I (26M) have been dating my girlfriend/bestfriend Cindy for a few months and her birthday was the 3rd. She happens to share a birthday with my colleague Mabel (23F).
My workplace has only eight people so we often buy birthday presents for each other, so obviously I bought Mabel a present.
I got Mabel a dolphin necklace and I got my girlfriend a matching bracelet and ring with tanzanite in them (her birthstone) and a letter telling her how much I appreciate her with reservation tickets. So one is much more intimate then the other.
On her birthday I decided to buy donuts and coffees for breakfast in bed for her. We ate and I wished her a happy birthday and checked my phone. I thought my shift started at 9, it started at 8:30.
In my rush out the door I grabbed the gift bag for Mabel from my desk as they looked similar at a glance.
When I gave Mabel the bag I walked away as I don’t like watching people open presents and I heard an audible gasp and thought “she must have loved the dolphin!” She ran over to me and kissed me on the cheek and said she’s love to go on a date. I looked at her confused and saw the reservation tickets.
It followed with 30 min of explaining that I wasn’t asking her out and that it was for my girlfriend. She turned red and I’m not even exaggerating. You could literally see the embarrassment and disappointment wash over her face. When lunch break came around I sped home.
When I explained to Cindy what happened she made fun of me for it. I went to back to work and tried to give Mabel her actual gift but she didn’t look at me and kept her head down.
I still had a great date with Cindy but she said “are you sure the reservation is for me?” I’ve never been so red.
Hopefully Mabel will start talking to me again soon.