Chapter Text
A brown paper cup gets placed on Bills table. The Beanies Logo is decorating the cup sleeve.
Someone pulls back the spare chair in Bills cubicle and sits down next to him.
“Hey.”
Bill frowns and takes his eyes off his computer screen to look at Ted Spankoffski.
Ted smiles at him and pushes the cup against his hand. “For you”, he says.
Bill ends up staring at him, for a little too long. Ted never brought him anything from Beanies. Ted doesn’t even like him, as far as he knows.
“What is this?”, he asks.
“An Iced Caramel Frappe”, Ted answers.
“No, I meant-” Bill doesn’t manage to finish the sentence, he’s so surprised. How would Ted even know what his favorite drink is?
Bill eyes the cup, suspicious. “Did you spit in it?”
“No. If you want to taste my spit, I’m sure we can find another way.” Ted winks at him, Bill grimaces.
“Nothing’s wrong with it, just take it, will you?”, Ted goes on.
“Okay”, Bill quietly gives in, “Thank you.” He reaches for the cup and pulls it towards himself. “What do you want then?”
“Do I need a reason? Maybe I just wanted to get you a drink.”
“Is it Charlotte? Paul told me you’re after her but I’m not helping. She’s married and-”
“I’m asking you out.”
Bill stops. “…What?”
“I’m asking, if you want to go out with me”, Ted repeats.
“Why would you do that?”
“Because I want to go out with you.”
Bill looks at the cup, then back at Ted. Is this another prank? But Ted looks so sincere. Besides, he wouldn’t joke about this. He’s an asshole but not like that.
Maybe he did try with Charlotte and she rejected him. He must have.
What does he even mean with ‘going out’? Actually going out? Bill can barely imagine it, not from Ted.
“I’m not going to sleep with you”, Bill notes, still confused.
“Okay, just dinner is fine.”
“You don’t want to…?”
“Fuck? I mean…”, he hesitates, then he shrugs and smiles and Bill ends up rolling his eyes and turning away.
“Ted…”
“Well, think about it, sweetheart.” He pats Bills shoulder. “The offer’s up.”
Then he leaves and Bill still sits there, alone with his iced caramel frappe.