fondness in her voice. It suddenly dawned on me that this was not, in fact, an attempt to weasel out of our date by mocking me.
It was a real, sincere invitation into her private life. With her real friends.
People she cared about.
I felt awed and touched as the line began to shuffle its way forward. The foursome marched straight past the bouncer with a simple head nod. The large man took a step forward to block me as I tried to follow.
“He’s with me,” Emilia explained, the bouncer answering with a curt nod and letting me past.
I’m with her .
The words made my heart pound faster than the beat of the music pouring from the club.
“Like I said, Quay 78 is the place. The only reason we can get in at all without reservations is bald-faced nepotism. Joana is quite close with several employees, including the bouncer,” Emilia explained as we walked inside the dark, trendy lounge.
In the distance, a steel-and-wood counter served as the bar, surrounded by a throng of people split into clusters of smaller groups. The babble of countless conversations transformed into white noise, mostly covered by the electronic music pumping out of the club’s speakers.
We seated ourselves at a large table in a quieter corner of the establishment, and a waitress appeared to take our orders within just a few seconds. It seemed that Emilia hadn’t been exaggerating about her friend’s popularity.
“So, what’s life like at the rec center, Simon?” Arthur asked after our cocktails had been delivered.
“Emilia’s been doing a great job, but it’s still challenging for me. It’s my first time working with an all-girls team, actually.”
“Yeah, Em’s just full of fun little surprises like that,” Lena quipped as she finished her cosmopolitan at the speed of light.
“It was all I could do to keep up,” Emilia chimed in, her eyes locking directly onto mine. “Simon is just full of surprises himself.”
“I still have one big surprise left, you know,” I flirted shamelessly. “Maybe she’ll get to see it tonight.”
Arthur said something after that, but I was too busy staring at Emilia. Her eyes had widened just a little when I made my comment, and while I might’ve been imagining it, I could’ve sworn that her cheeks were turning red.
I bit my lip, wishing I could whisk her off to a deserted island somewhere. I imagined a cabin by the beach, with little more than a bed, food, and a year’s supply of condoms that I would doubtless go through in about two weeks. The image made my throat swell up a little, and I slammed my drink down in one gulp.
I’d always been more-or-less successful at hiding my desire for her, but I could already tell tonight was different. If I managed it at all, maintaining that façade of decency was going to be one of the hardest things I ever did.
I can write drunk. Who says I can’t write drunk? I’m doing it just fine .
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
I must be the only fucking guy on the planet who thinks of fucking his stepsister when he hears this song.
But really
Doesn’t it make sense?
It totally makes sense!
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun til’ dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
Okay yeah maybe not.
Good-will. There’s none of that, I made sure.
Oh whatever.
It’s just a stupid song, and not like I’m ever going to see her again anyway.
I’d gotten used to the idea of thinking of Simon as being not a bastard , but to my surprise, tonight he’d upgraded himself to gentleman . Sure, he’d made plenty of crude remarks, but I was happy to overlook those. I would save them for the next time I was in bed, unable to sleep.
No, what had impressed me was the way he’d greeted Arthur. He’d absorbed the man’s flamboyance and defensive
It was a real, sincere invitation into her private life. With her real friends.
People she cared about.
I felt awed and touched as the line began to shuffle its way forward. The foursome marched straight past the bouncer with a simple head nod. The large man took a step forward to block me as I tried to follow.
“He’s with me,” Emilia explained, the bouncer answering with a curt nod and letting me past.
I’m with her .
The words made my heart pound faster than the beat of the music pouring from the club.
“Like I said, Quay 78 is the place. The only reason we can get in at all without reservations is bald-faced nepotism. Joana is quite close with several employees, including the bouncer,” Emilia explained as we walked inside the dark, trendy lounge.
In the distance, a steel-and-wood counter served as the bar, surrounded by a throng of people split into clusters of smaller groups. The babble of countless conversations transformed into white noise, mostly covered by the electronic music pumping out of the club’s speakers.
We seated ourselves at a large table in a quieter corner of the establishment, and a waitress appeared to take our orders within just a few seconds. It seemed that Emilia hadn’t been exaggerating about her friend’s popularity.
“So, what’s life like at the rec center, Simon?” Arthur asked after our cocktails had been delivered.
“Emilia’s been doing a great job, but it’s still challenging for me. It’s my first time working with an all-girls team, actually.”
“Yeah, Em’s just full of fun little surprises like that,” Lena quipped as she finished her cosmopolitan at the speed of light.
“It was all I could do to keep up,” Emilia chimed in, her eyes locking directly onto mine. “Simon is just full of surprises himself.”
“I still have one big surprise left, you know,” I flirted shamelessly. “Maybe she’ll get to see it tonight.”
Arthur said something after that, but I was too busy staring at Emilia. Her eyes had widened just a little when I made my comment, and while I might’ve been imagining it, I could’ve sworn that her cheeks were turning red.
I bit my lip, wishing I could whisk her off to a deserted island somewhere. I imagined a cabin by the beach, with little more than a bed, food, and a year’s supply of condoms that I would doubtless go through in about two weeks. The image made my throat swell up a little, and I slammed my drink down in one gulp.
I’d always been more-or-less successful at hiding my desire for her, but I could already tell tonight was different. If I managed it at all, maintaining that façade of decency was going to be one of the hardest things I ever did.
I can write drunk. Who says I can’t write drunk? I’m doing it just fine .
Should old acquaintance be forgot,
and never brought to mind?
I must be the only fucking guy on the planet who thinks of fucking his stepsister when he hears this song.
But really
Doesn’t it make sense?
It totally makes sense!
We two have paddled in the stream,
from morning sun til’ dine;
But seas between us broad have roared
since auld lang syne.
And there’s a hand my trusty friend!
And give me a hand o’ thine!
And we’ll take a right good-will draught,
for auld lang syne.
Okay yeah maybe not.
Good-will. There’s none of that, I made sure.
Oh whatever.
It’s just a stupid song, and not like I’m ever going to see her again anyway.
I’d gotten used to the idea of thinking of Simon as being not a bastard , but to my surprise, tonight he’d upgraded himself to gentleman . Sure, he’d made plenty of crude remarks, but I was happy to overlook those. I would save them for the next time I was in bed, unable to sleep.
No, what had impressed me was the way he’d greeted Arthur. He’d absorbed the man’s flamboyance and defensive
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