Dave from Accounts and the Christmas Party

[ValerieVomit]

Dave from Accounts, a few years older than me, asked me to a concert and once for a drink but I didn't go, because I didn't really fancy him that much. At the office party a few weeks later, which was in the office with lots of drink, I spent an hour and a half snogging Dave in his office, on the last day before we broke up for two weeks.

I thought about him all Christmas and sent him a Christmas card to his house that said the lines from the Hall and Oates song about your kiss is on my list.

Back to work in January he didn't say anything about it or ask me out again but I kept flirting with him and I did talk to him as of course I had to work with him. I started saying things I thought were cool that I had read in Cosmopolitan. He didn't do anything or take the bait. I hated myself and thought that he thought I wasn't good enough for him.

One night when it was just him and me left in the office, this was February, he asked me to go to the pub over the road, and he drove me home and snogged in the car outside my house. Then he said "I hope that has got me out of your system" and drove off.

Totally cringey, whatever did I do wrong to not be good enough for him? And why did I decide I fancied him all of a sudden?

He then moved on to another colleague who was 39 to his 26 and married her but they divorced because he cheated.

(It's a long time ago, in fact he's dead now, but this time of year always makes me squirm to think about it.)

The last one I went to like this was in about 2007. All the temps were getting off with each other in dimly lit corners, it was like some strange modern Sodom and Gomorrah in comparison to the daily work personas as we all worked in a huge bookstore

I can’t recall office parties like this but there must’ve been. When I was 18/19 in the late 80s we didn’t really have an office party, it was a meal in the local Italian restaurant, but there were drinks in the local pubs (market one).

In I think it must’ve been mid 1990s I worked for a big removal company, I don’t think I went to that Christmas party but I was invited to it, it was held in a hotel. The commercial manager (married) went to the room of his other manager (female) who was very loud and mouthy in the office, who had a boyfriend, no idea how I found out but it seemed common knowledge, he was older than her and a few months later she got pregnant (not by him). I think loads of affairs happened there anyway, half the secretaries went out with the removal lads.

I’m sure I have been to later or indeed earlier Christmas parties in the offices where I worked, but luckily I’ve probably erased them from my memory! I can attest that photocopying bare bums (and breasts) happened though! God knows why!

Not so much in the office but away from it to avoid HR sexual harassment cases

One government department (central) where I worked, in prob 2016/17 one of the directors was newly divorced and there was a pretty, youngish colleague who’d come to our offices regularly for meetings, they’d always flirt but she had a boyfriend, they shared hobbies in common. One Christmas after our afternoon and early evening Christmas meal we saw them go off to Winter Wonderland with a few others. You could tell something was happening and he either wanted sex or a relationship with her but a few of her colleagues didn’t think it was right for a few reasons not being said here as outing. You could tell when she visited the office she was very keen on him
and possibly in lust/love but she was living with her boyfriend. I think a lot of that still goes on but people are more careful than they used to be.

I've been thinking about those office Christmas dos ever since I saw your post OP! My god

We used to do a yearly booze cruise where we would pile into a coach, head to a french hypermarket and buy the Christmas party supplies there. The things that happened on that coach. On the ferry. Both directions.

And the party ... We were banned from having it in our usual venue eventually after a fight between blokes from two different organisations.

We had uniformed guests from another country one year and on clearing up, the embroidered badge from one of their uniforms was found ripped off under one of the tables. Some kind of ... tussle?

And getting to dance the Lambada with the office glamour boy in 1993 ... I know because I kept the train ticket from that night and still have it

And wearing an off the shoulder bodycon top with jeans and finding a bare shoulder was an absolute bloke magnet. Who knew.

Memories ...

Drunken office parties are very much a thing of the past and have been for some time (in my line of work at least). It's all very sensible now. A meal out, perhaps a couple of drinks after. Most people driving or they have an early start. Noone 'cops off' like they used to. And thank goodness.

@GatherlyGal the image of a "quiet reception lady shit faced & swearing at everyone" made me laugh 🤣

Poor Dave, God Rest His Soul!

@Fifiellz

'But no, after that it was just awkward, he got a girlfriend he ended up marrying and our last conversation before he left the company (ran as fast away as he couldShock) was wether he needed to get an STD test.'

Did you say, 'yes, that might be a good idea' before wincing and walking away gingerly?

@Bernardmanning 🤣🤣🤣

How I wish I had 🤣

I'm not fessing up to my younger workplace indiscretions.

But possibly the most romantic event in my life was a couple of months when I was 16 and used to catch the bus home from work. The bus used to stop for 5 minutes by a parade of shops. A lad around my age worked in the butcher's shop. Every evening we'd gaze at each other, me through the bus window and him through the butcher's window. Smile at each other. In my head I named him Steven and I can still see his face now.

I never got off the bus and went in, I knew it wouldn't work as I was a vegetarian 😭

@Dogsitterwoes This is not a work related thing… but when I was 14/15 my parents regularly went to the nearest town by car mostly to the new B&Q there, sometimes further on and sometimes to see friends nearby and also to a pub for Sunday lunch. My parents were really into DIY so most Saturdays or Sundays were spent there. Anyway on Saturdays and in school holidays we used to drive past a pub which had a florists stall in front of it. It was connected to the florists shop opposite. Anyway the young man who was a year or 2 older than me, tall, blond, big blue eyes and gorgeous (was with his boss a woman I think) was always there and I’d stare at him through the car window and he’d stare back, on both journeys. I was way too shy to do anything else though I waved once and he waved back. I also wore a blue sweatshirt (sort of dark cornflower blue) that showed the colour of my blue eyes well. By the time a year later I’d plucked up the courage to go there by myself and bought some flowers it turned out he’d left (I overheard his boss saying this) and I was too shy to ask where he’d gone. I still wonder what happened to him! I still see his face now too!