V

Pic of (Nigerian) pepper soup above and below---

***

It was eight thirty pm on Thursday, and two men were sitting on the couch with a tray holding a medium sized bowl balanced on their legs. It has been three days since he got stood up and two days since he got the flowers, said flowers he used to decorate the house and he couldn’t be blamed really. They were so pretty, and they smelt divine. Matty had asked him about it with an excited expression on his face because he felt Eddie was finally going out there, he believed Eddie was no longer stuck in the cave of broken hearts.

In the bowl resting on their thighs was an African dish that Matty had been working on, he said it was called Catfish pepper soup, and by god, it was so tasty and spicy that sweat trickled down the side of Eddie’s face.

Eddie took another spoon, a bead of sweat falling down the side of his face. “This is so good. What did you put in this?” Eddie asked, taking another spoon of the delicacy.

“Local spices. I found the recipe online, and it said that Nigerians always made it hot, the hotter it is, the better, and here we are...” Matty said, shrugging and trying his best not to swallow too quickly or he’d regret it.

“I like it. You guys should add it to your menu.”

“I’ll think about it and then talk to Reno. Has anyone contacted you yet?” Matty asked, placing a spoon full of catfish into his mouth and chewing. The bowl was already very close to being empty.

“No. I haven’t heard a peep from my boss, and I somehow don’t expect to because he doesn’t have my number or address.” Eddie said as he took his last spoonful. He had finally told Matty about his almost lunch meeting with his boss. Matty had told him to stop calling it a date because none of they were actually sure it was one.

"But he does have your address though. Your application form had everything, including your number." Matty said after a few seconds.

"He can only use those for work related issues."

"Maybe it was a lunch date afterall."

"Yeah. Maybe."

Eddie threw his spoon into the bowl and placed it on the center table before leaning back against the chair, relaxing.

He chuckled when Matty let out a loud burp and cuddled into his side. Eddie wrapped an arm around Matty’s shoulder and brought him closer. “What of the flower guy, has he contacted you yet?”

Eddie shook his head and reached for the remote that was on his other side. He flipped through Netflix until he found something to watch, that something being Scorpion, his eyes widened when he sees the second season, how could he have missed that.

“We’ll find someone right? We’re not going to be alone forever, right Eddie?” Matty asked, voice so soft, that it almost sounded like a whisper.

Eddie tightened his grip and nodded. “We will. But even if we never do, we always have each other.”

Friday began like this for Eddie. He showered, he dressed, and was ready for work. He went into the kitchen and tore into a granola bar and then poured orange juice into a cup and took it to Matty’s room, placing it on his bedside table. His friend was still sleeping since he had the weekend off.

He narrowly missed the bus, he got his coffee order later than usual, and when he finally got to work, he was about ten minutes late, but it was alright because it was actually nine o'clock on the dot. Alison laughed when she saw him and waved him along, he went to her desk and pressed a quick kiss to her cheek before heading for the elevator, he tapped his feet as he hummed, occasionally raising his cup of coffee to take a sip of the goodness.

He was grateful when he noticed no one paying attention to him as he walked out of the elevator and made his way towards his cubicle, Noah was already seated at his, and he had a stack of files in front of him, his brows furrowed as he read through one.

“Morning Noah.”

Noah looked up and smiled at him. “Hey, morning to you too.”

“What is all this?”

“Boss is going on a rampage. I have to go over some clauses and oh- he wants to see you.” Noah said brow raised as he said his last words, prompting Eddie to tell him if there was something he should know. Eddie stared at Noah and then shook his head. He knew nothing.

“Are you sure?”

“Well, how many Edward Blue Sharpe’s do we have in this building?” Noah asked, voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Did he tell you why?”

“I didn’t ask, sorry, but you have to go now. He’s angry, and the rest of us are going to suffer, maybe you can go and calm him down with your charm and face.” Noah asked, a smile growing on his face. Eddie chuckled and shook his head, he placed his bag on his seat, his other hand still holding his cup of coffee and turned around, heading for the elevator, his destination being the top floor.

He drained his beverage on his way up and chucked it into a garbage can as he stepped out of the elevator. He wasn’t wearing a suit since the day was Friday and had opted for black fitted slacks and a crisp blue shirt buttoned all the way to the top. He saw the man from last time and smiled at him.

“Morning.”

“Good morning to you too.” The man replied with a smile.

“The last time I was here I didn’t get your name. I’m Eddie.”

“Yeah well, you didn’t ask. Hello, Eddie, I’m Kristopher, but you can call me Kris.”

Eddie beamed, tongue pushing against his teeth. “Is that with a C or a K?”

“K, dearie and as much as I want to keep talking to you, Mr. Sheridan is waiting for you in his office.” Kris responded, running a hand through his dark curls. Eddie doesn’t feel like going in, he doesn’t want to see Elijah, but he has to be professional, what if he was asking to meet so that they could talk more about the development of his idea and such?

“Don’t worry; he won’t bite,” Kris said with a chuckle.

Eddie found himself nodding, and within a few seconds he was standing in front of the door, hand stretched out as he knocked. He knocked three times before he hears the words come in. He timidly pushed the door open and stepped into Elijah Sheridan’s office.

The man himself was seated, clad in what Eddie knows to be a fitted handmade Italian suit, he took his when he was gestured to do so and avoided looking at Elijah. Instead he tried to place what white was used to paint the wall. Was it egg shell white or flour white?

What Eddie didn’t expect to hear from the man were the words. “I’m so sorry.”

His head instantly snapped towards Elijah’s direction. He stared at the man, trying to see if his words were sincere. Elijah got up from his seat and walked around his massive desk until he was sitting in the vacant seat beside Eddie. Eddie gulped as the man turned the chair until they were facing each other and within arm’s length.

“I am sorry. There was a problem with our Tokyo branch, and I had to go over there and check it out myself. I know it was wrong of me to do that but I didn’t know how to reach you, and I’m not one to go looking into my employee’s file unless it’s work related. Again, I apologize.” Elijah said, his eyes glinting his sincerity.

Eddie just nodded, not sure what he should do or say. He tried to come up with something, anything but Elijah beat him to it again.

“I hope you liked the flowers. I wasn’t sure if you’d like them, I just decided to buy what felt right.”

Eddie’s eyes widened, and he licked his lips before replying. “That was from you?”

Elijah raised a brow. “Yeah. Who did you think it was?” Elijah asked, a smirk growing on his face. Eddie wanted to smack it off but maybe another time or maybe not, the man did buy him flowers.

“No one. I was just waiting for someone to contact me so I could give my thanks. But that was you? Did you pick them yourself because they were beautiful.” Eddie said, his smile big and warm. “Thank you for that and note; you really didn’t have to, though.”

Elijah chuckled and shook his head. “I had to. I was partially running mad. I wasn’t able to make our lunch meeting, and I couldn’t contact you, I wanted to but I couldn’t without your permission. I was afraid I’d come about as being creepy, and it would have also been a breach of privacy, but I just had to get you something and immediately I stepped into the flower shop and I saw those flowers, they practically screamed you.”

So it was a lunch meeting. Eddie could feel the heat in his cheeks, and he looked down, his smile dimming into something shy. “Flattery will get you nowhere, Elijah.”

At the sound of his name leaving those lips Elijah’s smirk broke and he was smiling so brightly. The man reached out and took Eddie’s hands in his, his thumb stroking the back of Eddie’s hand. Eddie looked at his hands then at the man holding them, and he felt the fluttering of butterflies in his stomach flutter and a calming hum shooting up his body, Elijah’s eyes were so blue and so captivating that Eddie couldn’t look away. They both sat in silence, staring at each other like they were trying to commit their faces to memory.

“Are you free for lunch today?” Elijah asked.

“Yes, I am.” Eddie eyes widened at how fast he had replied, heat crept into his cheeks coloring them a light pink. He licks his lips and looked down at his lap.

Elijah swiftly pulled out his phone and handed it to Eddie. “Your number please so that what happened won’t repeat itself.”

Eddie typed in his number and handed the phone back to Elijah, the man then sent Eddie a quick text, and that was how numbers were exchanged. Eddie storing Elijah’s contact simply as Eli.

“I’ve heard about sushi doughnuts and I know a place, a few minutes from here. How about we meet at the ground floor by twelve forty, is that alright with you?”

“I’ve had some. They’re divine!” Eddie cheered. “I’ll meet you there by twelve forty.”

The silent question this time you’ll show right? was hanging in the air and as if Elijah was reading his thoughts, he squeezed Eddie’s hands, his smile still bright, and Eddie knew it was going to be different this time.

***

They are so adorable!

L

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p.s tell me, what time is it where you're from? It's ten forty pm.