Date: Sun, 12 Sep 1999 11:32:01 -0400 (EDT)
From: sliders21@iname.com
Subject: ordinary love 2 (adult-friends)

Note: here's part 2. There's no sex yet in this part because I'm still
trying to weave a plot and make the characters more 3dimensional. I hope
that you guys like romance because this is what the story is about.

*****************
Ordinary Love - 2
*****************

	Drew smiled at Rinoa nervously. She obviously was very very
surprised by his revelation that he was gay. Rinoa stammered out,
"You......you're gay?"

	"Yeah," Drew said to her softly. "I'm 100% gay."

	"Oh Shit!" Rinoa said under her breath.

	"I'd better go now," Drew said in a whisper as he walked past
her. He saw Lisa, Nick and Joey sitting on the couch, talking
animatedly. He thought of just leaving but he knew it was rude. So he
slowly approached Lisa.

	"Excuse me," Drew said after he cleared his throat to get their
attention. "I have to go now Lisa."

	"You have to go now?" Lisa stood up and gave him a bewildered
look. "You just got here."

	"I have someone at my place waiting for me," Drew explained to her
slowly. "Wish I could stay. I'll just show myself out." He then nodded to
them goodbye and quickly left the apartment.

****************

	"So you mean to tell me you were at this party for only twenty
minutes?" Shawn looked at his ex-boyfriend while they were having some
pizza and pasta later that night. "That's rude."

	"I'm not really comfortable with my co-workers yet," Drew said
slowly to him as they watched some old movie playing in ShowTime.

	"You haven't told anyone you're gay?" Shawn reached for the remote
and changed the channel to MTV.

	"I told a girl earlier," Drew sighed out deeply. "It's kinda hard
to say anything to anyone in the company when the boss hates your guts."

	"I thought you said he was the one who gave you a ride to the
party?" Shawn looked at him bewilderingly.

	"I know that he wouldn't have hired me in the first place if not
for his mom," Drew explained to him. "He's been pretty civil to me and
everything but I do know that he hates me."

	"How sure are you about that?" Shawn challenged his friend.

	"I heard him saying to Lisa a few weeks ago to watch me carefully,"
Drew said with a slight edge in his voice. "He doesn't trust me one bit."

	"Why should he?" Shawn shrugged his shoulders. "You were forced
down his throat by his mom after all."

	"Thanks for cheering me up," Drew said sarcastically. "I'm tempted
to quit already."

	"It seems to me that your boss is warming up to you," Shawn said to
him slowly. "Why else would he give you a ride in his car, right? Maybe he
saw that you're a diligent and excellent worker."

	"You're just saying that because I agree to be your roommate," Drew
said to him dryly.

	"And what a handsome roommate you are," Shawn laughed out. "You
haven't told me about your love life yet. Any boyfriends?"

	"All I could think about is work, work, and work," Drew said in a
very tired voice. "Maybe I should quit and look for a much lesser strenuous
job. My boss hates me anyway."

****************

	Drew was alone in the employee's lounge, drinking coffee and
reading the morning paper when Rinoa came in. He looked up and saw her
giving him an uneasy smile. He nodded at her before he returned to his
paper.

	"Uhhh," Rinoa said from the other side of the room where the
coffeemaker was. Drew looked at her and saw her holding a cup of coffee as
she slowly walked up to him. "I was wondering if you were free this
tonight."

	"Are you asking me out?" Drew raised an eyebrow at her as he folded
the paper. Rinoa just laughed and sat down on the chair opposite him.

	"I know this guy who'd be perfect for you," Rinoa said to him
warily. "That is if you're unattached."

	"I'm not seeing anyone if that is what you are asking," Drew said
slowly. "But I thought you didn't like me being gay. At least that's what I
assumed after your reaction last Friday."

	"I never thought you're gay," Rinoa laughed out. "I assumed you
were straight."

	"So people here are not that unfriendly towards guys like me?" Drew
said to her slowly.

	"I have to say no," Rinoa smiled at him. "The atmosphere around the
office is friendly towards everyone. Gay, Blacks, Latinos, Lesbians,
everyone. That is if you do your job right."

	"Lesbians?" Drew looked at her quizzically.

	"This is a rumor but some say Lisa is a big fan of Xena," Rinoa
nodded her head slowly. "But keep that to yourself, okay? We all heard that
rumor but don't really talk about it in the office."

	"And about this guy you're setting me up with?" Drew asked her
warily. "Do I know him? Is he even out?"

	"Most people know about him," Rinoa nodded her head. "But you have
to wait till Friday to meet him. So what do you say?"

	"When and where?" Drew looked at her, intrigued. Rinoa then gave
him a place and time and quickly left.

	"That's weird," Drew said to himself as he realized he just agreed
to go on a blind date. He must be more depressed than he thought for him to
agree to something like this.

***************

	"That went very well," Nick said to Drew as they were driving back
to the office. "I expected one more meeting before those guys agree to sign
with our company. I'm very glad that I asked you to come. I wasn't
expecting that you already thought of some very good ideas to market their
products."

	"That only shows how pathetic my life is," Drew laughed out to
him. They fell silent for a few minutes.

	"You and your friend moved into your new place already?" Nick said
very carefully. Drew looked at his boss sharply. Does he know that his
roommate was his old boyfriend?

	"Ummm," Drew said uncomfortably as he realized he had to say
something. "We've moved all of our things but the place is still a
mess. Shawn is still trying to fix the place up."

	"Your friend's name is Shawn?" Nick looked at him quizzically for a
second.

	"Yeah," Drew said slowly.

	"You doing anything tonight?" Nick suddenly asked him. "I'd like to
treat you to dinner for a job well done."

	"Thanks but I think I'll just take a rain check on that," Drew
started to squirm in his seat. Why was Nick suddenly so friendly? "I have a
lot of stuff to do back at the apartment. With having just moved an
all. And I sort of have other plans."

	"I have a feeling that you don't seem to be comfortable with me
Drew," Nick said to him half-jokingly, half-seriously.

	"Ummm," Drew broke into a cold sweat now. "Wh-what gave you that
idea?"

	"I don't know," Nick looked at him because they were stuck in
traffic. "You always avoid looking at my eyes when we talk. And you try to
avoid me in the office. Every time I go to the employee lounge, you'd
immediately leave. Every time I pass by your desk, you'd bury your nose
into something. Should I go on?"

	"Oh," Drew said as he blushed deeply. "I..I didn't think you'd
notice."

	"Do I get to know the reason why you've been avoiding me?" Nick
asked him softly. Drew looked at his eyes for a while.

	"I know you don't like me working for your company," Drew said
finally. " "Don't worry, I'll have my resignation letter submitted at the
end of the day."
	"Where did you get a stupid idea like that?" Nick gave Drew a look
of disbelief.

	"You told Lisa to watch me closely," Drew said accusingly. "And
Helen told me that you two got into a fight when she insisted that I should
handle the account of your family business."

	"Oh," It was Nick's turn to blush. The two remained silent for a
while, not even looking at each other's direction. After a while, Nick
faced Drew and said softly, "I pride myself in saying that my company has
the highest employee morale in the City. I generally try to make everyone
working for me comfortable with the way I run the company. Of course, I was
the one who hired almost everyone in the office."

	"It's just my luck that Helen forced me down your throat, huh?"
Drew said a little sarcastically.

	"Maybe we can start over again?" Nick looked at him hopefully. "I
wouldn't have hired you even if my mom backed you up if I thought that
you're not qualified. To be honest Drew, your resume speaks for
itself. Everyone knows I don't get along with my mom. I shouldn't have let
that affect our business relationship. If I did anything or say anything
that made you think that you're not welcome in the company, then I'm
sorry. I hope that you're not seriously contemplating quitting because I'm
not going to let you quit that easily."

	Drew looked at him doubtfully for a while before he stared out the
window. They reached their building thirty minutes later. It was the
longest thirty minutes of Drew's life.

***********

	"You wanted to see me?" Lisa asked Nick quizzically as she closed
the door of Nick's office behind her. She walked to the desk and sat down
opposite Nick. She saw that her friend looked pre-occupied. He was staring
at the big glass window. She waited for him to talk but he didn't. "Nick?"

	"I'm making Drew Matthews the new Vice-President of Operations,"
Nick said slowly as he swiveled his chair to face Lisa. "He'll report only
to me." Lisa looked at him in shock. Why is Nick promoting a guy that only
came on board recently?

	"We don't have a position like that," Lisa said to him slowly. "You
insist on handling all the accounts personally, remember?"

	"We do now," Nick said softly. "Do the memo and I'll sign it
immediately."

	"What's going on Nick?" Lisa leaned forward and looked at him like
he was insane.

	"Just do it Lisa," Nick repeated in the same voice. "I'll tell you
about it-" He stopped talking when his doors burst open and his mom walked
in his office.

	"Mom!" Nick stood up and looked at Helen. Lisa stood up and greeted
Mrs. Greene politely.

	"I hope I'm not interrupting anything, Nick, Lisa," Helen said to
them.

	"Why are you here mom?" Nick said in a neutral voice.

	"I took your sister shopping and she insisted on seeing you," Helen
said to him as he sat down on a chair.

	"So where's Rose?" Nick sat back down and Lisa did the same.

	"She saw Drew outside and is making him do that magic trick of his
again," Helen said to him. "Let Drew entertain her for a while. I need to
talk to you."

	"About what mom?" Nick sighed out deeply.

	"Your Fiancee called me up and she said that---" Helen said to him.

	"Fiona's not my fiancee!" Nick said in a strained voice.

	"Umm," Lisa stood up uncomfortably. "I think I'll go now." Lisa
quickly retreated back to the door and slipped out of Nick's office.

"I told you that we already agreed with her parents to marry the two of
you!" Helen's voice rose a little. "We owe the Duprees' a lot. They saved
our business when it was failing!"

	"And I'm supposed to be the payment for that?!" Nick said angrily
at her. "I don't love her!"

	"Everyone already knows that you're engaged," Helen said to
him. "She's going to make a good wife for you. I don't see any reason why
you shouldn't love her."

************

	Lisa breathed a sigh of relief when she was outside. She was about
to head back to her office when she heard a girl giggling loudly. She
looked around and saw Nick's ten-year-old sister dragging Drew towards
her. She quickly met them halfway.

	"Where do you think you're going?" Lisa said as she gave Rose a
huge smile. She knelt down and gave her a huge hug.

	"Drew taught me a new magic trick and I'm going to show it to
Nick," Rose smiled at her.

	"Later," Lisa said to her slowly. "Your mom and brother are
talking."

	"But I have to---" Rose began to say but Drew put a hand on her
shoulder.

	"Lisa's right," Drew said to her. "How about I show you another
trick?" Rose turned around and looked at Drew eagerly. Drew led her back to
his desk and he taught her two more tricks before Nick walked out of his
office.

	"Nick!" Rose yelled when she saw her brother. She ran up to
him. Nick saw her and he knelt down and gave her a huge hug. Drew just
watched them happily. Rose was trying to do the tricks Drew taught her to
her brother.

	"You sure know how to handle her," Lisa whispered to him. Drew
looked at his side and saw Lisa eyeing him thoughtfully. "You have any
brothers or sisters?"

	"I used to babysit back in high school to earn money," Drew smiled
at her. "And I always seem to be stuck with my younger cousins during
family reunions and holidays."

	"By the way Drew," Lisa gave her a smile and put up her
hand. "Congratulations. Nick just told me to make you a VP."

	"Huh?!" Drew's eyes grew large.

	"Effective immediately, you're the new VP for operations," Lisa
said to him as he withdrew her hand when it was clear Drew was too
surprised to shake it. "I take it this is a surprise for you too."
	
	"And then some," Drew said as he looked at her in disbelief. "I was
thinking of quitting actually."

	"You want to quit?" Lisa was taken aback.

"I was thinking of getting a new job with less pressure," Drew smiled at
her weakly. "Someone told me recently that my life was pretty pathetic. I
wanted to take some time off and have more 'me time'."

	"So you're not going to accept the promotion?" Lisa didn't quite
believe what she was hearing.

	"I don't really know what to---" Drew began to say but out of the
corner of his eyes he saw rose dragging nick towards them. He shut up and
faced the sister and brother.

	"Do the coin trick Drew!" Rose said as she shoved her brother
closer to Drew. "I can't quite do it correctly."

	"Rose, I don't think that---" Drew blushed a little as he looked at
her then at Nick.

	"Show me this amazing trick," Nick interrupted him and presented
him his hand. Drew looked in his eyes for a second before he fished out a
dime and placed it on Nick's palm. He closed it and Drew told him to open
it again. When he opened it, it was a quarter.

	"Hey!" Nick looked at Drew in total surprise. "How did you do
that?!"

"Magic," Drew said as he gave him a lop-sided grin.

	"I told you he's amazing," Rose said to Nick as she looked at Drew.

	"Let's go Rose," Helen showed up then. Rose then said goodbye and
left the office with Helen.

	"So I take it you're going to Las Vegas and become a magician when
you quit?" Lisa said as he faced Drew.

	"Maybe Atlantic City but not Las Vegas," Drew joked at her feebly.

	"Who's quitting?" Nick looked at Drew in the eyes. "No one's
quitting. Lisa haven't told you the news yet?"

	"She did actually," Drew said to Nick slowly. "And I'd like to talk
to you about that if you have the time."

	"Let's go to my office," Nick nodded his head as he turned
around. Drew followed him to his office. Nick sat down on his chair and
Drew sat down opposite him.

	"Thanks for the offer but I---" Drew began to say immediately.

	"You'll have a substantial raise and a big office and your own
secretary and---" Nick began to rattle off.

	"Stop that," Drew cut him off quickly. "I don't think I'm qualified
for the job Nick. I'd like to stay with the company if you still want me
but I don't think I can handle a job like that."

	"You can do the job," Nick said to him slowly. "Believe me. You're
so ready for the job. I was looking at you earlier handle that client and I
made up my mind to give you this promotion. The company is getting too big
for me to handle alone." Drew looked at him thoughtfully for a while.

	"Let me at least think about it," Drew said to him finally. He
stood up, "I'll tell you my answer tomorrow." Drew said goodbye and left
Nick's office. He returned to his desk and buried himself in his work for
the rest of the day.

**************

	"A date, huh?" Shawn said slowly as Drew came out of his room. He
was seated at the couch and looked at his friend with a raised
eyebrow. "This is kinda sudden."

	"Someone in the office set me up," Drew gave him a goofy grin. "I
don't know who the guy is but I thought what the hell. I need some
distraction anyway."

	"Distraction?" Shawn lost him there. "Distraction from what?" To
his surprise, Drew became beet-red. Drew was definitely not telling him
everything.

	"Work stuff," Drew mumbled out. "I'll be back later. Don't wait
up." Drew quickly left the apartment and proceeded to the restaurant.  He
was five minutes late and when he got there; he was told his date was
already at the table.

	He was shown to the table and he should give Rinoa credit. The guy
was definitely a hunk. He had red hair, maybe about an inch taller than
him, looks about his age and very good looking.
	
	"Drew Matthews?" The guy stood up and they sat down together. He
ordered some wine and the waiter left. The guy gave Drew a nervous smile.

	"I'm Clint Dupree," The guy said to him. "I saw your name on the
list. I must say that Rinoa wasn't kidding when she said that you're
extremely good-looking."

	"Rinoa didn't say anything to me but I'm definitely not
disappointed," Nick smiled at him. "You're not with Genesis, are you? I
haven't seen you around."

	"I actually work for the real estate agency in the same building,"
Clint smiled back at him. "We're one of your clients so I know most of the
people in your office. I actually...." He trailed off as he saw a couple
entering the restaurant.

	"What?" Drew looked at where he was looking.

	"It's my twin sister and her fiancee," Clint said to him. Drew
squinted his eyes to see where Clint was pointing. He gasped a little when
he recognized Nick Greene with a very beautiful blond woman!

*******
To be continued
*******

Comments are welcome at:

E-Mail: sliders21@iname.com