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And as yet another silence befell the room, she sat stewing in her thoughts.
The second date rule.
How had she never heard of it before, or at least created her own iteration of it? But, then, surely she would know anyway if a spark was there or not, right?
The way she felt about Carter now was the same way she had felt about him when she met him all those years ago, the cute, sweet intern she very nearly, almost kissed. Now he was older, arguably wiser, but still sweet, at least to her. She enjoyed the time they were spending together and the camaraderie their relationship brought her in this time of change. Like a rock in a sea of uncertainty and doubt, she knew she could depend on him. At least she knew until this morning.
The feelings of affection she had now were not too dissimilar for that which she once held for one Mark Greene. Every time he was near she would accidentally smile, thoughts of their pranks and games swirling in her head as she did whatever menial task it was that time. For the longest time she considered him a near miss, another almost could have been; until she found herself utterly alone, stranded in Arizona with no one but herself for company. It was then that she realised she didn’t love Mark, instead she loved spending time with him, favouring his company over the man himself. Could that be the same for Carter now?
By now their second date had long since passed, many kisses had come and gone along with jokes and laughs, but a spark? She wasn’t too sure…
Before she had time to mull the thought in the depth it required, the subject of her consideration was reaching the end of his folly in competitive manhood; climaxing in an attack on his rival. So now she sat cleaning up his mess as he stared on to the true subject of his affection. It was bothersome, the way he pretended not to love Abby, but she had seen it coming, or at least she knew she should have, and now figured this was her punishment for not realising it sooner. At least she now was sure it wasn’t love (with a kiss to double check), just another cry out for attention like the last time.
That begged the question: if she had never felt the chemistry there with anyone before, how would she know when it finally came?
The train of thought proved too intense for the day, her brain fried by tedium and nothingness; meaning Abby’s distraction was welcomed with the most open of arms.
“Which of us here do you think lost their virginity first?” the distractor asked.
Theorisation and speculation occurred from both parties, weighing up attributes both of physicality and personality, accompanied by unquenchable laughter, until they each settled on their final conjectures.
It was a nice moment. A really nice moment. She knew what Carter saw in her now. It was like a sudden click that instantly drew you to her, something in the way she spoke or smiled at you. Not in the way Mark and Carter had appealed themselves to her before, no. Abby was different. Something more. Something intoxicating. Just what, though, she couldn’t quite pinpoint.
It had begun to make her a touch flustered, and the realisation of such had made the rose tint of her cheeks deepen to a shade of scarlet. She was now completely baffled by the striking power the woman had suddenly gained over her. What is it about Abby Lockhart?
“Sorry I’m so darn late,” the intruder chimed, terminating Susan’s drift of mind.
She managed to remain fairly occupied by the lecture (although a few wonders of gaze did occur) and the hour passed by with surprising haste.
“We should get coffee sometime,” she found herself saying. Maybe after some time has passed, and once Carter is out of her sphere of consciousness, whatever it is that she feels for Abby will become clear, and she can move on with her life. Maybe she’ll even get a new source of companionship.