Chapter 644

By the time you and Sabrina got the drinks delivered out to the various offices across the firm’s two floors, folks were starting to show up en mass and you both received some quiet thanks from most of the regular orderers - starting tomorrow, they would be back to doing their own coffee runs in the morning until they brought in a new batch of interns.

Once you made it to the conference room, Sabrina had saved one of those big cookies for each of you, her and Eric.

“Did you see her last night?” Sabrina asked your fellow intern, doing a classic ‘offer it but pull it back’ carrot scenario.

“Yes, I saw Beth last night,” Eric sighed, rolling his eyes and leaning back in his chair again instead of continuing to try and reach across the corner of the table to accept the cookie.

“Aaaand?” Sabrina asked, sitting down as well and sliding the seran-wrapped cookie across the table to him.

“And she’s still amazing,” Eric said.

“So why do you look unhappy about that?” you asked.

“Because I leave on Saturday,” he grunted. “Because she isn’t super sure about doing long distance. Because meeting me through her Crazy Roommate upended her life, so at some point she might remember that and, I dunno, blame me?”

“But the sex was pretty fucking great, huh?” Sabrina asked with a smirk.

“Sabrina,” you scoffed. “He’s being serious.”

“So am I,” she countered, then turned to Eric. “Best you’ve ever had?”

“I ... I mean, maybe...” he said, looking flustered.

“That’s because you actually, like, like each other,” Sabrina said. “More than just for looks, or want to get off, or ego. You like like her.”

“I don’t like like her,” Eric said defensively.

“OK, if you can’t admit you’re falling for her, even if it’s this soon, maybe you don’t deserve her,” you said.

“What?” he asked. “That’s not fair. It’s only been like ... less than two weeks.”

“I’m not saying you need to tell her you love her,” you said. “Hell, it probably would be too soon to say that. But if she’s different from anyone else you’ve dated or hooked up with, don’t you think you might need to act differently than with everyone else?”

“Um,” Eric said, screwing up his face a little as he tore the saran off the cookie and ripped a piece off, popping it into his mouth and chewing.

“He’s not wrong,” Sabrina said. “Flirting and chemistry only gets a girl so far in terms of relationship decisions. Well, worthwhile girls. Though, to be fair, there’s plenty of girls who are attracted to toxic traits and think they are getting relationship material because of whatever trauma from their parents or siblings, but I digress - If you want to convince this girl that you’re worth putting up with the issues around long-distance, then you need to give her a good reason. Argue your case. Just remember you’re making an emotional case and not a logical one, so you need to be able to talk to her about your emotions in a reasonable way.”