would try some other classes as well. She had always fancied doing yoga, but never really had the time before. There were classes on a weekend that she could do when Jess was with Stephen. It didn't have to be every week, just as and when while she found a class that she liked.
Ryan was having lunch with Dan, when Becky came over to join them. After a general catch up, Becky started telling them how she had been challenging herself with things, after hearing about Daisy in HR. 'You know, I got really bold, and I asked out this guy who lives in my block of flats. I've fancied him for ages, and I just asked him outright!'
As she was talking, Ryan started putting two and two together. This was the girl who they had been talking about at the office, not Daisy. He felt the blood draining from his face. The more he heard about how Daisy's ideas had helped Becky and her friends, the more he realised how rash he had been. Dan caught a glance at the expression on Ryan's face, 'You alright, mate?'
'Yeah, fine. Just remembered something. I've gotta go.'
Dan and Becky exchanged a look of surprise as Ryan got up and left suddenly.
Ryan felt awful, he really had messed up. He wanted to try and put things right, and just hoped that Daisy was a forgiving person.
When Daisy looked up at the knock on her office door that afternoon, she was surprised to see Ryan standing there. 'Can I come in?'
Daisy seemed distracted, and not best pleased to see him. 'I've got about five minutes, then I have to leave. Keep it quick.'
Shit, he really had upset her. 'I want to apologise.' Daisy stopped what she was doing, and looked up. 'I misunderstood something, and jumped to the wrong conclusion.'
'About what?' Daisy continued packing up her bag and preparing the papers for her meeting.
Ryan shuffled uncomfortably from foot to foot. 'I'd rather talk about it when you're not rushing off. Shall I come back tomorrow? Or we could have dinner sometime?'
Daisy was wary of the sudden change in Ryan. She knew that getting involved with someone at the office hadn't been a good idea. She curtly said, 'Maybe tomorrow. Check with Cheryl to see if I have any space in my diary. I've got to go now.' With that, she breezed out of the office, leaving Ryan standing there, non plussed. He didn't think she'd even registered the mention of having dinner. Well, what did he expect after the way he had treated her.
That evening, lying in bed, Daisy kept tossing and turning, as sleep evaded her. She had spoken to Eve on the phone earlier, and that had helped at the time. Now though, in the dark and alone with her thoughts, her brain kept ping ponging back and forth. She was in turns pleased that Ryan wanted to apologise, and had even mentioned dinner, and furious that he could just waltz in and think everything would be alright. Yes, it was true that she didn't know exactly what he wanted to apologise about. As it was, she didn't really know what had happened to cause a sudden change in him anyway.
Late the following morning, Cheryl asked Daisy whether she could put in an appointment for Ryan to see her. 'Keeping it professional, then!' The way she asked, with raised eyebrows, caused an exasperated response from Daisy, not the coy one she had expected.
She wasn't engaging with Cheryl, 'You can tell him okay, just ten minutes.'
'Oh, want to leave him wantin
g more, then.' The glare on Daisy's face soon wiped the smile off of Cheryl's, 'Sorry, boss.' She left, closing the door quietly behind her.
That afternoon, Ryan appeared at the door, looking nervous. Daisy invited him to sit down, asking him to shut the door first. 'I haven't got long. What did you want to say?' She sat back in her chair, arms folded across her chest.
Damn, she really is mad. Well, here goes. 'I'm really sorry. About cancelling our second date, and giving you a rubbish excuse.'
'Okay.' Daisy really wasn't giving him anything here.
'It was crap of me. I should have at least explained why.'
Her voice was ice cold, 'That would have been nice.'
The hairs stood up on the back of Ryan's neck. 'The thing is, I overheard some people talking and I misunderstood. They were talking about these challenges you started, and I thought you'd asked me out as a kind of bet.'
Daisy's voice was flat, her eyes a hard glare, 'No, I didn't.'
'Yes, I realise that. I'm sorry I didn't talk to you properly about it. A case of once bitten, twice shy, I'm afraid.' Ryan smiled crookedly, and Daisy softened towards him, despite herself. 'I know that doesn't excuse me.'
'Yes, well, I've had my fair share of crap. One of the things I value most of all is honesty, and if you can't be honest with me, it's probably best that you stopped things before anything really got started.' Ryan looked defeated, and Daisy felt bad for a moment.
'I really wish we'd had the second date. Dan said I should have gone, told me I was crazy.' Daisy just looked at him. 'Is there any chance of a fresh start?'
'Like you said, we work together. I think it's better to leave things be.' She was still trying to convince herself. 'It would be difficult.'
Ryan thought that he could see a spark of hope, 'Or it could be really fun.'
Fun, I could do with a bit of fun, Daisy thought. 'I don't know. Let me think about it.'
Now Ryan was feeling hopeful. 'Of course. Take as long as you need.' After a beat, he asked, 'How about tomorrow?'
Daisy couldn't help smiling. 'Now, get out of here, I have to get on with my work.'
Ryan decided to push his luck, 'Can I have a kiss goodbye?'
Daisy just looked at him, one eyebrow raised, and Ryan got up and headed towards the door. Just before he closed it behind him, he blew her a kiss and winked before disappearing. Daisy couldn't help laughing to herself. Within a couple of minutes, Cheryl was at Daisy's desk. 'Well?'
Daisy looked up, feigning disinterest, 'Well, what?'
'So, what happened. You know, with Ryan?'
'Nothing.'
He's never been to your office, and suddenly he's always around. Remember, I know there's something going on between you.'
Daisy gave Cheryl her Not Now look, and she slinked back to her office.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Daisy was thinking about the first throws of a relationship, and how exciting it can be. Being in love is a wonderful feeling. She remembered how excited she would get every time Stephen called her, or they met up. It had started out so well, life was full of happiness, but look how it had ended up. Was she not enough for him, that Stephen ended up sleeping with someone else behind her back. He didn't even have the decency to tell her first, to end their relationship.
Why did she even want to be in another relationship, anyway. If she didn't get involved, she couldn't get hurt. She sighed. Even she knew that was crazy thinking. She loved companionship, she wanted to share her life with someone. It just needed to be the right someone. But how do you know who is the right someone? Only if you spend time with them, get to know them. She could say no to a second date with Ryan on account of hurt pride, or maybe she could go, and just see what happens. Be open to the moment. Kate had said something about that, about going with the moment. Right before she had kissed her.
When Daisy arrived at work the next day, she noticed something sitting on her desk. As she sat down, wheeling her office chair towards her desk, she could see that it was a smallish black box with a purple ribbon on it. There was no note or card, so she gently undid the ribbon, and lifted the top off of the box. Daisy let out an involuntary laugh, as inside there were two biscuits, one bourbon and one custard cream. He really is too cute, she thought, still smiling to herself when Cheryl arrived for work.
Although she had expected to, Daisy didn't hear from Ryan all day. Perhaps he was waiting to see if she would contact him. Well, she wasn't in any rush, if something was going to happen she would let it unfold naturally. Also, if he was so put off by hearing some office gossip that he cancelled their date, he was probably too flaky for her. As the day went on, she was busy and didn't really think about it anymore.
That evening, Daisy was chatting to Eve on the phone. Nimbus was curled up on her lap, purring contentedly.
'Well, he's obviously still keen on you.'
Daisy was doubtful, 'Maybe. I don't know, though. And I have Jess to consider.'
'Daisy, we're talking about a second date here. He hasn't proposed to you. Go and have some fun, for goodness sake.' Eve was sounding playfully exasperated.
Jess walked into the room, just as Daisy was finishing talking to Eve. She knelt by the sofa, so she could stroke Nimbus. He half opened one eye, then stretched his front paws out, patting Jess on her arm. She giggled, and leaned in to kiss him. 'Hello sleepy. How are you?'
As Jess stroked his chin, Nimbus purred happily in reply. Daisy looked lovingly at her daughter. She looked so happy there, lost in sharing a moment with Nimbus. Maybe she could try living in the moment a bit more herself.
The next morning, Daisy noticed a mug on her desk when she arrived at work. Cheryl must have seen me on her way in, she thought. As she sat down, though, she saw that it was empty. Well, almost. Inside was a note that said, 'Missing: coffee and biscuits - have you seen them?'
Okay, maybe she would go and find Ryan a bit later. Once she had caught up on a couple of phone calls and emails, Daisy headed off towards the kitchen. Ryan was nowhere to be seen. Oh well, never mind, then. No doubt she would see him soon enough. Then Eve's words from last night came into her head, and she decided that this was going to be her next little challenge. She would push herself, and go to his office. She couldn't pretend that her heart hadn't started beating much faster all of a sudden, and that she wasn't feeling rather warm now. Having begun quite determinedly, her footsteps now slowed down as she approached his office.
As she arrived, she couldn't see Ryan anywhere. 'Hi, Dan. Have you seen Ryan?' Daisy was startled by how high pitched her voice sounded.
Dan looked surprised to see her. It was probably her squeaky voice that surprised him most, she thought to herself. 'Oh, hi. He should be back any time. Shall I get him to call you?'
'No, that's okay. I'll catch him some other time.' Why won't my voice come out normally. She took a deep breath, forcing her voice lower before adding, 'Thank you,' and hurrying back to her office.
It was a few minutes later when Ryan returned to his office. Dan walked over to his desk. 'Dude, guess who was here looking for you?'
'I don't know. Was it that marketing woman?'
Dan was sarcastic, 'Oh, come on. Are you just playing dumb?'
Ryan looked non plussed. 'Just tell me, mate.'
'Daisy. She was here about ten minutes ago.'
'Really?' Ryan smiled. 'Did she leave a message?'
'No, just said she'll catch you another time. I'm assuming it wasn't a work thing, that she was looking for you. Did you ask her out again?'
'Kind of.'
'What do you mean, kind of? If you don't get your act together, she's going to meet someone else. I don't know what you're waiting for.'
'I've got it in hand. She came looking for me, didn't she? So I know she's still interested.' Ryan looked very pleased with himself.
'How did it go?' Cheryl looked up from her desk as Daisy returned.
'How did what go?'
Cheryl laughed, 'It's no good playing the i
nnocent with me.'
Daisy looked at Cheryl, a bit deflated. 'He wasn't in his office.'
'Never mind, I'll bet he'll be back here by the end of today.'
'The eternal optimist.'
'Someone's gotta be!' Cheryl smiled a cheesy smile.
Daisy decided that she needed a distraction, and she also wanted to get out of the office. 'Do you fancy going out for lunch, Cheryl?'
'Um, maybe.' She only appeared to be half paying attention, fiddling with some papers on her desk.
'My treat.'
That got Cheryl's attention, and she looked up, smiling, 'Well, you're the boss. Great, thanks.'
As it was a hot day, Daisy chose to have a fresh strawberry milkshake.
Cheryl decided, 'Banana for me, please.'
They were delicious, and Daisy drank hers down quickly. She was still a bit fidgety and nervous after going to Ryan's office, and was hoping that a change of scene would help. Asking where the toilet was, the lady at the counter pointed the way.
As Daisy returned, she paused again at the counter, 'Thank you, that was lovely.' Before the lady had responded, Daisy suddenly realised how that sounded, and quickly added, 'Oh, I mean the drink, not the wee.' She felt her face colour up. 'Sorry.'
The lady laughed, and Daisy made her way back to Cheryl, who was in fits of laughter. When she had calmed down, she asked Daisy, 'So what's the deal with you and Ryan?'
Daisy filled her in on what had happened so far. 'I don't know if it's a good idea.'
'Why ever not?'
'Work, office gossip. I don't know.'
Cheryl could see Daisy mentally trying to work it out. 'Well, I do know. He's lovely, I wouldn't say no, that's for sure! Also, there's definitely something between you. If there wasn't, you would have known on your date. At least give him another chance, otherwise you'll be kicking yourself.'
'He is really cute.' Daisy was smiling now.
'There you go, then. You will tell me what happens, won't you?' Cheryl was grinning inanely.
'Cheryl, what are you like?'
'Well, I'm living vicariously as I don't have much romance going on in my life at the moment!'
