Pippa Ch. 01

"Would you like anything else?" The waitress asked as she put my order of coffee down on the table. I shook my head while mouthing 'no' to her. It wasn't often that I would go out for coffee alone, but today just seemed like one of those days. I sat there quietly watching the passers-by going about their weekend routines, mostly heading out into the city for a day of shopping.

As my eyes scanned over the streams of people as they plodded down the pavement, someone stood out like the proverbial sore thumb. She was pushing a baby buggy, but there was something in the way she walked the was so familiar to me. I straightened myself up in my chair to get a better look. She was about five foot five with long blonde hair. That was what threw me at first, it was the hair, it didn't match the body, at least not to me.

The realization of who it was made my mouth go dry, and I felt my heart jumping out of my chest. It had been so long since I had seen her. Feelings came rushing back like an unwanted guest.

We had worked together and I had driven myself sick with lust and longing. She had been my one true love and soul mate, although she had never known it. I swallowed hard and regained my composure. As the years had passed my obsession had waned and I learned to forget.

Looking at her now I saw that she had changed too, a drastic change in hairstyle, a baby, and if i wasn't mistaken a larger chest. She looked more confident too, her held higher.

I wondered just how much I had changed as my mind drifted back to the day I had first met Pippa.

My job was to input data. Different departments would pass me and others like me piles of paperwork and we would add everything to the internal database. It wasn't particularly hard, a bit boring, but then it was a job and I was glad I wasn't doing manual work.

We all worked in very large open plan office. Our desk dividers weren't very high, so people could look around and not feel so isolated. It was a pretty neat set up.

My line manager was pretty cool too. He was close to retirement age, and seemed to have given up trying to impress his superiors. As a result, he left me to get on with my work uninterrupted. There was a bit of a joke going around the office that he was going through a midlife crisis, but I didn't see it.

There was a communal kitchen that had half a dozen tables. Most people ate lunch here, so it became a bit of a gathering point. Due to cutbacks it had been decided that a rota system would be put in place to clean it. Every month a new team would be chosen to clean the tables and do the washing up. This month was our turn.

After packing the dishwasher, I started to wipe down the tables. People complained about doing this menial work, but I found it a nice change to sitting at my desk.

I was collecting crumbs into my hand when she walked in, wide eyed and looking a little nervous. She was about five foot five with short dark brown hair.

"Hi, I'm new." She said softly.

I swallowed hard to gain some composure. If I had a type she was so very close to perfection in my eyes. I wanted to go over and introduce myself properly, but I felt my feet glued to the linoleum floor.

"Hiya, I'm Dave." I said somewhat creakily.

She smiled, and my heart jumped. Her face was so cute. Big brown eyes, full lips and skin that seemed to glow amber. She looked so innocent. Like a pixie from a fairy tale.

"Um, If you want the kettle, it's over there." I said, pointing.

"Thanks." I could tell that she was shy by the way she walked, head a little stooped, hands close to her chest. It made her even more adorable. I knew I was shy myself, and maybe that was what drew me to her. It was unfair to say that was her only quality though, far from it.

As she made her drink, I got an uninterrupted look at her body. She was petite, and very curvy. Her pert little bum was perfectly round and looked to be straining against the fabric of her grey trousers. I couldn't tell for sure, but i would have guessed she had c cup breasts. On her small frame they looked big. They were well hidden under her blouse and sweater combo. In fact she wasn't showing much skin at all, which just added to her demure look.

It was her hair that really did it for me though. It was very short, almost in a bob. Boyish in a way, but combined with her feminine face and curves it made her look so very sexy. Her age was a mystery, but I'd have said early twenties like myself.

I desperately tried to think of something clever to say, but my head was swimming, and I couldn't concentrate properly.

She started to leave and I panicked.

"Have a nice day." I blurted out.

"Thanks." She smiled again as she left.

I was over the moon, my heart was beating hard. With renewed energy I finished my cleaning so I could return to my desk.

Once there I was overjoyed to find that I could see her from my desk. Just the back of her head, and quite far away I admitted to myself, but it was enough to brighten the rest of my day. I checked my emails, and found one listing new starters, I found out her name was Pippa.

For the next few hours all I could think of was her smile and her body. I took my time with my work, making a few errors here and there, but it wasn't something i couldn't fix the next day. Occasionally I would glance over to her. She was mostly getting on with what work she had, hardly moving from her position. I guess on your first day, you shouldn't be spending much time in the kitchen.

The day drew to a close and I started packing my bag, I checked my watch to make sure I would be in time to catch the bus. On my way out I passed Pippa's desk. Sadly it was empty. On the ride home she still filled my thoughts.

Alone in my bed in my flat, I started to wonder if she had a boyfriend. It was something I had to find out.

"Morning Dave." Jim said as he perched himself on the edge of my desk. "What's new?"

My manager was always friendly and I didn't mind his interruption at all. He was in his late fifties. Very balding, and very fat.

"Not much really." I said.

"Good, good. Have you seen Emma today?"

"Um, no, not today I think."

"Shame." He chuckled and punched me gently on the arm.

Emma was a tall blonde that worked in the IT department. Drop dead gorgeous but well out of my league. Not a patch on Pippa though. In fact I always thought that Emma looked kinda like a bimbo.

"I wonder what she is wearing today?" Jim asked in a conspiratorial way.

I knew he didn't really mean it, I think he just thought that is what I wanted to talk about. Some people called a Jim a bit of a sleaze, but It was just his humour. He grew up in a time before political correctness and proper sexual harassment policy. It was no secret to me though that he had a thing for Emma, in fact I think most of the guys in the office did too.

"Have you seen the new girl, Pippa?" I asked, not really wanting to discuss what Emma had decided to wear today.

He shook his head, and I pointed her out at the end of the room.

"A little cutie." He said. "You interested in her?"

I shrugged. "Probably got a boyfriend."

He winked at me. "Old Jim will find out for you."

I started to protest but he assured me he wasn't going to ask her directly, just put his feelers out, as he put it. I trusted him.

"And don't forget," he continued, "I am doing your staff appraisal next week."

"I thought they were all the week after?"

"That's right, but I got a last minute deal on a holiday, I'm bringing yours forward. Don't worry, we're just going through the motions Dave." He said reassuringly.

He took off into the kitchen. It wasn't a worry, I knew if Jim had a problem with my work he would tell me straight up, not wait for an appraisal.

With Pippa back on my mind, I searched out her name on the email address book. I wasn't sure what to do. Should I just email her, and try to spark up a conversation? It might come across a little weird I thought. Now knowing her full name, I searched the web for any social media presence, but didn't find any profiles anywhere. Perhaps she just wasn't into that sort of thing.

I closed the browser and went to my kitchen duties a little disheartened. Sadly, I didn't see her this time.

Our office had many printers dotted about, there was a large one near my desk which I used. There was also one near Pippa's desk. It might need an excuse if anyone asked, but I decided it was a good plan to start using it.

I sent a handful of documents to it and made my way over. I felt quite nervous as I approached, I wasn't even going to speak to Pippa but it set my nerves on edge none the less.

She had her back to me. The skin on the back of her neck looked so inviting. Her feet were tucked under her chair, she was wearing smart little flat heeled shoes. I could see her ankles. It wasn't the view i wanted, but I was happy.

Her desk was bare apart for work stuff, no pictures, or anything personal. I put that down to her still being new. She was a fast typist too, I noticed. Then it happened.

She stretched and yawned. Her back arched, arms raised to the ceiling, intertwining. Legs pushing out, head turning, eyes closed. Giving me a full look at her profile. There was a little sigh too. I was in heaven. She hadn't noticed me staring. Regaining her position, she did an involuntary shake and returned to typing.

It was the perfect moment, seeing her like that made my heart melt. I felt like I had a intimate look into her soul. I walked on air back to my desk.

Dumping my printing into my bin I thought about Pippa and that yawn, imagining what it must have felt like. I gave a little stretch like she had done, feeling the satisfaction in my muscles. It was like she had been lost in her own world, except that she wasn't alone, I had been there. It was a privilege.

For the next few days, I had to buckle down to my work as I had been slowing down as a result of my daydreaming. I only saw her fleetingly, but my mind wasn't far from her. The weekend rolled around, and for once Friday filled me with sadness. A whole two days without seeing Pippa.

I was in early on Monday. It was the day of my appraisal, but more importantly I was going to see Pippa again. I printed off the forms I was going to show Jim in our meeting. Pippa wasn't in yet, so all I got to see was her empty desk. I chided myself for making this simple mistake. I clutched the papers wondering if I should just drop it in the bin and wait to print them later.

"Morning sunshine." Jim said happily as he accosted me as I was returning to my desk. "You're in early? Wet the bed?" He said jokingly.

I gave him a smile, "Um, couldn't sleep." I said in a half truth.

He rubbed his chin. "Well the early worm, let's do your appraisal now."

We were supposed to be doing it this afternoon, but I didn't really mind. Sitting in Jim's office, while Pippa wasn't in the office seemed an ideal way to manage my time.

As we walked towards his office, I couldn't believe my luck as I saw Pippa coming in through the main door. She was wearing a tight little jacket and had a satchel slung over her shoulder. The strap pressed tightly to her chest, dividing her breasts. She looked amazing.

I smiled at her, hoping that she would remember me from the kitchen. She looked up as we passed, but immediately looked down as she seemed not to recognize us.

I felt dejected, but hoped that maybe she just wasn't a morning person.

"That was Pippa, right, the girl you were asking about?" Jim asked as we sat in his office.

I nodded casually, while I trusted Jim, I didn't really want everyone to know my feelings, and certainly wouldn't want anyone to tease me about it.

"Well good and bad news, she is single," my heart jumped, "but I think she might be a dyke."

I bristled at his un-pc term. I doubted it was true though, Jim was old fashioned and probably thought every girl with short hair was a lesbian.

"Not really my type anyway." I lied.

"Ah that's alright then," he said smiling. "You're better off with someone like Emma." He said, and guffawed. I joined in.

We went through the routine of our appraisal pretty quickly, ticking all the boxes. Jim asked all the questions he was required to. We spent the rest of the time talking about his holiday. He had booked a week at a coastal town. It had put him in a very good mood.

Once back at my desk, I couldn't stop thinking about Pippa and her being single. Would she ever consider me as boyfriend material, I wondered. I wasn't bad looking, I thought, a bit shy maybe, but I knew I was a nice guy. That had to count for something.

As the weeks passed my daydreams got more intense. Imagined conversations with Pippa. Scenarios played out in my head, some quite normal and some stretching incredulity. One of my favourites was one where we both got trapped in the office during a snow storm. After hours of trying to call for help we eventually resigned ourselves to huddling for warmth in one of the smaller meeting rooms. We would end up kissing passionately.

I spent most of my time using the printer near her. Watching her as I pretended to idly look around the office. I did bump into her occasionally, my mouth would always dry up and my palms would begin to sweat. I could never talk to her, just the odd hello here and there. Just being close to her was enough to fill me with joy. There wasn't that many chances though, she was a dedicated worker, and always at her desk. I wished she was more like Emma, who always seemed to be in the kitchen, or just randomly walking around the office.

I didn't have sexual fantasies about Pippa, even though I found her so sexy. It was as if I had placed her upon a pedestal and she was too good for that. I just wanted to be with her, I wanted her to be my girlfriend. Weekends seemed like torture now.

Winter started to draw in. A man called Jason started to work for us, and thus began the worst period in my life.