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[bookiebeanhastagonefoureightfive]

“I never told you this, but …”

Everyone always knew when Micah arrived anywhere. He was the show's star, the main character of everyone’s story, but he was never too self-centered. And that was something that I always liked about him, but I would never admit it.

I remember the first time that I spoke to him. Actually, to no one’s surprise, Micah was the one who started the conversation. He entered the office with a few colleagues surrounding him, laughing and smiling like there was nothing to worry about, even in the workplace. I could tell he was the reason they were smiling, because he had, as usual, the proudest smile of them all.

And then, out of nowhere, his eyes met mine, as he sat down next to me. I felt as if I was talking to a king or something, knowing he was the complete opposite of me. While he was surrounded by people, I was surrounded by coffee mugs that slowly built up on my desk. My “friends” were the documents that my boss asked me to edit. He was, if you want to put it exaggeratedly and childishly, the social butterfly of our company.

“Hey, hum… I was wondering if I could show you one of my projects. You are the best when it comes to editing, so I need some help. Can you do that for me, please?” He asked, being very soft-spoken, in opposition to what I expected.

I struggled for a moment. He was talking to me? Why would he choose me, out of everyone else? I’m pretty sure one of his many friends could do better than me.

“Oh, I mean, sure yeah! I don’t think I’m the best, but I can help, of course.” I said, laughing awkwardly as I was already speaking too much to my taste.

His eyes lit up with joy, nodding a little as I spoke. “Really? Oh, that’s wonderful! I’ll give you my phone number so you can call me whenever you are available to work with me! Thank you so much, Jamie!”

And, just like that, our friendship started a few months ago. We started casually working together, then, as time went by, I began to be his leading work partner. I also noticed that he would “collect” introverts from our company, asking them to join us here and there in a few projects. It was a simple but smart way of maintaining good teamwork.

We were on our way back home. As we slowly developed our friendship, I started to give him a ride home, and vice-versa. 

“You know what? I’m glad that you agreed to work with me the first time.” He said, looking up with a dreamy look, as he stared at the car ceiling.

“Why did you say that?” I asked, knowing he would casually have philosophical moments like that out of nowhere.

“Well, because I have something to tell you. I’m going to quit my job. I found something better for me… But we can maintain contact!” He quickly affirmed, noticing my facial expression changing from curiosity to sadness as he told me the news.

“I’m happy for you, Mike. I am! I just know for sure that we are going to miss you there. You are the main reason people noticed that I work there!” I joked, trying to hide my sadness. “But, since we are friends now… Why are you quitting? I know you love your job.” I questioned him, pulling up as we finally arrived at his house.

“Personal issues… But one day, I promise that I’ll explain it. I’ll see you later.” He promised, leaving my car right after, not allowing me to question him further from that.

It was said and done. After a couple of days, Micah was nowhere to be seen. It did affect our teamwork in the company. He was replaced by another person soon after, but to many of us, it still felt a little odd.

I decided to visit him one day. We had a small phone call beforehand and we agreed to go out to drink, something that would need to be better viewed by our colleagues.

I was wearing something casual, as it was the first time we would be out as friends.

“Jamie! Hey!” I heard his voice, grabbing my attention quickly.

He came out of his house and, once again, I was surprised by his looks. He was wearing a black shirt, halfway buttoned, his chest being little visible, black pants, and shoes. It was more casual than what he used to wear in the office but casual enough to go out. But, as always, he looked perfect.

Micah quickly got inside my car. I took a moment to look at him. “You look wonderful, Micah!” I complimented, getting a smile from him.

“Thank you so much, buddy. So, do tell me, where are you taking me?”

“We’re going to my favorite bar in town! It’s near the beach, so we can enjoy the best view of the ocean.” 

I took him there shortly after and we started drinking. At first, we were discussing how work was going, our colleagues, and other gossips that he wanted to know. But after a couple of drinks, the topic changed.

“I just realized that I never told you why I quit my job, did I?” He asked, taking a sip from his glass.

“I wanted to ask you that. You never told me the reason.”

He looked away for a moment as If he was gathering the courage to tell me. I kind of mimicked him, starting to feel a little nervous.

“You know how we weren’t allowed to date other colleagues, right?”

I nodded, knowing what he was talking about. I started to wonder if he found a partner in our company and decided to abdicate his place for them.

“I decided to leave our company because I fell in love with someone. I knew that I couldn’t persuade that relationship, so I decided to leave.”

I raised an eyebrow, impressed that I somehow predicted what happened.

“Oh, congratulations to both of you! I’m glad you chose love over work.”

“Both of us? Oh, I’m not in a relationship. At least yet.” He confessed.

“Oh, I thought you were dating them… Then why don’t you ask them out? I think anyone would be a lucky person if they were in a relationship with you!”

“I think you might be right. They’re such a good person and I fell in love the moment I met them. Their beauty? Oh my god, I can’t even describe it! I just wanted to look at them in the eyes and say: Jamie, I am in love with you.”

I froze for a moment. Did he just say my name? I knew I was the only Jamie in the office and no other name was similar to mine. Maybe he was confused.

“Micah, you just said my name… I think you got it wrong!” I whispered, looking at him in the eyes.

“No, Jamie. I’m more than sure of what I said. I struggled a lot and thought I was wrong, just like you said. But I can’t lie to you anymore. I do love you.” He confessed, touching my hand that was resting on the table.

I stared at him for a moment, trying to find words to explain what I was feeling, but I could only ask him one thing:

"Why did you never tell me?"

"It’s like I told you. It was a personal issue."

"You being in love with me kind of also involves me, so I would appreciate it if you told me,” I said, with a silly smile on my face.

He chuckled and stared at me for a moment, a smile slowly appearing on his face, making me blush. He moved a little closer to me and touched my chin, making me look up at him. His eyes were focused on my lips and I instinctively moved closer to him, feeling his lips touching mine as we kissed for the first time. Although I could taste the alcohol on his lips, I could also feel an addictive taste there, like mint or nicotine, making me kiss him more deeply than I expected. 

Maybe it was the mix of those flavors or not, but I didn’t stop kissing him for a while. Not even when we went back to my place together, nor when we woke up the next morning in each other's arms, as we decided to start something new together, that would last until the end of our lives.