Rather Well

The office room tick-tocked as Danielle counted down the seconds to her release. Every sentence she typed or email she read distracted her from her waiting. Occasionally she'd glance at the door, wondering if a last-minute customer would come in and ruin her plans. It's 12:57 when she sees the doorknob twist. Her heart sank as her boss, Alfred walked into the room. The diminutive old man had never seemed so tall and menacing.

"Dani, I was hoping to catch you."

"Hey."

"Just wanted to make sure you got my email?"

"Already taken care of."

Alfred smiled. "Danielle, you're the best. Say, it's nearly time for you to knock off, isn't it?"

"Yep."

"Well, I won't keep you then. Have a lovely day."

"You too."

Alfred left the room, allowing Danielle to sigh with relief. With haste, Dani left her office and headed straight for Spencer's house, occasionally creeping over the speed limit. At the front door, she's met by Spencer who invites her in. "How's your day been?"

"Good. Say, I need to get changed. Can you show me to your bathroom?"

"Sure." Spencer led Danielle around the farmhouse. Despite it being rather spacious, Danielle found it to have a humble quality to it. Maybe it was the fact that despite the renovations, Spencer hadn't tried to modernize the place too much.

"Lovely place."

"Thanks." Spencer stopped in front of the bathroom door. "Well, here we are."

"Won't be a minute."

Danielle went inside and put her backpack down. She then proceeded to exchange her office clothes for figure-hugging yoga pants and an old shirt. Once dressed, she followed Spencer out to his shed. Waiting for the two was a two-seated kayak. "For your first time, I figured you could share a kayak with me."

"Alright, sounds fair."

"Take this too." Spencer handed Daniell a life jacket. She put it on and then listened to Spencer as he taught her the basics of kayaking. It wasn't long before they hit the lake, where Danielle applied what she had learned. The calm lake proved to be the perfect training area, where Danielle took to kayaking like a fish to water. She floated in her own world, away from her work and her clients. A world she wished to be a part of for the rest of her life.

The time seemed to fly by, and soon enough Spencer brought her back to reality, informing her that he had to go pick up Amy. They paddle back to Spencer's place and put the kayak away.

"So, you enjoy that?"

"Yeah, it was great. We should do it again."

"Sure. Anytime." Spencer puts his jacket down. "Look, I better get going."

"Of course." The two exchange a kiss before Spencer left to pick up Amy.