All boxes are unpacked. Finally, I’ll be able to settle down. Not too soon either as I start my new job tomorrow. I’m so excited! I’ll be working for a big video game company in downtown Montreal, joining the marketing team. This is a dream come true, as I’ve always enjoyed video games ever since I was a kid. Mom and dad where a little sad to see me go away but I’m only a half an hour drive from their homes so it’s not like I’m never going to see them again.

Looking around, I can’t help but feel proud to finally live on my own. At twenty-five, some of my friends already moved on their own. But I wasn’t in a hurry to move, life was good living with my parents. And as their only daughter, they didn’t put any pressure on me to go away, we were getting along just fine. Walking around my apartment, everything was just as I wanted it. A big open space which serves as a dinner and living room, a modern kitchen and finally, my bedroom. I put a lot of time in picking paint and decoration in every room. My bedroom was the one that I liked the most. You could just feel the calmness envelop you as you’d walk in. I sent a quick text to my mother to say that I was fine and went straight to bed.

The next morning, I got up fresh and ready to start my first day at work. I lived only a few blocks away from the subway. In total, it took a little less than half an hour to get to work, not bad if you consider that going by car would be longer because of the traffic hour. The subway stopped right by the interior parking lot of my work. From there I just had to take an elevator to the fourth floor.

Arriving at the reception, a young blond woman greeted me.

“Hi, welcome! Can I help you?” She asked.

“Yes, I’m Sarah. The new employee in marketing,” I answered.

“Oh welcome! Please take a seat, I’ll call Marissa right away to pick you up,” she answered with a big smile, while replacing a strand of hair that had fallen on her face.

I sat on the big red visitor couch as I waited for Marissa to come. Marissa was the marketing’s department boss. I’ve met her during the interview for the job. She seemed serious and a little frightening but then again, who is not frightened at least a little bit when doing a job interview?

I didn’t have to wait long for Marissa to show up. She was wearing her brown hair up in a ponytail, with black pants and a beige cardigan on top. She was pretty; I would say she was about the same age as me. But her gaze was cold as she walked to greet me. Although she was less scary than during the job interview, still, I didn’t feel comfortable being alone with her. Even her handshake felt cold. Thankfully, as soon as we walked through the employee’s door, I was greeted by lots of friendly coworkers and immediately felt welcome. Everyone was eager to meet me, it felt great!

The day was going on real fast. I had lots of meetings in the morning, had so many things to learn, a few documents to read and sign from HR. I also had to look at past events then company held and try some of the video games the company produced. Time really flew by. I sat with the marketing department at the cafeteria at lunch time and got to know them a little bit more and even met a few people from sales. Zachary was Marissa’s cousin, he worked in the sales department. He was a tall blond guy with blue eyes and a broad chest. I thought he was kind of cute. He seemed like a nice guy.

As I was preparing to leave at five, I got called last minute in a meeting with the R&D team to talk about the latest game development. I was already tired and could not wait to go home but I wanted to make a good impression for my first day of work. I put on my best smile before walking in the meeting.

A few people were already in the meeting. I looked around the room as I entered and then I saw him. I almost stopped breathing when I spotted this guy, sitting at the back of the table. He was tall, maybe about six feet’s tall, with dark brown hair and green eyes. You could easily guess his muscles under his shirt. He was dressed elegantly. I could feel my cheeks blush. I guess I was staring because he raised his head and looked up at me. I immediately stared at the floor to hide my embarrassment and found an empty chair to sit. When I looked back at him, he was still looking at me, with a light smile on his face. I’ve never felt drawn like that to someone before. Then I looked at everyone else in the room. When I met Marissa’s eyes, she was looking at me with daggers in the eyes. “What the hell did I do to get her angry?”, I thought, but decided to brush it off.

Soon after, the meeting started with a round of introductions. I hate those! It always makes me nervous and I never know what to say. Everybody was looking at me, so I got up “Hey! I’m Sarah, just started today in the marketing department. I’m really eager to work with each of you!” I said with a big smile. It wasn’t that bad, and I think I got a good impression. Everybody presented themselves and I got to learn a few things. It turns out that one of the software developers, Keven, was Marissa’s boyfriend. He was the lead developer of the new game. I also learned that the beautiful guy at the back of the table’s name was Sam. He was the director of the R&D department and Marissa’s cousin. He didn’t seem a lot older than me. I guess they have young directors here since him and Marissa are directors but neither of them look to be older than thirty at most. Keven presented the new video game currently in development. It was a first-person game about werewolves and vampires. Marissa looked at me and said, “You, my dear, will be the one responsible for all the marketing of the new game.” I looked at her in surprise and gaped. I mean, I was happy, make no mistake. But this was my first serious job after finishing marketing school and it was also my first day! This felt like a huge responsibility.

“Wow! For real?” I asked her.

She smiled and answered, “Of course, if you needed any help or advice, I will be there for you, as well as the other members of the marketing team.” It was the first time I’ve actually seen her smile. The fact that the team was behind me in case I needed help was reassuring me. I’m sure that I’ll be able to find incredible ideas for this game and I couldn’t wait to get started! In the meantime, I would get to meet with the developers as often as necessary to get early peeks at the game.

The rest of the meeting was about other details that didn’t concern me. It was dragging on, some people were always asking questions when I thought we were finished and I was really starting to get hungry. When it finally did finish, I was eager to go home. I picked up my notes and got up, but a hand fell on my shoulder as I was about to start walking. I felt tingles coming from that touch and when I turned around, I saw Sam with the biggest smile on his face.

“Hey! Sarah, it is, right?” He asked with a deep voice.

“Yeah, it is, and you’re Sam?” I asked him in reply, as if I didn’t remember his name. I mean the guy is gorgeous! I had a hard time concentrating the whole meeting, my eyes just kept coming back to him all the time.

He laughed a little before answering “Yeah that’s right. So… I couldn’t help noticing you looking at me earlier.” Oh crap! I thought to myself. And here I managed to make myself look like a fool on my first day. So much for a first impression. I tried to make it as if it wasn’t true, even though it must have been so obvious.

“Hum… well I was hum… trying to get to know everyone in the room.” I answered, not really believing my answer myself. He gave me a “yeah right” kind-of-look while smiling. He knew it wasn’t true as much as I did. He just looked at me with his beautiful eyes and asked, “Well, this meeting took longer than expected, so would you like to come and eat with me?”

My eyes opened wide as I wasn’t expecting this at all. My cheeks blushed a little as I shyly said, “Yes that sounds like a good idea.”

I went back to my desk to pick up my things. I made my way to the reception desk. He was there waiting for me, with a grin on his face. I didn’t know any restaurants nearby, but Sam told me he knew a few good ones. We went down the elevator and got to his white elegant car. He opened the front door for me, and I got in. My heart was racing but I was trying to keep it cool and calm myself a little. I mean it’s only a meal at the restaurant, with a guy that I’ve just met. It’s not like it was a date, right? I don’t even know if he’s single or not! I shouldn’t jump to conclusions. But for some reason, my heart seemed to think this was much more.

He got into the car, and with him being this close to me, I felt like melting. He looked at me and asked, “Are you ready?” Ready for what? I didn’t really know what to answer and I just looked at him with a bewildered look. “Are you ready to go eat?” He asked again “You didn’t even buckle your seatbelt so I was wondering if you would get out of the car running or something,” he added with a grin. And as he said that he leaned to my side and buckled my seatbelt for me. He was so close; I could smell his perfume. The only thing I had on my mind was to kiss him and I had to stop myself from doing it. What the hell did that guy do to me? And as he sat back up straight in his seat, is hand touched my arm, and I swear I could feel electricity passing through us. He started the car and we drove a few blocks to a nice-looking restaurant.

The food was great and the wine even more.

“So, Sarah, tell me a little more about yourself,” he asked me, looking me in the eyes.

“Well, I’m twenty-five, just moved to Montreal. I’m really looking forward to this new game.” I said.

“Oh, you just moved. Do you live with your parents? With your boyfriend perhaps?” he asked.

“No, I don’t have a boyfriend.” I answered, “What about you?” I added.

“Me?” Sam said, “No I don’t have a boyfriend either.” He said teasingly while laughing.

“Hey!” I answered while pouting my lips. Sam burst out laughing and I couldn’t keep a straight face.

“I’m just kidding you,” he said with a wink, “I’m twenty-seven years’ old. I live in an apartment on the south shore of Montreal. And I don’t have a girlfriend, in case you’re wondering.”

Yes! I thought to myself. He’s available!

“I like to take walks in the forest and love to go out for a run.” He added. “How about you?”

“I really like to go out in nature too.” I answered. “I love to go hiking and I would love to try rock-climbing too.”

We talked for a long time, it went on and on, the whole evening was simply perfect. I just met Sam today, but I felt like I knew him for a long time. I was so drawn to him; it was driving me crazy.

After the meal, we went for a small walk in the park. My head was turning a little from the wine, so Sam stayed close to me to make sure I was fine. Or at least, that’s the excuse he used to get this close and keep an arm around my waist. I loved to feel the warmth of his body so close. I rested my head on his shoulder as we were walking. My body just wanted more. But I had to remind myself that this was not supposed to be a date (even if it did look like that a lot). And even if it was a date, it was a “first date” so I had to stay focused and push away what my body wanted to do.

The evening was getting late, so Sam offered to drop me off at my apartment. Which I really appreciated as I didn’t want to take the subway and walk all alone that late at night. We drove the few blocks to my apartment. Sam parked the car and looked at me. “I really had a great time tonight Sarah.” I smiled and answered, “Yeah me too, really.” My heart was beating fast and I could feel the tension building up between us. He leaned up to me and brushed a soft kiss on my lips. His lips were so soft, and I wanted more. Before he moved back, I kissed him back. Slowly he put his hand in my hair and his tongue made way in my mouth. We stayed like that, tasting each other again and again. My body was reacting to his touch like I’ve never felt before. I wished for this moment to never end but he eventually broke the kiss. Breathless, he looked at me and said, “I really had a great time. I hope we get to do this again another time.” I looked at his beautiful green eyes, where I can easily lose myself. I answered, “Yeah definitely, we’ll do that again.” He smiled at my answer as I got out of the car and went to my apartment.

I was so exhausted from that first day at work. I went straight to bed. Sam was the last thing on my mind as I fell asleep, with a smile on my face.