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“Thanks.” Eyeing the pale blue vodka cautiously, he raised the shot glass. “Nostrovia,” Tossing his head back, he swallowed it quickly, the familiar taste of straight Vodka rolling over his taste buds, flooding his senses. No sooner had he placed the shot glass down, he felt the first kickback rising up in his throat, his fingers tingling. It was over quickly, but then the second was upon with startling swiftness, and he could feel a heat burning through his chest, spreading over his lungs, turning his breath smoky. That should have been the end of it, but he could feel the third growing and glanced at Sarah, who was smiling down at him as she held the glass to her lips. He opened his mouth to speak and coughed violently.
“Wow.”
“Na Zdorovie,Alex.” She replied, her perfect lips pronouncing the Russian toast fluently. Alex tried to stop her, his hand rising up as his lips mouthed the words, but Sarah gently tipped the glass back and drained the contents. She swallowed it all without caution, then after a moment pursed her lips and whistled.
Alex’s chest heaved with the effort of breathing, but he could not tear his gaze from the vision of Sarah standing before him, her rosy lips pursed, half-veiled eyes watching him with playful amusement. She was toying with him, but what was her game?
“Mmm...” She moaned as she sat next to him on the sofa. “It takes a bit of getting used to, but it gives one hell of a buzz.”
A buzz, is that what she calls this?Alex wasn’t an innocent. Since his break-up with Janet, he’d learned to indulge himself and enjoy a glass or two in the evenings, dulling the memories that plagued his moments of solitude. He knew the feeling that came with having one too many, but that was a mere shadow of the sensations rushing through him now. Every cell in his body felt energised, a fire was raging in his chest, and a thick canopy of smoke fogged his thoughts. His movements felt foreign, both sluggish and at the same time accelerated. He tried to think of something to say, but as his eyes watched her his mouth opened and words came spilling out before he realised what he had said. “You know, you never did answer my question. What happened after prom? Why’d you wait five years to get back in touch?”
Sarah didn’t answer. Seemingly stunned by his sudden outburst, she went as still as marble and turned her gaze away from him to watch her cat sleeping in his bed. Her eyes were glassy and when she blinked, a tear rolled down her cheek.
Dammit, Rike, you just couldn’t keep your big mouth shut, could you?Inwardly cursing his own stupidity, Alex shifted round and reached out to touch her shoulder, but again thought better of it at the last moment and retracted his hand.
“Oh God, Sarah, I’m sor...”
“I found them, Alex.” Sarah’s voice lacked all emotion. She raised a hand to brush the tear aside. “My parents, I found them. They’re dentists, can you believe it? My folks, dentists with their own surgery on Harley Street. I went to see them that morning, after... I never told you because I knew you wouldn’t approve, but they’re my parents. I wanted to meet them, know who they are, why they didn’t want me.
“Sarah-” Alex’s mouth was dry.
“They didn’t even notice me. I went in and there they were, standing there talking to patients. I knew it was them, I tried to speak, but then my mother told me to take a seat. She looked straight at me and didn’t even see me. I’ve waited all my life to meet them and they’ve no idea I exist. I-I was just a-another pa-pat-patient.”
The tears were coming strong. Alex wanted to say something, but what? He placed a hand on her shoulder. It wasn’t much but it seemed to help as she didn’t push him away and after a moment, he could feel the shaking that wracked her beginning to subside. Brushing the tears away, she lifted her gaze away from the sleeping feline.
“He tried to kiss me you know.”
“What!” The sound was higher than Alex had intended but suddenly it felt like there was a tennis ball lodged in his throat that he just couldn’t swallow. “... Who?”
“Rodarick.”
“So, what did you do?”
“I hit him.”
“Seriously?” Despite himself, Alex couldn’t help a small chuckle.
“Yep, knocked thecrapaudflat on his arse then stormed out. He’s such a pig.” The tension easing, she relaxed back into his embrace. “I’m sorry Alex, I just couldn’t deal with it. I wanted to get away, so I just grabbed the first flight out of London and worked what jobs I could find. That was until Julesdiscoveredme working in a bookshop last year and recommended me to the agency’s talent scout. I’ve been with them ever since.”
Alex knew he should have let sleeping dogs lie, all he had to do was hold his tongue and let the moment pass, but the vodka spoke for him. “You could have called, I was worried.”
Sarah turned to face him, her eyes lowered and a guilty smile turning her lips. “I know, I’m sorry Alex, I just didn’t want to ruin things.”
“You couldn’t ruin anything, Sarah.” He assured her, trying to sound comforting before a notion suddenly struck him. “So, why did you send me that email?”
Sarah began to blush. “I was drunk.”
This time he made no effort to disguise the laughter. “Drunk?”
She looked away, her face burning a bright red. “Jules, she took me out for a girls’ night out. I had a few too many rum and cherry cokes and started telling her all about you. She tracked you down the next day and while I was still a bit tipsy, she got me to send you an email.”
This time they both laughed.
“Then everything happened so fast and when you said you were coming to visit, I was so happy.” She turned back to him, a warm genuine smile lighting up her face. “I really have missed you Alex.”
Alex could only smile as their eyes met, a hot shiver running down his spine “I’ve missed you too.”
All notion of time slipped away, and Alex found himself wishing that that moment would never end as he looked into Sarah’s bright hazel orbs and felt his heart swell. He wanted nothing more than to take her in his arms and crush her against him, to seize her lips in a passionate embrace. With the drink in him, he might actually have done so if Sarah had not suddenly jumped to her feet.
