The water set to heat, Steve offered her an apologetic smile. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to startle you.” He turned his attention to the cabinets as he opened one and fetched down a set of coffee mugs. “Truth be told, I forgot who you were for a second.” 
 
Setting them on the counter, he turned back to her. His hands folded behind his lower back as he leaned against the counter. It shortened the shrug he had to go with his response to her question. “I got a call from one of the night shift IT guys at work. He was having trouble with his system and needed upper level support.” He chuckled softly. “So while he’s all set to work the rest of the night, now I get to try to shut my brain down again.” 
 
It was weird to think that before yesterday they’d pretty much only said, like, ‘hi’ and maybe a polite ‘bye’. Weird, but he didn’t feel awkward about it. If he were more awake, he figured maybe. But then that’d make the whole thing more awkward, and...
 
He chuckled softly when he realized he was starting to overthink it. “Sorry, it’s just - it just occurred to me that we barely spoke before yesterday. Now the bulk of us talking has been while I’m half asleep.” It was probably better this way, though. Half-asleep meant his brain wasn’t awake enough for him to be self-conscious about how the interaction was going - not because she was a girl or his friend’s sister or anything like that but just the simple fact she was a person he was talking to in a non-work setting. Even office parties were nerve wracking for him, and most of those people he interacted with on a daily basis. 
 
His attention turned to the pot when he saw it start steaming. Turning the burner off and moving the pot to a different spot, he popped open the lid and tapped in some of the leaves. “It just needs to steep for a few minutes,” he said as he put the tin away. “I don’t know if you’ve tried this blend before, but it’s a blend of tea leaves, some herbs and flowers, and some fruit peels. It’s light and sweet by itself in my opinion, but I can take out the sugar or honey if you like to sweeten your tea with either.”