And they did become friends. Two weeks passed by after that and they became closer than ever. It almost seemed as if the crush thing vanished into thin air.

Well, almost.

There are these... moments, Joe noticed. Little moments. Very miniscule, possibly imagined, infinitesimal moments.

For example, after a particularly exhausting shift a week ago, Cici entered his office holding a couple of beers. For more than a decade, Joe had never once drank in the office, but he broke the rule that day and unknowingly hung out with Cici until 2:00 in the morning — which was unusual enough to warrant a phone call from Aisha. Tipsy as hell,...