HOW TO BE SINGLE | SIDEMEN

THIRTY FIVE

t h i r t y   f i v e
" someone out there for everyone "
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"Nope," Rosa said, whisking Cora's phone from her hands. "No calling up guys because you're feeling sad and lonely." Her cropped hair bobbed in waves of blue and green at the base of her neck, freshly dyed that week.

"Come on," Cora whined, leaning back against the sofa in a grumble as Rosa flicked through the array of contacts on her phone, making a slight humming noise at one name but not commenting on it. "I could call up one for me and one for you. A night off work is the perfect time to get lucky."

"I don't think so." She chucked the phone back in Cora's general direction, enjoying watching her scrabble for it.

"What? Why?" Cora questioned. She'd always been up for it before.

"Because I'm actually seeing someone," Rosa admit, taking a seat on the sofa too. With every tick of Cora's brain, her grin grew wider.

"Who?" Her brown eyes narrowed, the smudging of make up deepening the curiosity.

"Well," she began, "you remember that guy you hooked up with a while back and then refused to go to breakfast with? Turns out he's a really nice guy."

"You need to be more specific," Cora remarked, a chewing smirk appearing at her mouth.

"Remember Will? Yeah, it's him," Rosa explained and actually blushed. Cora had never seen her blush like that before. "He came calling for you one afternoon before Christmas but I think you were out with Chris and we got talking, I invited him in and we had a really nice afternoon together."

"Wow," Cora said, "the world works in funny ways, doesn't it? I'm happy for you, Ros, and I know you deserve this."

"We're actually going out tonight to see some new film he was raving about." She picked non-existent fluff from her skirt.

"That's great, I hope you have a nice time," Cora responded, picking up her phone and scrolling down her contacts.

Rosa sighed, but did nothing against it this time. "Maybe you should try dating again," Rosa offered, edging around the fact that she really thought that chucking her back into the dating world would be good for her. More than good. Maybe it would get her back on track, make her happier than one-night stands ever could.

Sure, they were fun while they lasted, but that was it. As soon as the morning rolled around and Cora kicked them out, the fun ended and she was back to being alone.

"I don't think so." She didn't even look up from her phone. "I'm happy with calling someone up and getting a quick bit of fun without the commitment or responsibility."

"Fine," Rosa said, "it was worth a try. Maybe we could go on a double date sometime?"

"Wouldn't that be weird?"

"Why?"

"I slept with him. Why wouldn't it be weird?"

"Okay," Rosa drawled out, "good point."

"I don't need to date," Cora insisted as she clicked on a contact and began to construct a text. "Just leave it be. I'm sure I'll find someone."

"They do say that there's someone out there for everyone, I suppose."

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"So," Cal began, pushing his chair across the room to Simon's desk where he sat glumly. "You got dumped? Does that mean I've got my right hand back now?" He grinned widely.

"Yeah, I got dumped, but doesn't mean I wanna go out and get wasted," Simon responded, not looking at his co-worker who wore a smile of a lion.

"You don't mean that!" He drummed his fingers on the table and glanced to the door. "She's not coming back, anyways."

"She quit?" Simon frowned at the man before him, navy tie loose.

"Nah," he leaned his head on his hand, watching every inch of Simon's face for reaction. "she got the sack, mate."

Simon's chest tightened as if he were suffocating. He couldn't understand it. Catherine was always the hardest working of the four of them in the top floor office. Where the three men often got distracted, she would roll her eyes and continue typing away or talking to another co-worker on the phone.

"Do you know why?" He asked, trying to sound as if he didn't really care.

But he did.

He really did. He'd thought that maybe if he got the chance to explain himself to Catherine that she would forgive him. Yes, he wanted to be single for the time being, but he still wanted Catherine to know all the layers that lay beneath what they'd had, not letting it be.

"Answered back too many times. Rude, arrogant, insulting. Honestly, the list goes on," Cal replied, face like thunder. He didn't think he'd ever seen his face that serious, lined with shadows beneath his eyes from sleepless nights and long working hours. "Either way, her replacement comes in next week."

"Already?"

Cal reached into the pocket of his blazer and pulled out a small packet of Haribo. He opened it and popped one in his mouth. "Yeah, been interviewing them since before she was fired to make sure there was someone who could do the same or better. Luckily, this guy can do better. A real genius."

"How long did you know she was going to be fired?" Simon questioned, reaching into the sweets when offered. Maybe the act would make it look like he wasn't as bothered.

"Oh, ages," Cal said. "She'd had it coming for a long time. Got too comfortable." He clapped Simon on the back. "Either way, you coming out tonight? You can't flake on me, Josh already did. Besides, to get over someone get under someone else, right? Worked last time, didn't it?"

"No," Simon laughed in the face of it all, shaking his head, "it really didn't."

"Second time lucky?"

"No, Cal. I've actually got something going on this evening." Simon reached for another sweet but Cal moved his hand away.

"A date?" His eyes narrowed.

"A try-out for a football team. Not anything serious, but just Sunday League type of thing," He explained. "You should come along and try out too."

"You're alright, mate. You have fun with that one while I get my fingers sticky." He waggled them in Simon's face before pushing his chair back to his desk, leaving him to his work once more, pleased that he'd resisted the pressure and was doing something for him for once. Not for anyone else.

At the end of the day, he was the one who mattered and he didn't need a girlfriend or a one-night stand to validate that.

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1099 words
simon is learning at last