Working on love

JUST like every Friday, I had to rush into work, barely making it on time. No sooner had I put my bag on the table and sat myself down, than the HR manager came up to me with another resume. Could this be the one? I asked myself.

I had submitted my letter of resignation a few weeks before. Procedure dictated that it would be my job to interview the candidates who applied to replace me. But after several weeks of sieving, the right one still hadn't turned up.

I wanted desperately for this person to be the one who could relieve me of my position. So, I stood up decisively and walked to the reception area, where the candidate was waiting.

There she was. I'm young and people seem to think I look naive; I didn't want to give her that impression. Accordingly, I decided to play it as hard as I could. I coughed like a VIP about to make a big speech and spoke the candidate's name. She followed me nervously into the interview room. While she was preparing to make her self-introduction, I browsed her resume, making marks here and there. But as soon as she started speaking and I found myself mesmerized by her melodious voice.

When she had finished, I found that my throat was dry and that I was totally lost for words. I kept swallowing and couldn't stop blinking. It took me several minutes before I could find the words to speak. "Oh, well… er.. can you tell me what your hobbies are?" What a question! She looked a bit surprised, "Well, dancing…", then she mentioned several other activities. Walking back to the HR office after the interview, I committed to memory he cellphone number she had written on the resume. The next day, I decided to send her a message.

After I had pressed the "send" button, I stared at the phone screen. Almost immediately, a vibration traveled through my palm. She had replied to my message.

After initial greetings, I tried to put her at ease by telling her how nervous I had been at the interview. She relaxed and we spent the next few hours swapping notes about our lives.

We got into the habit of sending each other text messages, saying what we were doing at the moment.

One night, I tentatively asked her about her boyfriend. I didn't quite understand whether she had one or not, but It seemed like I was in with a chance. I decided to push it a bit further.

"How about now?"

"I told you I didn't have one up until now."

"That means you've got one now?"

"I am not sure."

Upon hearing this, I dialed her number. A hoarse voice answered the phone.

"Er…you have a cold?"

"Yeah, but I'm getting better now. You must have something to say. It's so late."

"Er…"

Waiting for me to say something, she kept silent.

"Er.. We were talking about boyfriends. Would you be willing to…?"

"What?"

I twisted and turned on my bed and pulled the quilt over my head. With a muffled voice, I said, "Would you be willing to be my girlfriend?"

"Oh… but… I hadn't thought about that. But I do feel something for you."

For the rest of the night, I was confused. I didn't know what to make of what she had said. She said she likes me, but she is not my girlfriend yet.

That was a few days ago.

I don't know what lies ahead for us, but I do trust my feelings. So when the time is right, I will ask her again, "Will you be my girlfriend? "

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blink 眨眼

cocoon 覆盖

cubical

hoarse 嘶哑的

innocence 单纯

melodious 音调优美的

mesmerize 施催眠术

muffle 压抑(声音)

resignation 辞职

sieve 筛选

tentatively 试探的

vibration 振动