Shane

Markayla didn't see Shane or his friend, coworker, or whatever he was considered, for a few days. She was just beginning to think she might not see him again, as disappointing as that thought was to her, when she came into work one morning and heard a couple of guys chatting in the exercise room. Her heart rate sped up. She walked over to the desk on which several computers with large monitors sat and placed her handbag on the edge of it. Next, she stepped quietly toward the voices in the adjoining room, though the click-clack of her heels gave her presence away. She listened to the voices, trying to identify them, and was pretty sure it was Shane and Willem. She then stepped into the doorway and said hello. Both men turned to look at her. "Good morning," said Willem. "How are you today?" Markayla shrugged and said, "Depends on what's in store for me today, I guess." Shane loosely gripped a handlebar above him with one hand and sort of leaned his body weight forward a bit in a casual stance. He offered a relaxed smile. "How ya doing, Shane? It is Shane, isn't it?" "Yep. That's me," he said, smile widening enough to show he had a nice set of teeth and probably didn't smoke. Good for him. "I'm doing fine." "You guys just get here?" "Oh, no," said Willem. "We're just finishing up in here, actually." "And I'm hitting the coffee. Tell my boss if you see her that I'll be editing the article about the cat shelter this fine rainy morning." "How about working with us instead?" asked Willem. Markayla had mixed emotions about that one. If she could get Willem out of the picture and have Shane to herself, it might actually be kind of fun. Then again, having Shane with Willem in the picture was better than no Shane at all, wasn't it? "I promise you'll still have plenty of time for your other obligations," said Willem, sensing her hesitation. "Well, I guess that would be alright then," said Markayla as she prepared a pot of coffee. "What do you need?" "Well, do you know much about coding?" "No, not really." "Think you could at least set up some codes in some blogs for us?" Markayla looked at Willem with confusion, all the while she was aware of Shane's gaze upon her. She wondered if he liked what he saw. She had been in jeans and a tee the last time she'd seen him. Today she was in a black blouse and a red pencil skirt with black hose and heels. "You gotta be more specific than that, buddy," she said with a smile. "We're setting up some self-help blogs for accountants and want to install tracking codes." "Oh, you mean to track your visitors?" Willem nodded with a smile. "That's the idea, but we don't want it to be obvious to the visitors." "Yeah, we can do that. It's simple enough. Want some coffee first?" "Please," said Willem. "No thanks," said Shane. "I'll pass." "Cream? Sugar?" Markayla asked Willem. "Just black, please." She fixed their coffee to their liking and handed the black one to Willem. He thanked her as he took it. "Ok, drag some chairs up alongside mine and show me the site." Willem sat to her left and Shane to her right. After Markayla joked about how quiet Shane was compared to Willem, inciting a laugh from both men, she spent the next hour sitting between the two of them, coding the blogs they wanted to be coded and very aware of Shane's closeness. Willem continued to do most of the talking, and every now and then, he'd ask her a question that seemed rather off topic, but both remained perfect gentlemen along the way. Even so, there was a feeling she got being so close to Shane that wasn't just the self-conscious feeling one normally got when close to someone they were attracted to. Markayla couldn't quite put a finger on it. It made her uncomfortable, yet at the same time, she felt perfectly comfortable sitting so close to the guy that she could practically feel his body heat. She was a shade or two darker than Shane was, being that she was half black. After an hour or so, they took a break and made idle chatter. "Two interesting things we learned about you today, Ms. Seymour," said Willem. "And what would that be?" "That you're a lot younger than you look." "Definitely," said Shane, turning on Markayla's inner smile. "We didn't realize you were forty-one." "Soon to be forty-two," Markayla said. "Yeah?" She nodded. "This summer." She then glanced back and forth between the two guys. "And your ages?" "I'm 32 and he's 28," said Willem. "Hmm," Markayla said, smiling at Shane, "a young stud, huh?" Shane laughed just as Markayla felt herself blush. What was she thinking? "I thought you were around my age," Shane said. "Flattering," Markayla said. "Now what's the other thing you learned about me?" Willem blinked, glanced across her at Shane and said, "Wow, she doesn't miss a thing, does she?" Markayla looked into Shane's chillingly hot gaze. Shane smiled, chin resting on his hand, elbow resting on his thigh. A casual and relaxed pose. "Your hair," said Willem. "Huh?" "Your hair," he said again. "I don't think either of us realized it was so long." "Oh! Oh, yes, it is," she said, running a hand through her brownish black wavy hair that fell below her waist. Normally, she didn't wear it down because it was a pain in the ass, but she had been off to a late start that morning and in too much of a hurry to fuss with her hair. They made additional small talk until around lunchtime. Then they offered to buy her lunch at a local eatery, but she had a packed lunch stashed in the mini fridge. On the way out, Willem walked ahead of Shane. Shane glanced back at her for a few seconds and smiled at her. It wasn't just a typical smile either. Oh, wow! He liked her too. He really did! After the guys were out of view, Markayla skipped off to the mini fridge for her lunch. This could be fun, she thought as she bit into her tuna sandwich just moments later. Yeah, just what she needed. Something to liven up her life and sprinkle it with a bit of spice. "Go ahead, Shane," she spoke softly to herself. "Rock my world with a little harmless fun and adventure."