When I Said I Love You, I REALLY Didn't Mean It

Yesterday I left a voice mail for my boss that has left me red in the face ever since.

I work part-time teaching SAT and GMAT test prep classes for a large, well-known educational services company. Yesterday my boss, 30-something, good looking but most certainly gay, called and left me a message early in the morning. I was still laying in bed trying to get motivated for another day of Sesame Street, mushed bananas and potty training. The call needed an urgent answer, so I called him back, still half-asleep in my warm, cozy bed. I groggily ended the message, "Love ya, Bye" and clicked off my cell phone. And then I sat straight up in bed, suddenly wide awake with the horrible realization of what I had just said.

I fumbled for my phone and left him a second message that went something like this:

"Umm...what I said at the end of my last message, please just ignore it. I was still half asleep and I end a lot of phone conversations with that phrase, to my HUSBAND (trying to emphasize the word in the most loving way possible), to my brothers and sisters, to my mom and grandparents, and I say it a lot to my kids, so I'm really sorry about that but it just slipped out from habit and I was also really sleepy and I hope you have a good day, BYE!"

How's that for professional?

So now, despite my second message, I am still completely mortified and absolutely positively dreading work tomorrow. I figure my options include, in multiple choice format (I am teaching standardized testing after all):

A) Pretending nothing happened
B) Apologizing in person once again and then letting it go
C) Making a joke out of it and trying to laugh it off with him
D) Quitting my job
E) None of the above

So far the correct choice for me is E. I don't like choice A because pretending it never happened doesn't mean that either one of us has forgotten. And if I never address it again, I feel like I will be presumed guilty of having some kind of crush on him, kind of like criminals and politicians that give the "non-denial denial" of guilt. Choice B might work, but it would force me to relive the embarassment in front of the embarasee. I wish Option C would work, but I don't think I know him well enough. He is annoyingly professional and impersonal at work. I don't really want to quit my job right now (Choice D), so now I am back where I started... dreading work tomorrow. I don't suppose any of you have ever accidently told your boss you love him and have some advice for me? And please don't go all Freudian on me. I can honestly say that I've never had an indecent thought about that man. He annoys me way too much.

I haven't told DH what I did....honey...are you reading this? But he would probably laugh his head off, and tell me I am blowing the incident way out of proportion.