Alba POV
Just another Monday at the office. After the week spent at Myria's house, it's especially difficult for me. Back to the routine, back to the day to day office and its incompatible rhythm with a normal life. I need some holidays. Thank God that in a couple of days we finish the energy drink campaign and the workload will decrease a lot.
Myria is at my door, she's finally here and she's brought me coffee. Coffee, that's exactly what I need.
MYRIA: Morning.
She smiles at me in a weird, shy way. What's wrong with her?
ALBA: Everything okay?
MYRIA: Yes, I get your coffee.
ALBA: Thank you.
'¿?'.
Myria stands in front of me without saying anything as I take a sip of coffee. I don't know why she's not leaving and she's staring at me.
ALBA: Do you want anything?
MYRIA: No, nothing, just this, I wanted to say good morning. I have to get back to my desk, I have a lot of work to do because I still have reports due.
She laughs like a creep. If it wasn't for the fact that I already know what she's like when she's drunk, I'd think she'd been drinking before she came over.
ALBA: OK, thanks.
Every day in the office with this girl is such an adventure, sometimes I feel I'm missing episodes of my own life.
Myria POV
Alba looks beautiful today but I'm not thinking about her. I've got a lot of work to do in the campaign's final stretch, and I can't let her distract me with those damn cat eyes.
'But I love cats so much.'
Absolute concentration on work. I send orders to my brain to stop being distracted by nonsense and after a while, it seems that it has finally listened to me because I've made a lot of progress. When I had already filled in the questionnaire for the followup of the campaign, two hours had passed and it felt like I had been concentrated for minutes, I admire my ability to focus today, it's incredible, I'm incredible.
Alba is looking at me. Why is she looking at me? I have to focus.
'Alba, stop looking at me. I'm not thinking about you, you don't exist. I'm not thinking about you, you don't exist. I'm not thinking about you, you don't exist.'
That's it, Alba doesn't exist, next report.
My mobile vibrates.
'She's making it impossible for me not to think about her.'
She has texted me on Tinder. We spent all Sunday talking to each other without getting out of bed. We watched a drama together that Rosa had recommended to her and we talked about it on the app until late at night. It was nice, I felt very close to her. How can she be so awake this morning having slept as little as we did?
X: Hi.
I was so busy looking at my phone that I didn't see Sandra coming.
MYRIA: Hi.
SANDRA: We hadn't seen each other for days and I wanted to congratulate you on the success of the campaign.
She smiled at me. I look at Alba, I don't want her to scold me, although now that the campaign is about to end, she shouldn't have to.
MYRIA: Thank you. We all worked so hard.
SANDRA: Yes, but it was your idea.
I smile.
SANDRA: Will you come to the brewery tonight and we'll celebrate?
MYRIA: You and me?
Sandra laughs flirtatiously.
SANDRA: No silly, my mates are coming.
MYRIA: OK. Well, we'll talk when we leave. I'm going to go downstairs and get a coffee.
I left in a hurry. I didn't want to prolong the conversation any longer because I was looking at Alba sideways with an unfriendly look on her face. Tonight I'm going for a drink with the Design people, I need to distract myself and stop thinking about her.
'If you want to stop thinking about her, stop texting her.'
Argh.
--
At the end of the day I met Sandra at the brewery's door and when I arrived there was no sign of her colleagues.
SANDRA: Hi, we're alone at last. -She giggles.
MYRIA: Oh, why?
SANDRA: I don't know, they just left one by one.
MYRIA: I see, if you want, we can leave it for another day.
SANDRA: No, whatever, let's have a drink since we're both here.
I'd rather there were more people, but I need to relax. Just a beer.
MYRIA: Okay.
Alba POV
Monday is finally over, I'm tired of working and the week has only just begun.
ROSA: Knock knock.
Rosa walks into my office with a big smile that will blind me.
ALBA: Rosie... how you doing? Are you coming to my place and ordering some food? You'll have a lot to tell me.
I look at her with a mischievous smile.
ROSA: Shall we go for a beer instead?
I chuckled.
ALBA: I offer you food and you prefer beer? Who are you? I don't recognize you.
We went down to the brewery, I wanted to talk to Rosa, to find out how Saturday had gone with Elena, if they were girlfriends or friends with benefits, if they had talked about it... everything. My friend is one of the shyest girls in the world and ever since she met Elena I've been wishing for them to kiss, which never seemed to happen.
But when we crossed the brewery's door I saw Myria with Sandra. Alone. At a table talking cheerfully.
'I knew it. I have a sense.'
ALBA: I knew they were involved, did you see them?
ROSA: Who?
ALBA: In the back, Myria with Sandra. Myria can't see us, her back is to us.
ROSA: I don't know, they're just having a drink. Let's go and say hi.
I grab her by the arm.
ALBA: No! I need to relax, Myria's face is the last thing I want to see right now, let's go somewhere else.
ROSA: Alba, what's the point? We won't say hello if you want to, but we're not going to look for another brewery now, it's late. We sit there.
She pointed to a table with sofas from where Myria wouldn't see us.
ROSA: What's wrong with Myria? She's our friend, I thought you two were on better terms.
ALBA: Well, better,... We tolerate each other now, but we don't like each other.
ROSA: That wasn't my impression...
She looked like she wanted to say something else, but in the end she decided to keep quiet. And I feel like the worst friend in the world for looking out for Myria instead of asking her about her love story.
ALBA: Well, whatever. Tell me everything that happened this weekend.
Rosa giggles shyly.
ROSA: Aw... Alba, I'm so happy.
'And it shows in her eyes, I love it.'
ALBA: So what's up? Are you girlfriends, friends with benefits...?
ROSA: We want to take it slow, Elena wants to do things right, she says she's not good at it. She's asked me to be her something.
ALBA: Her something.
ROSA: She hasn't explained what it is. Well, she did explain it but it was very confusing and I don't think even she didn't understand it. But I'm good at translating Elena's language and her something is kind of her girlfriend.
ALBA: So you're girlfriends.
ROSA: We are something - she giggles.
Sandra has approached Myria and now she's whispering something in her ear. I wonder what they're talking about, why is she coming so close, they're alone, why is she whispering to her, is she really her type? I really have no idea what Myria's type is, I've never seen her with anyone. But I don't imagine Sandra is, I don't know, they don't fit. I imagine Myria with a supermodel, or something like that.
ROSA: Do you want to talk about Myria?
ALBA: What?
ROSA: You keep looking at her, do you want to tell me something?
She stares at me.
ALBA: No. There's nothing to tell.
'What's wrong with her? Why would I wanna talk about Myria now?'
ALBA: And when she came to your place...?
Rosa chuckles nervously, I notice she's blushing.
ROSA: We were talking, kissing, watching the drama I told you about the other day... and then we slept in each other's arms.
We look towards the bar, the waiter hasn't come to serve us yet.
ROSA: I'm going to order at the bar, I don't think he sees us.
The drama. I watched it with Alejandra yesterday and I loved it. Tonight we were supposed to continue watching it. That girl robs me of sleep, but talking to her is addictive. I feel like I've known her for a long time even though we've only been talking for a few weeks and haven't met in person. I haven't spoken to her in a few hours, I should write to her and see if our plan for tonight is still on. I open my Tinder.
ALBA: Are we still watching the drama tonight? I can't wait to see if finally the waiter finds out the girl is the princess, too much excitement for me.
I send her a laughing icon.
Myria is still there with Sandra, getting closer and closer, now Sandra's touching her arm and giggling. I'm making a disgusted face and I have to change it before Rosa sees me and asks me again what's wrong with Myria.
'Because there's nothing wrong with Myria.'
Myria takes her mobile phone and starts typing.
'How cute Myria, texting in the middle of a date, you really know how to make girls feel special.'
My phone vibrates. Alejandra.
ALEJANDRA: Of course we'll see, I'm dying of tension too. But I think the birth mother is going to find out before the waiter does.
She sends an emoticon with a nervous face that makes me smile.
ALEJANDRA: But we'll have to watch it a little later because I'm having a drink with a coworker who tricked me into going out haha.
ALBA: Yeah, later, I'm not at home right now either. I'll talk to you in a bit :)
ROSA: What's with that smile?
ALBA: A girl from Tinder, I'll tell you about it. Now you tell me.
I drank the beer she brought.
ROSA: Well, as I was saying, we want to take it slow, we haven't slept together and we're in no hurry.
How adorable sleeping in each other's arms after watching the drama.
'We could totally be Alejandra and I someday.'
ALBA: I like her a lot for you. When he sang karaoke to you I was afraid I'd burst into tears and ruin everything.
ROSA: It was beautiful. I knew he wanted to sing something for me, because he told me, but I didn't expect it to be so beautiful.
ALBA: She looked super nervous.
ROSA: Yes, when I hugged her she was shaking.
She chuckles softly.
ROSA: Well, and I was too.
ALBA: You have no idea how happy I am about this.
ROSA: Me too.
ALBA: You really clicked from day one, she was already catching your eye when she was talking to me at the beginning of it all.
ROSA: Yes, that's true. I found her funny, she made me laugh. When you told me about your date I thought it was a disaster, but not in a bad way. Don't know if you know what I mean.
ALBA: I wish I hadn't talked to her so badly.
Rosa bursts out laughing as if she's realized something.
ROSA: Can you imagine the things that shouldn't have happened?
I laugh too. The truth is that everything would have been very different if that day had not been that cruel to Elena. It's funny how a decision you make in a second can change things to come like a hurricane. Chaos theory, the butterfly effect.
Myria gets up to leave and sees me for the first time. She looks at me surprised, she didn't expect us to be there. She smiles and nods at me.
'That smile...'
I find myself smiling too. I don't know why I did it, I was actually angry.
'But why am I angry?'
I don't understand either. I watch Myria leave and wonder if she's going with Sandra, but I don't really care because after working hours she can do whatever she wants. If she wants to be with Sandra, she'll be with Sandra, and that's it, I don't care. Rosa looks at me with an amused expression in her eyes, as if she knows something I don't, it makes me nervous.