Yesterday at work, I went out to lunch with my favorite friends -- Philip, Chris, and Aaron (and by "favorite," I mean "only"). But at the end Aaron couldn't make it. I was totally bummed. However, near the end of the day I got a pleasant surprise. Aaron swung by my office with a tub of PEPPEROCINIS. You know, those peppers that always come with your Pizza orders. At first I was confused. Why? WHY? WHY? Why is Aron offering me a tub of these sour peppers? But before I could question his madness, he said "I noticed you always eat these with your subs, pizzas, salad...and my lunch seminar had these left over...so I thought you might like them."

*swoon* Wow! A guy that actually notices the little things and surprises you with it later. Now that's rare in a guy. So...yeah...I got pepperocinis. Weird? Yes. Sweet? YES!

This is Aaron, a total catch. He's smart, fun, enjoys long walks on the…

Oops...got sidetracked. This stud muffin is pretty much off the market. Anyway...back to the pepperocini story.

So...after Aron left, I was sitting at my cube with a tub of pepperocinis. And since they were already here, I might as well have some.

Unfortunately, my desk is down a very high-traffic hallway. I understand that walking by a girl eating pepperocinis out of a tub can be slightly odd, but the reactions I got from my officemates were HIGHLY unwarranted. They made me feel like a freak...a hot pepper-eating circus act.

One guy even had the nerve to count my stems to see how many I ate. "1...2...3! Wow! You had THREE?? I'll be back later to see how many more you eat!! HAHA"

Sure enough, 10 minutes later...he was back. More stem counting. More mocking laughter. More promises to come back. And now I was starting to feel the pressure. What if he comes back, and the number hasn't increased? I MUST NOT DISAPPOINT HIM! So I ate another.

A couple minutes later, he was back. My mouth was burning. My eyes were watering. I was physically incapable of speaking. I nodded my head toward the stems to notify him of the increased consumption. "Haha. 5!! I'll be back".

He's coming back!??? Sadistic bastard! Hasn't he witnessed enough of this? Ok, I'll humor this guy ONE LAST TIME. After #6, I waited for him to swing by again. Then I packed up for home. I can't sit here swallowing pepper for this guy's entertainment.

I got home, happy to have freedom from those damn pepperocinis. When I got in the door, Jennifer announced that tonight we were having pizza from Papa Johns for dinner. You know what comes with each pizza from Papa Johns???

Yep. And I ate them.