As soon as Karl saw her from across the office, he knew he liked her. There was something different about her, a quirkiness, an edge, he couldn’t quite explain. She was pale and wore a long flowing overcoat. She looked completely different to the other office workers. The manager, Joanne, headed in his direction with the new-starter. Karl felt his cheeks reddening. He cursed himself for his awkwardness.

‘Karl, this is Zoe. She’s starting here today on the customs team.’

‘Good morning.’ said Karl.

‘Hiya.’ Zoe smiled.

‘Any accounts queries, just give our Karl a shout. And,’ Joanne laughed. ‘if you want to hear his theory about aliens.’

Karl shook his head. While others in the office were into football and rugby, he was into science fiction, books, films and television. He had no issues with people being interested in sport, but he had, for some reason, become the butt of people’s jokes in the office. He wasn’t exactly one of the lads, but his colleagues seemed determined to pigeon-hole him as a nerd.

‘Nice one.’ said Zoe. ‘I love a good conspiracy theory.’

While Joanne was disappointed by the response, Zoe seemed to be actually interested. Joanne whisked the new-starter away, to continue her tour of the premises.

As he sat down at his desk, his colleague facing him, leaned around the computer monitor.

‘She seems nice.’

‘Yes,’ Karl replied. ‘she does.’

That lunch-time, Karl was in the office canteen, having his sandwiches and reading his paperback book. In the busy room, the more sociable office workers, met up for lunch, making small-talk and eating microwave meals. Karl had mastered the skill of eating his sandwiches, sipping his diet cola, and reading his book, all with barely looking up at those around him.

His workmates tended to leave him alone. Karl wasn’t sure if he came across as rude, shy or just plain odd. Perhaps it was all three. He had just never gotten the hang of chit-chat. How did these people know what to say to each other? Once the pleasantries were out of the way, Karl struggled to find something to say. When leaving the house, if he heard his neighbour’s front door shut, he would hang back a moment, to avoid bumping into them. Vicki and David seemed a nice couple, but Karl could never think of anything to say. He wondered if there was a course you could go on, to learn small-talk. Had everyone gone on a course, and he’d missed the memo?

He looked up from his book when he heard a voice. Zoe was on the far side of the canteen, being shown how to work the hot tap. Karl’s gaze lingered as she made her tea, chatting to her new workmates. Again, he noticed how Zoe wasn’t like the rest of the people in the office. She seemed to be an outsider, like him, except she had a confident, cool, air about her. She had a tom-boyish air and seemed to wear her difference like a badge of honour. Karl felt more confident in himself, just looking at the way she carried herself.

At that moment, Zoe glanced in his direction. She grinned, and raised her mug of tea, cheers. Karl laughed and raised his glass of water. She turned and left the canteen. He tried to focus again on his paperback book but his thoughts were full of the intriguing new colleague.

Karl didn’t see much of Zoe over the next few days. She worked on the same floor as he did, but while he was tucked away in one corner, she was on the far side of the floor. He tried not to stare whenever she passed by on her way to the printer or going out the door.

Karl was scanning some paperwork on the printer, when he heard a voice beside him.

‘Hello, you.’

Zoe grabbed the printing from the tray.

‘Oh, hi.’

It was such a brief exchange, but as Karl went back to his desk, he wondered if she liked him, the way he liked her. He was hopeless at reading the signals. When he was younger, he’d misread situations like this, so many times. At high school, he had once been convinced a girl in his class liked him. Weeks later, when he had finally managed to summon up the courage to ask her out, she’d laughed in his face. They hadn’t spoken again after that. By misreading the situation, not only had he ruined any friendship they’d had, but completely embarrassed himself. Could he really put himself through that again? And at work, of all places. If it had been in another situation, say, she was the post office delivery person, dropping his mail off every day, then he could have taken the chance, and hope to be out when she called after the rejection. But could he really ask Zoe out on a date, and then face the office every day after that? If that did happen, he’d have to move companies, surely.

It was a quandary, because she did seem to like him. There was a warmth there, an affection. Maybe she did prefer him to the jack-the-lads that worked there. Maybe she saw him in a different light than anyone else. Where others saw him as odd, maybe she saw unique, alternative, and even cool in being uncool and doing his own thing. Maybe it was, as the 1980s song went, hip to be square.

For now, he decided, he would do nothing. He would just see how things went. Zoe may even have a boyfriend, or she may be married. Right now, he just had to wait and see.

Zoe was a popular addition to the company. She seemed to get along well with everyone. People who would only bid Karl a brief good morning would stop and chat with Zoe. Karl did feel closer to her than most of his other colleagues, despite not actually having spoken to her a great deal. Was he getting carried away? Was he misreading the situation?

One rainy Wednesday morning, when he went to make a cup of tea, there was only one other person in the canteen. Zoe.

‘Hello, you.’ she said.

‘Hiya,’ said Karl. ‘Awful weather, isn’t it?’

He joined her at the hot-tap.

‘It really is. I was supposed to be going on a bike ride later but I think that will be a wash-out.’

Karl tried to keep his tone light and conversational, as he replied.

‘That’s a shame. Were you going with your boyfriend?’

‘I don’t have a boyfriend.’ She shook her head.

Zoe finished making her tea and headed to the door. Karl was pleased he’d managed to find out her relationship status, without too much fuss. Then Zoe turned, gave him a mischievous grin.

‘Boyfriend? Karl, you are such a flirt.’

‘No, I didn’t mean-’

Zoe gave a chuckle and went out the door.

Karl tried to make sense of what had just happened. Zoe was single. That was good. And far from being scared off that he’d raised the topic of her boyfriend, she seemed quote amused, and he hoped, almost pleased by the idea.

In the weeks that followed, Karl bumped into Zoe now and then, and each time, the exchange was short, but to Karl at least, it seemed very intimate. From what he saw, she was friendly with everyone, sharing jokes, asking how their holidays had been, but there seemed to be a closeness between the two of them, that wasn’t there with the others. Was he imagining it? Was it wishful thinking? Goodness knew. The highlight of the day was bumping into her. He would spend the rest of the day going over and over their interaction. He would analyse each word and action, trying to find a hidden meaning. She would hold his gaze for a long time, would nudge him with her elbow if he made a bad joke. She would pat his arm to get his attention. Did all these little things add up to the fact that she liked him? From her conversations with him and others, she seemed to be her own quirky character, quite at home with her oddness. While Karl cursed himself for not being like everyone else, she seemed to have a this is me, take it or leave it attitude.

One Monday morning, he decided it was time. He had to know. It was time to lay his cards on the table. If she rejected him, as she most likely would, then he would be embarrassed, and instead of seeking her out, would probably try to avoid her. But she really did not seem the type to humiliate and ridicule someone for misreading the signals. In fact, she would probably feel as awkward as she did. The next chance he got, he would ask if she fancied going for a drink. If she said no, or friend-zoned him, he could always play it down, insisting, that, oh yes, I meant as friends, of course.

Every time he went to the printer, he would take a deep breath, hoping to bump into her, and each time, he was disappointed to find that she was still sitting at her desk surrounded by her colleagues. He could hardly go over and ask her out in front of everyone. He was laughed at enough as it was, without volunteering for even more ridicule.

Each time he went to the canteen, he was saddened not to find her there. He had to ask her out soon. He had to know. Perhaps he should email her. He could mail her to ask if she fancied going for a pint later. No, he couldn’t do that. He couldn’t put this in an email. What if her colleagues had access to her emails? He was best off doing this face to face. Surely he’d bump into her soon. He felt like a champagne bottle about to pop. If he didn’t see her soon, then he would no doubt just blurt it out next time he saw her and ruin his chances. She would be expecting rubbish jokes and chit-chat, and he would be declaring his undying love.

By home-time, he still hadn’t seen Zoe. This was typical. The day that he’d decided to ask her out, and was desperate to know if she felt the same about him, he hadn’t seen her at all.

He was on his way out the door that evening when a familiar voice came from behind.

‘Hello, you.’

He turned to see her rushing towards him.

‘What a day.’ she said. ‘I’ve been in a training course all day. They’re bringing in a new customs system. Honestly, just as you get used to the system, they decide to change it.’

As they crossed the car-park., Zoe walked closely beside him, almost leaning on him. She grumbled about the horrific training course that would last the week. She looked drained as they reached their cars. Karl decided this was it. Here was his chance.

‘Sounds like you could do with a drink. Fancy going for a pint?’

Zoe laughed.

‘Why, Karl, you old flirt.’

‘Oh no, I didn’t mean-’

‘I’d love to.’ she said.

Ninety minutes later, having showered and changed, and told himself to calm down, be cool, and not mess this up, he headed to the pub. He found Zoe perched on a stool at the bar, a pint of dark ale in front of her. She was wearing a Pink Floyd t-shirt and a leather biker jacket.

‘Evening.’ Karl said.

Zoe leaned in and pecked him on the cheek.

‘What are you drinking?’ he asked.

‘It’s called Ringo’s Waggy Tail. I was torn between this and a pint of Jackie Boy.’

Karl ordered a pint before Zoe suggested they go and find a table.

He couldn’t believe this was happening to him. Things like this didn’t happen to people like him. Karl wasn’t the type of person who would just ask someone out on a date, and he certainly wasn’t the type to be accepted. And yet here he was. He had told himself that he had to keep the tone the same as the office interactions. He hoped that she liked him after their work encounters, so he could hardly turn into the lead in a romance novel the minute they go on a date. If he’d have turned up wearing a suit jacket and a turtle-neck jumper, bearing flowers, he would have scared her off. So, he arrived trying to come across as relaxed, wearing a short-sleeve check shirt and a squirt of aftershave.

The evening went so well. The tone, the vibe, it was just like they were at the office, but with the volume turned up. Karl wasn’t one for office parties, but he imagined that was what they were like. These were your colleagues but they were letting their hair down. Karl and Zoe were sitting close to each other, on a leather sofa in a quiet corner of the pub. They laughed and joked, they talked about the Moon Landings, and life on other planets. She leaned in close, Karl felt the rhythm of her breathing.

At the end of the evening, outside the pub, in the glow of the pub lights, Karl bid her good evening. She put her arms around his neck and they kissed. Karl felt as though he was dreaming. She patted him on the chest.

‘I like you.’ she said.

‘Same.’ Karl managed.

They swapped mobile numbers before making their separate ways home.

At work the next day, he only saw her a few times. When he saw her across the packed office canteen, she would wink at him. They went out several times a week. They always found a quite spot in the pub, a few drinks and hushed, intimate conversation. She seemed to be genuinely interested in him. Karl had always been the outsider, so to find someone who was on the outside with him was just so special.

Cuddled up on a sofa in a city-centre pub, pints of beer in front of them, Zoe asked about Karl’s family.

‘I have a brother, Kevin. He’s eighteen months older than me.’

‘Does he work in accounts too? Are you guys similar?’

‘He’s a sales rep. We’re not that similar really, but we’re best mates.’

‘Sounds like you two are close.’

‘Yes, he’s my closest friend.’

Zoe nodded. Karl sensed she understood that he actually didn’t have that many friends.

‘I’d like to meet him sometime. Do you think we’d get on?’ she asked.

‘I’m sure you will. Everyone likes Kev.’

There was something about the way he said it, that Zoe couldn’t put her finger on.

‘Another drink?’ Karl asked.

Just over a month later, Karl and Zoe had grown practically inseparable. Each evening would be spent together. They would go to the cinema, try out a new Indian restaurant that had recently opened in town. Karl was happier than he’d ever been. He still didn’t fit in with everyone, he was still the oddball, was still unable to make small-talk with his colleagues, but he had someone who was on his wave-length. Zoe seemed to understand him completely.

One evening while they were flaked out on Karl’s sofa watching a repeat of a 1980s science fiction show, Karl’s mobile rang. He was on the call for ten minutes and ended by saying, sounds good, mate, I’ll ask her.

‘Go on, then. Ask me.’ Zoe laughed.

‘That was my brother, Kev. He wants to know if we fancy a pint on Saturday night. You up for it?’

‘To meet the mysterious Kevin, your big brother, I’d cancel any plans I had.’

Karl rolled his eyes, and typed out a text message to his brother. A moment later his phone pinged. Karl read the reply and nodded.

‘We’re on for Saturday night.’

The swanky bar on Manchester’s Deansgate was packed. Kevin has picked the venue. The posh bar was full of people dressed up and drinking brightly coloured cocktails. Karl glanced at Zoe as they entered. He raised an eyebrow. What on earth were they doing in a place like this? They moved through the crowd of people, the air thick with fake laughter and aftershave.

They ordered a couple of pints and winced as the barman asked for the best part of twenty pounds.

‘I reckon next round we get a half pint and two straws.’ Karl whispered, with a grin.

They perched on stools at a tall table.

‘What is it with these places and the ridiculously high tables? Karl said.

‘Are you going to be like this until Kevin gets here?’

‘Yes, you bet I am.’ he laughed.

Just over ten minutes later, as Karl was about to suggest leaving and telling Kevin to meet them somewhere else, he spotted his brother. There was Kevin, moving across the swanky bar with an easy confidence. He had the swagger of a movie star arriving at a film premier. He said hello to a few people as he crossed the room. At the bar, where Karl had waited ages to get served, the barman came over almost immediately.

‘Zoe, this is Kevin.’

Kevin was dressed in a suit jacket, jeans and gleaming white trainers. His hair was slicked back and the stubble on his jaw was perfectly trimmed.

‘Zoe, lovely to meet you, darling.’ Kevin purred, kissing her on the cheek.

Kevin turned to his brother, grinning.

‘Alright, our kid?’

The two brothers hugged each other patting each other heavily on the back. Karl knew what Zoe was thinking. The two brothers were nothing alike. You would never have guessed that the two men were related, let alone were brothers. Kevin was handsome, confident, and chatty, and Karl, well, he was just Karl.

But the two brothers shared the same dry sense of humour. They would have each other laughing so hard, they couldn’t breathe. Zoe could hardly keep up as they messed and joked around.

Karl, Zoe, and Kevin went to a few more swanky bars. Karl was pleased with the way the night was going. His new girlfriend and his brother, his best friend, were getting along so well. Kevin was charming her, and she in-turn, seemed to like him. As they finished a round of drinks, Kevin rubbed his hands together.

‘You guys fancy getting a bite to eat? I know a lovely Italian restaurant. The owner, Carlo, is such a nice guy.’

Karl shot Zoe a what do you think? glance.

‘We’re up for food, but how about a curry?’ she said.

‘Honestly, this Italian place is just divine.’

‘I’m sure it is, but I doubt they’ll serve a Chicken Tikka Madras.’

‘Yeah,’ added Karl. ‘We’ve been going round these cocktail bars all night. A decent curry-house, sounds much more-’

‘Rustic?’ suggested Kevin.

‘Ordinary.’ said Karl. ‘You are such a snob, Kev. How are we related?’

‘I was just wondering the exact same thing.’

The three of them laughed. An Indian meal, it was to be. As they left the pub, Kevin spoke.

‘I had some lovely food when I was in Mumbai on business recently.’

‘Is he always like this?’ asked Zoe, laughing.

‘He’ll be giving you his business card next.’ said Karl.

‘Now you mention it.’

Kevin reached into his inside pocket. Instead of retrieving his card, he simply waved two fingers at them both.

‘Come on,’ said Karl. ‘Let’s get that curry, I’m famished.’

Karl and Zoe arrived back home quite drunk and stuffed from the curry. They had caught the last bus home while Kevin had hailed a taxi using an app on his mobile phone. Once inside, they flopped onto the sofa.

‘That was such a good night.’ said Karl.

‘You are nothing like your brother. I can’t get over how different you are.’

‘We were similar when we were kids.’

‘And you changed as you got older, as you grew up?’

Karl shrugged, said nothing.

‘What is it? What happened?’

‘There was a bully at our school, a real nasty kid. If he targeted you, then your life would be just miserable. He used to have a gang of kids with him. Children can be so nasty.’ Karl said. ‘Something like that has to have an effect.’

‘And he targeted you? That would have been awful. A thing like that, has to have affected you.’

‘It wasn’t me. He picked on Kevin. Our kid stuck it for twelve months, then one day, finally he’d had enough. He stood up for himself.’

By Chris Platt

From: United Kingdom