Avoiding awkwardness at work.

[OatsAndHall]

I will preface this by stating that I am seeing someone and am not pursuing the co-worker involved in this story.

 

A few moths back, a co-worker began flirting with me. She was dropping hints about hanging out, showing up in my room to chat consistently and she even tried to make plans to hang out one weekend. I was single at the time and I'm not one to beat around the bush so I asked her out. She said she would get a hold of me but she never did which was fine. It made for some awkward situations at work but I put that down by just being friendly and showing her that none of it bothered me. We chatted a few weeks ago we talked about relationships and what not, I told her I was seeing someone and she mentioned that she didn't want to date anyone from work. We haven't talked with each other much since then as we've been slammed busy at work.

 

She upped the anty a bit last night at the staff Christmas party. She was drinking pretty heavily and she asked me to sing karaoke a few times with her and I did. I'm not oblivious to the fact that she appears to be interested in me but I was enjoying myself and sang with her. She became pretty flirty at the party for awhile and then we started giving each other a WIDE birth. Several of my co-workers have been trying to set us up since the school year started and they recognized what was going. I laughed it off and changed the subject. At the end of the night she really pours it on and asks me to pick out another song for us to sing. She was hammered drunk at this point and knew it was time to get myself out of there. I told her that I was done singing for the night as my throat hurt (I wasn't lying, it did..) and then made a graceful exit.

 

I am a little bit unsure how to handle tomorrow at work.. I am trying not to create problems within my head but things are certainly going to be awkward between the two of us. I don't know if I should avoid her for awhile or give it a few days and break the ice. She avoided me like the plague after I asked her out the first time around and it made working around her uncomfortable. Things didn't smooth out until I approached her. I work in a small school, in a small community and everything at work could become strange as our interaction was already the talk of the party last night..

 

Thoughts?

[Miss Clavel]

don't bring up anything that happened during the party and if someone does bring it up just claim you can't remember.

 

i'm not saying for you to say that you were blackout drunk, just say everything is sortof "hazy". and then add in something like, "my girl had to drive me home and put me to bed".

 

just mention girl and bed.

 

that should do it.

[Miss Peach]

I wouldn't bring it up. Chalk it up to she had too much to drink and forget about it for now.

[OatsAndHall]

Update:

 

Well, it did get awkward at work but in the opposite manner. She approached me the next day and said she was going to send me a video of us singing together.. But, she hasn't, lol.. She popped into my room to chat as well and mentioned hanging out. But, as I said, I asked her out a few months ago and nothing transpired from it. I don't know what to make of her.

 

Oh well. I'm seeing someone anyway.

[thecrucible]

She sounds like me when I'm drunk. I'll always grab a dude for a karaoke sesh - usually just go for first guy I am comfortable with/happen to know. I think people can think something is going on between two people just because they are spending time together but they never know the full story.

 

You're a bit like me in that you're worrying about social awkwardness in this kind of situation. Seriously I worry about this a lot. What I do know though is that I can't avoid it so I have to ride it out. I agree with others' suggestions. It's best not to draw direct attention to it. I think I would treat your interactions with her in a moment-by-moment way. If she's difficult to figure out, best not think about. I'd do what feels natural. I'd try and rise above the small talk from colleagues. You can gently steer conversations away from the topic if it gets brought up. People will start gossiping about something else soon enough so it won't be like that for long.

[Shanex]

She sounds like me when I'm drunk. I'll always grab a dude for a karaoke sesh - usually just go for first guy I am comfortable with/happen to know. I think people can think something is going on between two people just because they are spending time together but they never know the full story.

 

Aye, happen often enough. You ladies are crazy when you're tipsy. It's about being confortable with some dude or friend of yours and sing loudly while thinking you're somehow participating to the Voice. I'd rather not watch videos as most people including me are terrible singers.

 

Maybe it's a bit awkward. A girl does that with someone she likes, it's unfortunate the other people will gossip about it.

[OatsAndHall]

I don't know what is going on with her and I'm just staying polite and not avoiding her. I haven't talked about what happened that night with anyone. A few people have brought it up and I tell them that it was fun and she is a nice gal. I leave it at that.

 

I wouldn't think anything of the karaoke night if there wasn't this strange back and forth between us. I asked her out, point blank, a few months ago. I didn't hint about "hanging out". I had chatted with her for a few weeks and then tossed out a list of things that we could do one weekend. I could tell she was a bit taken aback by how straight forward I was.

 

Unfortunately, things have become a little strange for me at work as she has hinted at hanging out quite a few times but I am now seeing someone. It became awkward yesterday as she came down to my room, we chatted for about an hour. She mentioned that had her house all to herself this weekend as her roommate was gone and then asked me what I was up to. I have plans all weekend and that's what I told her. She also knows that I am looking for a cheap couch right now and told me that she possibly had a line on one and would drive it to my place..

 

But, at the end of the day, I'm seeing someone, and she knows it. She's a nice woman and I enjoy chatting with her so I will just leave it at that.