Page 108 of The Blind Date

“That’s not a bad idea,” Michael hummed, a thoughtful expression on his face.

“I’m glad that’s not me,” I laughed.

“Me too,” Owen chimed.

Michael and Arthur continued moaning about the extra hours they would no doubt work this evening, all while Owen teased them about it. It was nice sitting on the other side of the table for once. I used the opportunity to finish off the last of my chicken salad, but something far more interesting stole my attention.

The door opened as a small group of developers from Goodman and Smiths walked in. I knew they worked for Goodman because I was very familiar with the one trailing behind, animatedly speaking on the phone.

The last time I saw him was on Sunday, the day after we saw The Lion King. The both of us were soaked through from kissing in the rain, and the people coming in and out of the tube station were turning their noses up at us, but neither of us cared in the least. I insisted I would be fine, but Cedric had adamantly walked me back to my apartment even though it was out of his way quite a bit. We shared a slow, sweet kiss at the door, and then I invited him. He left the next evening because we both had work on Monday.

But that had been on Sunday when it was just us two. The day before, we had run from the theatre in hopes that our parents wouldn’t spot us and put two and two together. It was different now. It was the middle of the week in broad daylight, and we were surrounded by our peers.

For a single moment, I held my breath and wondered how Cedric would react. Would he ignore me as technically, we were supposed to be keeping this a secret? Would he merely nod at me before having lunch with his co-workers? Would that bother me?

The first option made me feel sick. The second option was better than the first, but it still made me feel reasonably sick.

“Saffron?” Owen nudged me. “Isn’t that your boyfriend?”

"It is," I murmured in a hushed tone. As if he sensed I was talking about him, Cedric turned his head, and our eyes locked. When a large grin immediately took over his face, quickly transforming into that smug smirk of his I had grown to love, relief washed over me.

I matched his grin that only stretched higher at the corners as he said something to his colleagues before heading toward me. When he got closer, and I caught snippets of his phone conversation, I knew he was speaking to his mum.

Unable to resist, I wrapped my arms around his waist and buried my face in his chest. As he was still on the phone, he could only hug me with one arm, but he bowed his head to press a soft kiss on my forehead.

I waited patiently for him to finish speaking on the phone, and when he did, he pocketed it and wrapped both arms around me, giving me a tight squeeze and pulling me impossibly closer.

“I didn’t think I’d have the pleasure of running into you today.” He pressed another kiss to my forehead.

Very aware that my trio of colleagues was probably gaping at us both, we cut the embrace short to avoid making things awkward.

"Owen, Michael, Arthur, this is Cedric, my boyfriend." I turned to address my colleagues. "Cedric, these are my teammates."

“The enemies,” Cedric whistled lowly and reached out to greet each of them with a friendly handshake.

“Enemies?” Arthur echoed in surprise, but when Owen smirked and sent him a pointed look, his eyes flashed with understanding. “Which bank do you work for?”

“Goodman and Smiths.”

“So, you really are the enemy then, aren’t you?” Michael chuckled.

"Why don't you join us?" Owen offered. “You know what they say. Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer, right?”

"I'm out for a quick lunch with some of my teammates, and I doubt we'll all fit at one table, but I'll see if I can get us a table close to you guys." Cedric squeezed my hip subtly before disappearing to do just that.

“I didn’t know you had a boyfriend,” Arthur commented the moment Cedric left to ask the waitress if they could be reseated closer to us.

“Me neither,” Michael chimed in. “I have to admit, I’m surprised that you’re sleeping with the enemy.”

“I’m not sleeping with the enemy,” I laughed, but he couldn’t be more right. I was literally sleeping with the enemy, and not just because Cedric worked for a rival bank.

Cedric and I had started out just that. Enemies. We went from absolutely hating each other's guts to dating in the short span of a few weeks. It was still unclear how my wires had gotten crossed like that, but I couldn't bring myself to be mad about it. Not when Cedric–the same annoying, obnoxious, and slightly narcissistic Cedric from our blind date–brought me so much joy and happiness.

And to think our parents had been right all along.

“It sure looks like that from where I’m sitting,” Michael snorted, and they laughed. I playfully threw a piece of lettuce at him which only made him laugh harder.

Cedric persuaded a waiter to clean up the table beside us for him and his co-workers. What was supposed to be a quick lunch turned into a hilarious one-hour group event. If we didn’t have to head back to work, we would have stayed there for much longer.

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