He laughed as he continued to work away on the new contracts, the ambient sound of distant telephones and watercooler debates at the edge of his senses. His concentration, at least to those looking at him, seemed focused directly on the papers in front of his nose. However, the mention of Eve had almost immediately distracted him. Images of her close to him floated in his mind; he could hear the sound of her voice beckoning to him; he could imagine the wrinkle of her nose whenever she was disgusted or confused.
"So, when are you going to make your move?"
Adam looked up from his desk at his co-worker, Dave. His eyebrows slanted and he tilted his head to the side, mocking a curious puppy. "And what exact move would that be? Would it be the one in which I completely disregard the fact that she's dating my boss? Or the one where I jeopardize a friendship that has supported me for years by being a brute and forcing myself on her?"
Dave rolled his eyes and walked away. The gesture was the same as he always gave: worthless.
He looked over. And there she was, the woman he loved and could never admit. She smiled at him, walked past into her office.
"Wuss," came from the cubicle next to him.
Without looking up, Adam shook his head at himself. "Shutup," he muttered under his breath as he continued to try to focus his attention on his work.
***
Finally finished, Adam felt a sense of accomplishment as he slipped the papers into his laptop bag, preparing them for transcription. He leaned back in his chair, smiling, happy with himself. Before he could feel too good, however, Dave popped up from over the cubicle wall.
"What you waiting for?"
"The end of the day. The ticking of the clock. Check-out time."
"That's not what I meant. I mean, you've been with this girl countless times."
"In the office. I've had meetings with her in the office."
"You think boss-man doesn't bag the secretary in his office?"
He hated to say it but he had a point. There really was no statute of limitations for those who were willing to be bold.
"Do you really think it prudent to ask the secretary out when she's being..." he swallowed hard, grimaced, "'bagged' by the boss-man?"
"Dude, do you really think that's going to last?"
"Regardless, she's not available."
"As if you care."
Adam looked at his co-worker, shrugged his shoulders. "Well, the little angel on my shoulder does."
"That's your problem. You are going to wait until the world comes to an end just to try to take what you want."
"How long have you been in the cubicle beside me?"
"Five years. But that's hardly the point."
"The point is the world doesn't automatically open up just because you want it to. Be realistic."
"Well, I'm sure you'll get everything you want. Waiting for it until the very end."
Adam shrugged. He looked at the clock and a very great thing happened: it turned to closing-time.
****
Adam wandered into the apartment, shoulders shrugged. A cat meowed in the distance.
"Hey, Mew-Mew."
The black cat ran up to him and slammed his head into Adam's ankles. Adam bent down to pet the feline, at which point the mood suddenly turned and the cat bit him hard. Adam tried shaking the creature off, but the harder he struggled, the deeper the fangs dug into his flesh. Finally, flicking his hands violently, the cat ran off.
"Freak," Adam mumbled under his breath before sitting down with his laptop. As he did so, the entire apartment began to shake. Dust fell from the ceilings. Adam seemed to not notice and just took it in stride as the subway above his apartment rattled it to its core.
After working for hours on the paper, he fell asleep with his laptop resting on him. A tiny bit of drool dripped down from the corners of his lips. He was brought awake to a woman's scream, which, upon hearing, he lunged awake, eyes wide and ready for danger. The screams echoed again. Adam grabbed a baseball bat and ran for the door until he heard, through the screams, he heard the word 'yes' repeated again and again.
He dropped the baseball bat, sighed audibly. He rubbed his temples, looked at the clock, whose bright red letters announced the time as three in the morning.
"At least someone's getting something."
Adam plopped on the couch and turned on the tv. He cranked the volume up just loud enough to drown out the sounds of tortured ecstacy coming from the neighbors. On the television, a man in a nice suit stood next to a graphic depiction of a barren earth. The graphics underneath him announced him as "A Pompous Jerk". At least, that's the name that Adam automatically assumed.
"It has been clear for years now that if these systems are not put in place in a timely manner, the world as we know it will be unrecognizable in as little as thirty years."
"Isn't that nice?" responded Adam.
"It is nice. Very nice."
Adam did a double-take looking at the television.
"Just as nice as the fact that, by the time the world is unrecognizable, you still will be 'playing the waiting game' with Eve."
"Excuse me?"
"Come off it, man."
"Shouldn't you... not... be able to talk to me through the TV?"
"Everyone can see how you feel about her."
"Or I guess you can."
"The thing about waiting for things to happen is you can wait until there's nothing left."
Adam shook his head, closed his eyes tightly. He looked at the television again. The graphic under the man's name read "Dr. Thomas Aguile: Ecologist/Philosopher". The man was turned to the graphic display of a doomed earth.
"The effects may be reversed, but not without a strong determination to alternative fuels..."
The voice drowned into the background. Adam rubbed his eyes tightly and fell asleep... not aware that when he would awake, he would be the last man on earth.
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