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“Morning, babe,” Danny leaned over and kissed Mindy sloppily and lazily, and she smiled, reveling in the new and delightful sensation of their skin touching.
“Morning,” she replied. “I’ll start the coffee.”
“I was thinking, actually,” he began and sat up, and Mindy felt her stomach drop. Danny was, unfortunately, and despite all of his other great qualities, kind of the most emotionally distant person on the planet, and rarely anything good came out of him thinking too much. “I don’t want all of our co-workers to make a huge fuss if we come into work together.” He reached for her hands. “I just like being in our own bubble right now.”
“Danny, we go into work together all the time. Even before we started dating. Even when we hated each other. It’s only weird if you make it weird.”
“You know how they are, babe, all they do is gossip.”
“All I do is gossip. Does that bother you?”
“That’s not what…” He put his head in his hands, and leaned over to kiss her cheek. “I just need some more time, Min.”
Mindy thought about the day ahead of her and the lives she was about to help bring into the world, and she wanted so badly to not let this bother her, but she couldn’t help it. She knew Danny would probably never change. She headed towards the Starbucks near her apartment to buy herself an overpriced coffee, then took the subway to work alone.
*****
Danny stood in the doorway of Mindy’s office a little past noon. “Hey,” he said. “Wanna grab some lunch?”
She didn’t feel like being nice and cooperating. “I don’t know, Danny. Do I have to wait five minutes after everybody sees you leave and sneak out like I’m some sort of prostitute?”
He scratched the back of his neck like he always did when he was tense or stressed. “Look, Min, I…”
“I packed my own lunch today. So no thanks.”
“Wow, you must be really pissed at me. You never do anything that responsible.” He offered her a nervous half smile, but her expression didn’t change, so he retreated back to his office.
*****
Mindy was finishing up paperwork when Danny was brave enough to stand in her doorway yet again. “You know, I might stay late tonight to catch up on some things. So don’t wait for me.”
“Min, come here for a second. Trust me. Please.” He took her hand and led her to the lobby, where everyone was putting on their coats and gathering their things for the day, and he cleared his throat. “Everyone, I…Min and I have an announcement to make,” he said, his voice a bit shaky.
“Who’s Min?” Tamra asked.
“Mindy and I want you all to know that… we’re dating. We’ve been dating for a few weeks now, and I’m…” He turned to look at her and smiled, rubbing his thumb in circles over hers. “We’re both very happy. And we just wanted to share that with all of you. So… have a good night. Get home safe. God bless.”
“Oh, congratulations!” Jeremy shouted. “Danny, don’t screw this up,” he added, waving a finger at him.
Morgan burst into tears.
“I still don’t know who Mindy is,” Tamra said to herself.
“So, that paperwork…” Danny whispered into Mindy’s ear as they approached the elevator.
“Oh, it can wait until Monday,” Mindy said hungrily as they both got on, and her lips crashed onto his when the doors closed. “I’m really proud of you,” she said, one hand cupped around his cheek. “And you didn’t even sweat that much.” He smiled, and for the first time all day, she smiled in return. For the first time in a long time, she was feeling hopeful, and it scared her. I beg you, don’t embarrass me motherfucker, she thought to herself.