Arlo John (boyxboy)

Chapter 9

Rain pours through the wide window that stretches across our office and I watch the trees swaying in the strong breeze, threatening to take flight from the ground any second. Bright sparks of lightning light the sky every few minutes and the rain patters loudly on the sidewalk.

"Didn't know we were getting a hurricane," Turner says as he walks by my desk, handing me a stack of papers.

"It seems to continue getting worse," I reply. "Especially with all these documents."

He laughs. "Sorry, man. They just need to be filed."

"Got it," I say as he leaves me to continue sorting through my assignments.

I sort through the stack, moving the papers quickly, and accidentally slip one between my fingers, causing a sharp paper cut to bleed. I pull open a drawer, sorting through the mess of items scattered inside, unable to find a bandaid.

I sigh and close the drawer before pushing out from my chair. Marcy's desk is only a few steps away and I resort to asking her for one.

She slips her glasses off of her face and pulls out a box from the corner of her desk, handing it to me.

"Flowers, huh?" I say, unwrapping the bandaid, and placing it carefully on my finger.

She giggles. "Aren't they pretty?"

I nod. "Tulips are. Thanks for this."

She offers a smile. "As thanks, can you please bring these to Dakota?"

I return a confused look, a single eyebrow raised. "Wouldn't you want to do that?"

She glances down at her desk and tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. "I'm not ready to face him yet."

"Did something happen on your date?" I ask, though not baring any curiosity nor care for her answer.

She shakes her head and looks up at me. "No. I'm just awfully shy at the moment. Things went well."

"I see," I say. "Well, I guess I can do that for you. I owe you for this beautiful bandaid anyway."

"Thank you, AJ," she says softly.

"Mhm," I say, taking the documents from her.

I didn't particularly want to do this favor for her considering the fact I almost broke down the last time I saw Dakota. As if I'm not embarrassed enough to see him so soon.

I slowly trudge toward his office, watching the rain continue to pour outside, making the entire atmosphere gloomy.

Knocking twice on the door to Dakota's office, I tap my fingers on my arm in sudden a nervousness I rarely felt when facing him. I wait for a moment before I hear the click of the door beginning to open.

Dakota stares down at me for a second as if surprised to see me on the other side of the door. I stand there, equally as shocked to see his natural hair tossed around and not slicked back as it usually is and his tie crooked around his neck. But I do not comment about his appearance.

"AJ," he says as I scowl, hearing him call me by my nickname.

"It's Arlo," I mutter, stepping beside him into his office.

I don't wait for him to follow me and instead make my way toward his desk where I drop the documents Marcy had given me. I hear him close the door and slowly approach me before speaking.

"I assume you're done with the next proposal," he says, his voice sounding scratchy and deep at the same time.

"These are from Marcy," I tell him, forcing my eyes to meet his.

And when they do, I feel my world freeze as my chest tightens.

"And I haven't heard anything about another proposal," I say, staring up at him, fighting not to break eye contact.

But Dakota never loses.

He steps closer to me and that's when I drop my eyes to the floor.

"AJ," he says softly.

"What?" I ask.

"Did speed dating not end well?"

My mouth almost drops open at his idiocy.

I look up at him again as he smirks down at me and I resist the urge to push him away from me.

"It actually went great," I say, narrowing my eyes. "I heard your date went well too."

Dakota's smirk fades. "I wasn't on a date."

"Marcy seems to think otherwise," I say. "It's probably the way you present yourself."

Dakota steps away and purses his lips. "What do you mean by that?"

I sigh. "I tried to explain this to you during our relationship but you never listened. You have a natural charm that comes across as if you're flirting. It makes people get the wrong idea, you know. Like I did."

He remains quiet for a brief moment. "You didn't get the wrong idea."

"I did," I say. "But I don't want to talk about it anymore. We've been broken up for four months now. It doesn't matter."

I knew he wouldn't reply so I take the initiative once more.

"Don't lead Marcy on if you're not interested," I say. "That'd be a shitty thing to do."

"I know," he says.

"Right," I say. "I'll ask her about the proposal then. No need for you to explain."

"She's not working on it," he tells me. "I thought Turner would've told you when he gave you the documents this morning."

"He didn't," I say. "Is he a part of it?"

He nods, running a hand through his curls. "The three of us."

I purse my lips. "Great."

He puffs out a laugh and tugs at his crooked tie.

"You're a mess today," I tell him, watching as he continues to fidget.

"I woke up late," he says. "And didn't sleep very well."

"Jesus," I whisper. "You're doing it wrong."

Walking over, I grab the tie and adjust it carefully, catching a whiff of Dakota's cologne as he silently watches me.

"Nice bandaid," he says as I glance up at him, finding his face to be a lot closer than I had imagined it would be.

"Shut up," I say, tugging the tie.

"You should probably finish this soon," he says.

"Huh?" I ask, pulling the tie through.

"We don't want a repeat of what happened that time."

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