Alyssa’s heart sank as she scanned the inbox for an e-mail from him.  She pulled her cell phone from her purse and checked for calls.  Leaning back in the grey swivel chair, she stared blankly at the ceiling.  She was positive that he had felt the same chemistry she had experienced during their evening together.  Her instincts about other’s feelings were usually pretty good. 

“But I guess not when it comes to love,” she grumbled, pushing back in her chair and rising from her desk.  The cliché “unlucky in love” fit her to an unfortunate t. Alyssa retrieved her coat and exited the cubicle.  Pulling her hair free from the collar of her rain coat, she made her way across the office. 

“ Heading home?”  her friend and colleague Jill inquired. 

“Yes, I’m done for the day, in more ways than one.” 

“Hey, are you seeing Nathan tonight?”  Jill moved in closer for the latest in her friend’s love life trials. 

Alyssa grimaced and pulled the belt on our coat tighter. 

“Evidently, he did not feel the connection I did,” she shared,” I haven’t heard from him.” 

“Oh, give him time,” Jill patted her arm consolingly;” You know he was anxious to go out with you, and a guy doesn’t take just anyone to Anthony’s by the Bay.” 

“Well, he said he would call or e-mail and he hasn’t,” Alyssa hated the defeated attitude in her voice.  She said goodbye to Jill and the few others still in the office at 7:00 pm and headed for the door. 

Driving south on I-5, it occurred to her that maybe Nathan had called her home phone and she had missed it because she’d worked late.  That must be it.  She could kick herself for staying after hours again, but the paperwork was piling up. 

She pulled into the garage of her condo, grabbed her laptop from the backseat, and ran up the stairs.  Max, her gray striped cat greeted her at the door. 

“Hi fella,” Alyssa cooed as she smoothed his fluffy fur.  He mewed his response, while she anxiously checked for phone messages.  Not a beep.  Making her way to the dining table, she got out her laptop and turned it on.  Going to the kitchen, she pulled some leftover pasta from the fridge, grabbed a fork, and returned to the table.  She clicked on e-mails and scanned the inbox carefully. 

The daily Spam report caught her eye, and she quickly double clicked.  Her heart began to beat rapidly.  There it was, third from the top, right underneath the message entitled “You may be a winner”.  His message had ended up in the spam file. 

Frustrated she clicked rapidly on his message.  It wouldn’t open.  Exasperated, she clicked harder.  Finally, she had word from him and she couldn’t read it.  He was interested in her.  Maybe he had asked her out again.  What if he had asked her out for tonight?  She started to panic.  But what if the message was a “Dear Jane” telling her he didn’t want to see her again. 

She should just call him.  She grabbed up her cell phone, and just as quickly set it down again.  What if he didn’t like her?  She desperately clicked the message.  Why couldn’t she read the Spam?! 

“I’ll call Mark,” she declared to Max.  Her brother was the most computer savvy person she knew. 

“Mark, how do you get a message out of the spam file?”  Alyssa blurted out her request without even saying hello. 

“Well, hi to you too,” Mark said,” and you can’t.” 

“What?”  she asked excitedly. 

“You can’t but I can.” 

“Walk me through it.” 

“Oh no, last time we did that you erased files and blamed me,” Mark explained. 

“Can you come over now?” 

“No, but I can tomorrow.” 

“It has to be now,” Alyssa raised her voice. 

“What’s the deal?  Do you have an e-mail with tonight’s winning lottery numbers?”  His dry wit was annoying during a crisis.  Her phone beeped. 

“Incoming call, bye,” she hung up. 

“Hello,” she answered hurriedly. 

“Hi, Alyssa, it’s Nathan.” 

Her heart skipped a beat. 

“Did you get my e-mail?”  he asked. 

“I did but, uh,” she stammered,” It’s stuck in the spam file.” 

“Oh, well, are you busy tomorrow night?” 

“I’d love to see you again,” Alyssa was smiling.  They made plans and ended their call.  Alyssa set back in her chair and gazed up at the ceiling, then reached over and shut down her computer. 

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This was a wonderful tale!  The beginning was spectacular.  I was interested right away. 

You had a few minor punctuation errors.  For example when using a descriptive phrase like her friend and colleague, Jill, inquired make sure you put commas around the name Jill.  Also when using the color gray or grey is acceptable, just be consistent with the spelling. 

I can tell you have been working on showing vs. telling.  You've done a wonderful job of painting a picture for me.  You have a delightful sense of humor and this is an enjoyable read.