xxxi’ve never loved a darker blue
xxxthan the darkness I have known in you
xxxyou, whose heart would sing of anarchy
xxxyou would laugh so beautifully
"Hey. Listen, I, uh, I've got to run. Duty calls and all that. But... we should catch up. Dinner? My place? Seven thirty?" He said, managing to cover the fact that he was just blurting it out and trying to cover up how nervous he was. Times like this made him glad he couldn't tolerate caffeine, because god knows what he'd be like if he could. "Hold on." He dug a piece of paper and a pen out of his pocket and scribbled his number down on it. "I'd love to talk right now, but I think the place might just fall apart without me. Let me know, okay?" He said, handing over the slip of paper. "It's really great to see you. I... really hope you can make it."
He grinned before heading back towards the office. Once inside, he flopped down onto the chair and woke his screen. He wished he'd stayed and talked to Cliff, wish he'd given him time to get a word in. But it was only now he was away that he realised that he was too afraid of Cliff saying no. It was easier to deal with something like that over text, he told himself. He resisted the temptation to groan as he opened the email and started replying to the steadily growing number that awaited him. Could he even do dinner at seven thirty? Jess and the boys would at least be home at that point, but he wasn't sure if that was a good or a bad thing. He might need to bribe them with something to stay out of their hair, but they were good kids. He'd work something out. Assuming Cliff even wanted to come. After that interaction, he don't think he could blame him for not wanting to.