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They were about an hour into the company’s Christmas party and all the guys at her table were already more than tipsy. Considering that she neither drank nor celebrated Christmas, Yaz wasn’t having much fun tonight.
“I’m going to murder Bill for ditching me,” she grumbled. Bill was one of her best friends and the only other woman on the security team, but she somehow managed to get excused from the mandatory “fun”. Deciding she’d had enough of the security guys’ chat for now – she liked her colleagues, she really did, but there were only so many nonsensical jokes she could take – Yaz looked around the nearby tables to see who else was still at least a little sober.
The obvious choice would be Dan, her other best friend, whose table had some empty chairs, but… “Who’s that next to Dan?”
She hadn’t meant to say it out loud and didn’t think anyone else at her table would pay attention to her at this point, but Ethan replied, “That’s the new maintenance girl, Freddie. I thought Dan would’ve mentioned her to you?”
“Oooh. Yeah, he did, but he didn’t say Freddie was a woman,” Yaz explained. And pretty, Yaz thought. She had chin-length blonde hair and was wearing a dark blue shirt that looked a little big for her, which somehow made her seem cuter.
“Wait, that’s the new maintenance girl?” Michael chimed in. “Wow, she looks hot when she’s not wearing maintenance clothes.”
“Skill issue,” Cam declared. “She’s also hot in the maintenance clothes.”
Yaz snorted. “She’s way out of your league, mates.”
“Is not,” was Michael’s very articulate reply.
“She so is,” Yaz replied.
“Alright, Khan, how about we make this fun, then,” Ethan piped up. “I bet I can get her phone number.”
“I’m not making a bet that means you’ll go pester an innocent woman,” Yaz said, but she was overridden by the other two men loudly accepting the challenge.
Well, good thing Dan’s table was half empty, then. Apparently, they were all moving over there.
After greeting the security team with a cheery “Happy holidays!”, Dan introduced Freddie to the group and they managed some small talk before it started. Michael turned to Freddie with what he probably believed was a smoldering look – Yaz thought it just looked like his face didn’t know what it was doing – and said, “So, Freddie, do you believe in love at first sight or do I have to leave and come back?”
“Mate, that were terrible,” Yaz laughed.
“That’s not even how you use that line! Doesn’t make sense if you’ve been chatting for a while now,” Cam said.
Michael replied, “Well, y’know I believe in following my dreams. So,” he continued, turning to Freddie, “can I have your Instagram?”
“That was surprisingly coherent,” Dan commented.
“Better than I was expecting, really,” Yaz agreed.
Freddie, who so far had been just watching them with an amused expression and trying not to laugh, said, “Yeah, that one was okay. However, I don’t have Instagram.”
“Ouch, mate. That means she doesn’t want you following her,” Ethan teased.
“No, really, that’s not it! I promise I don’t have an account,” Freddie said.
“Me neither,” Yaz said, shrugging. “It’s not that hard to believe, guys.”
“Thank you,” Freddie said to Yaz with a smile. She really was pretty, and that smile might be the most beautiful one Yaz had ever seen.
Still, she wasn’t going to get drawn into her colleagues’ bet. Poor Freddie must already have been feeling awkward with their attention, she wasn’t going to make it worse.
“Say, Freddie,” Ethan started. “Are you an electrician?”
Looking confused, Freddie replied, “Not really, but I know a fair bit. D’you need help with something?”
“No, it’s just that you’re lighting up my night,” Ethan said.
“Okay, I did not see that one coming,” Freddie smiled. “Should I start giving out points for these? Like a task on Taskmaster?”
Yaz and Dan laughed, but Ethan didn’t look very happy. Probably figuring it was his turn, Cam said, “You’re good with fixing stuff, right? I think there’s something wrong with my phone.”
No longer confused, Freddie raised an eyebrow and replied, “Really.”
“Yeah. Maybe you could try calling it to see if it works?”
Michael cut in, “That’s cheating!”
“No, it’s not! It’s a legit line. Not my fault you didn’t think of that one first.” Cam argued.
“Okay, mates, enough,” Freddie said, crossing her arms and leaning back on her chair. “Is this a bet or something? ‘Cos I don’t think it’s just the alcohol talking.”
When the three men only looked at her with sheepish faces, Yaz confirmed it. “First to get your number wins. I don’t think they even decided what the prize was, though.”
“Well, I’m flattered, but none of you are winning tonight. Sorry,” Freddie said, scrunching her nose. It looked so cute, Yaz wanted to boop her.
Thankfully, after that, Cam, Ethan and Michael, a little crestfallen, accepted the end of their bet and moved on to different subjects. And now that Yaz had more people to talk to, the party actually became fun. She and Dan hadn’t talked in a few days, so she was happy to catch up with him for a bit.
Not wanting Freddie to feel left out, though, Yaz turned to her and asked, “So, you’ve just started working here, right? How’s it been so far?”
“Oh, it’s been fine,” Freddie replied. “Dan’s a good mentor.”
“He’s okay, even if he is a Scouse,” Yaz teased.
“Oi!” Dan mock-glared at her.
“Nobody’s perfect, Dan, it’s okay,” Freddie said, patting his hand.
“Oh, you’re siding with her, are ya? Alright. Yaz, d’you wanna hear the story about the day I met Freddie?”
Freddie’s face immediately turned tomato-red. “Dan, you promised!”
“Now I need to hear this story,” Yaz said with a smile.
“So, I was waiting for the new person in the lobby, right,” Dan started. Freddie let out a pained sound and hid her face in her hands. Dan looked at her with a mischievous smile and continued, “Then I spotted Freddie and waved, but she didn’t see me. Or the doorway.”
“No,” Yaz gasped.
“Yep. Missed the door entirely, bounced back after hitting the wall.”
“How did you manage that?” Yaz asked Freddie, who lowered her hands a little to peek at her.
“Was distracted, that’s all. And you,” she lowered her hands so she could glare at Dan, “promised you wouldn’t tell!”
Dan shrugged. “Yaz won’t judge ya. Besides, I could have given more details–”
“No!” Freddie interrupted him. “That’s more than enough, thank you.”
“Aw, I want more details,” Yaz said, barely containing her laughter.
“Only if Dan tells me an embarrassing story about you, too,” Freddie retorted with her chin raised in defiance. “It’s only fair.”
“Oh, I have loads of good Yaz stories,” Dan said.
“Don’t,” Yaz warned him with a pointed finger as Freddie laughed. “Remember I have a lot of material on you, too.”
The rest of the evening passed quickly – a little too quickly in Yaz’s opinion, even though she hadn’t been looking forward to the party at first.
It definitely had more to do with Freddie than with the party itself.
When the security lads started looking worse for wear, Yaz decided to make an executive decision as their designated driver and call it a night, shepherding them outside. Freddie offered to walk her out – which wasn’t necessary, but Yaz wasn’t going to complain about a few more minutes with her.
In the parking lot, the boys kept walking toward Yaz’s car, but Freddie stopped her and said, “Well, it was very nice to meet you, Yaz.”
“Likewise. And I’m sorry about the whole bet thing earlier,” Yaz replied. “I know it’s not the best first impression, but they really are good people.”
“Eh, no worries. They’re alright,” Freddie replied, putting her hands in her pockets.
Yaz smiled. “I’m glad you were a good sport about it.”
“It wasn’t that bad. But d’you know what’s the disappointing thing about that bet?”
“What?”
“The person who would have won wasn’t playing,” Freddie said, looking into her eyes.
Wide-eyed, Yaz stammered, “So you mean if I…?”
“You know, Yaz, they say dating is a game of numbers.” Freddie paused, then said, “So would you give me yours?”
Yaz laughed. “Oh, that were smooth.”
“Thank you, I aim to please,” Freddie replied with a nod before unlocking her phone and handing it to Yaz.
After exchanging numbers, Yaz teased, “Just please don’t walk into any walls when I call you.”
Freddie looked at her feet, blushing again. “Wouldn’t be the first time.”
Of course Yaz knew that, since Dan had told the story earlier, but the way Freddie looked embarrassed again made her think there was more to it. “Oh?”
“Yeah. Y’see, the full story is that on me first day here, the most beautiful woman I had ever seen was talking to someone in the lobby.” She looked up then, right into Yaz’s eyes. “Couldn’t get my eyes off of her but kept walking, then… Bam. Next thing I know, me head is getting closely acquainted with the wall.”
“So it was my fault, then?” Yaz joked, her heart racing.
“One hundred percent,” Freddie said, trying to keep a straight face and failing.
“Well, I must make it up to you, then,” Yaz replied. She placed her hands on Freddie’s shoulders, smiling at the small hitch in her breath, then stood on tiptoes and placed a kiss on her forehead. “There, all better now,” Yaz said, pulling away.
Freddie’s smile was dazzling. “Yeah, all better. Talk to you soon?”
“You’d better,” Yaz said, walking backwards a few steps before finally turning and going to her car, where she found three wide-eyed men staring at her.
“What just happened?” Michael asked in a shocked voice.
“Well, lads,” Yaz said with a smug smile, “let’s just say I won your little bet.”