*************************************************
His Birkenstocks ended up somewhere under her bed. Her beige cotton underpants and bra were entangled in the comforter that had been tossed to the floor.
Dwight’s hair was unruly and even as he slept, there was a hint of a grin at the corners of his mouth. It had all seemed so romantic last night as she was swept away by his feelings for her. In the cold light of morning though, she was beginning to have second thoughts.
Months of smoldering flirtation had exploded into an episode of passion at Jim Halpert’s house of all places. Thank god nobody had seen them. Not that Angela had time to care as their bodies writhed together, but casting her critical eye upon her actions now, she knew that their recklessness would have resulted in her being utterly mortified at the office had anyone known.
She had spent a long time fortifying her reputation at work. She wasn’t a dilly dallier and she didn’t partake in office gossip. She was proud to be the head of accounting, maintained a professional demeanor, and deigned to share her tasteful knack for gracious entertaining by serving on the party planning committee.
Most of her colleagues kept their distance and she liked it that way. She’d even managed to intimidate Kevin enough so that he seldom spoke to her more than was absolutely necessary. But if a pervert like that had seen her and Dwight in flagrante, her reputation would have suffered irreparable damage. Not to mention she’d catch Kevin staring at her with that lecherous grin every single day.
Not even a year ago, Angela had resigned herself to the fact that she might not ever meet the right man. Men were messy and simple minded and she had her cats to love. Besides, she didn’t go anywhere but church and work and she’d long since eliminated any of the members of her congregation. The few that were still single remained so for good reason. The only suitable men at work she’d identified were Dwight and Jim.
Jim was cute in his floppy haired, sad eyed sort of way but Dwight commanded far more respect from her. He didn’t pine and mope and flirt with someone in a committed relationship. He was a doer, not a dreamer, and he acted on his feelings. She liked that about him. He said what he felt and he stuck to his guns.
She lay there in the bed, thoughts speeding through her mind. Dwight’s good points were coming out somewhat ahead of his bad points. She was just thinking that yeah, maybe this would be okay when he began to stir.
“Good morning, monkey,” he smiled, voice still heavy with sleep.
That wouldn’t do. She frowned. “I don’t approve of nicknames. Especially animal nicknames. They’re childish and demeaning and I won’t be called one.”
Dwight, startled, sat up, grabbing his glasses off the nightstand and pushed them on. One side failed to hook over his ear and they sat there, slightly askew. “But I, but…” He hadn’t wanted to wake up like this with her. He’d been waiting for months for just the right moment to make his move. He wanted all the waiting to have been worth something more and here she was, already cold and distant. He felt maybe she was a keeper – sturdy, hard-working, honest, and he knew she would be loyal. The Schrutes were all about loyalty.
He had to smooth over the situation. “I totally agree with you. And anyway, it’s not a nickname, Angela. It’s a code name.”
“A code name?”
“Yes,” he pronounced. “Suppose you and I were to decide to go out to a movie after work and I needed to let Mose know to activate the perimeter security but not the motion sensors. If I called him from work, he’d ask who I was going out with and I couldn’t very well tell him ‘Angela from accounting’ with Jim Halpert hanging on my every word, now could I?”
“I suppose not,” she agreed reluctantly.
He smiled. “Okay, then! From now on, your code name is monkey. Now what should your name for me be?”
“No,” she said flatly, shaking her head.
Dwight rolled over, pressing himself against her and gathering her up in his arms. “Oh, come on!”
“No,” she repeated sternly, but he saw the corner of her mouth twitch ever so slightly.
Neither one of them spoke again for a full five minutes until Dwight was hovering over her and he could feel her breathing harder against him as he moved.
“Well, maybe,” she gasped.
He smiled. Definitely a keeper.
