Take it slow.

At the job where I met QC2 and FBS amongst others, we ended our first year with a Christmas party. As I think I've mentioned before, we all worked in a large department and the vast majority of us were in our early 20s. That meant socialising and all that guff.

So, going to the pub etc. was nothing new to us. The fact that it was an Xmas dinner, though, meant that those who normally didn't make the effort were due to join us.

After the meal, and once the tunes were banging out, QC2 asked me to get up to dance. I don't like dancing. It really takes me out of my comfort zone. But, as USHW was always fond of reminding me, I'm a sucker for a pretty face, and QC2 was an attractive girl. I can't remember the timeline exactly, but I'm pretty sure this was before I did actually develop a massive crush on QC2.

So there we were, on the dance floor. QC2 moving effortlessly, me shuffling uncomfortably. I knew eyes were on us. It was no secret to me that QC2 was widely admired by many of the department guys, so QC2 dancing would be something to watch. After a few songs, I made my excuses and went to the bar, but not before she grabbed Friction Guy. I think he was even more uncomfortable than I was, but he, like me, didn't let her down.

I bought the three of us some drinks at the bar. Stalky Guy arrived, but QC2 was still on the dancefloor. I motioned to her that I'd bought drinks as we walked back to our table. QC2 came over immediately, but not for drinks. She grabbed me by the hand and dragged me back onto the dancefloor.

It wasn't that long later, maybe only one song, before the DJ started throwing on the slow numbers. QC2 wasn't done though. She pulled me in close, put her arms around my neck and my discomfort levels rose by about a thousand, mainly because I don't recall doing any slow dancing with anyone before and certainly not in public with one of the most attractive single girls at work.

Nothing untoward happened. As I said, I don't think QC2 was ever interested in me romantically, and this was long before my own attraction developed, but the two songs seemed to last forever because of my discomfort, which I don't think QC2 recognised at the time until I confessed a while later.

Nothing was said when we got back to our table. We were sitting with a group of people who all started on the same day and we were pretty tight, to be honest. Everyone just knew that we were friends and nothing more. I do recall having to fend off questions from colleagues outside our group for a few days though.