lover’s nooks are poufs, at total odds with the basic theme of the place. Beanbags. Soft, and squishy and all in luminous colours on carpets of cream.
Above all else, Crème makes the best Irish Coffee I have ever tasted and as I stalk into its air-conditioned, dank depths, I spot my BFF at our favourite set of beanbags with two Iceys on the table in front of her. I hate that term of ‘endearment’ – BFF. Best Friend Forever. So juvenile. But Delilah seems to love using it and it’s caught on with me too. Now I find myself using it haphazardly and cringing every time it leaves my lips.
I plop myself down next to her and she allows me to lay my head on her shoulder. I have never been this exhausted. Or worried. Or desperate. And with everything that has happened, there is nowhere else I would rather be. Of that I am now relatively certain.
“Alex’s gonna stop by in a sec to say hi.”
“Oh yeah?” My voice sounds despairing to me, so I hitch myself up and try again, “Did he manage to fix the speakers?”
Delilah looks at me and puts the Irish Coffee in my hand without asking for my thoughts on the matter. Conveniently neglecting to answer my question too. We both know that I don’t care to know the answer. Small talk has always been my most tried and trusted method of removing the tension from any situation. Can’t say I’m doing a smashing job of it now though.
I sip at the iced concoction, gratefully. Oddly, the cold spilling from its brim is a bother as the temperature in here is so much cooler than outside that I find myself near to shivering.
“So, tell me,” I cringe and try not to roll my eyes as I can hear the emphasis on the ‘so’ part of that phrase. She couldn’t even wait for me to calm down somewhat.
If I could curl back into the fabric and take on its form like some large, overwrought chameleon, I would.
“How exactly did you go about ‘losing’ your job?”
“It’s complicated. He liked the idea of a one-on-one with Dimitri. But he wanted a smear campaign, not a reputation repair.”
I grimace at the memory and I can see a flush rising to Delilah’s cheeks as she clearly experiences the same distaste for the entire affair as what I had been battling in Helmsley’s office.
“So… You quit?”
I feign outrage, “I most certainly did not! We had a communications break-down…”
“You quit.”
“Okay, yes, but you would have done the same thing. He wasn’t going to back down, D. Wanted me to disguise my ninja intentions with my skills as a reporter so that Dimitri would only know about the negative slant of the piece when the issue gets published.
“I couldn’t bear the thought.”
Delilah shoots me a warning glance just as she is about to speak in response and I can see the obviousness behind her cheerful greeting for my older brother, “Alex! Eva’s been pining for you,” She grins at me.
Cow.
Strong arms embrace me from behind and, gratefully, I breathe in the scent of Alexander; his cigarillo smoke, so well infused into his clothing that no amount of washing can release it, and his semi-cheap cologne.
“Little sister!” His voice booms in my ear as he steps in front of me where I can marvel at the added muscle mass he has somehow managed to squeeze onto his frame since the last time I saw him. His arms ripple like he has industrial strength steel cords under his skin.
“I love the hair,” I say, motioning to his black mane, a perfectly male version of Cecily’s, silky and straight. Not the crow’s nest that mine resembles. It’s
grown to past his shoulders and he has made no effort to tie it up, just allowed it to languish about his face and neck.
Last time I saw him it was practically a crew cut. Now he resembles something closer to a native Indian.
“Sure. I guess you want me to cut it, huh?” He smiles wryly at me and I can’t help but grin back at his stupid face. As much as I don’t want to admit to my loneliness, I really missed
Above all else, Crème makes the best Irish Coffee I have ever tasted and as I stalk into its air-conditioned, dank depths, I spot my BFF at our favourite set of beanbags with two Iceys on the table in front of her. I hate that term of ‘endearment’ – BFF. Best Friend Forever. So juvenile. But Delilah seems to love using it and it’s caught on with me too. Now I find myself using it haphazardly and cringing every time it leaves my lips.
I plop myself down next to her and she allows me to lay my head on her shoulder. I have never been this exhausted. Or worried. Or desperate. And with everything that has happened, there is nowhere else I would rather be. Of that I am now relatively certain.
“Alex’s gonna stop by in a sec to say hi.”
“Oh yeah?” My voice sounds despairing to me, so I hitch myself up and try again, “Did he manage to fix the speakers?”
Delilah looks at me and puts the Irish Coffee in my hand without asking for my thoughts on the matter. Conveniently neglecting to answer my question too. We both know that I don’t care to know the answer. Small talk has always been my most tried and trusted method of removing the tension from any situation. Can’t say I’m doing a smashing job of it now though.
I sip at the iced concoction, gratefully. Oddly, the cold spilling from its brim is a bother as the temperature in here is so much cooler than outside that I find myself near to shivering.
“So, tell me,” I cringe and try not to roll my eyes as I can hear the emphasis on the ‘so’ part of that phrase. She couldn’t even wait for me to calm down somewhat.
If I could curl back into the fabric and take on its form like some large, overwrought chameleon, I would.
“How exactly did you go about ‘losing’ your job?”
“It’s complicated. He liked the idea of a one-on-one with Dimitri. But he wanted a smear campaign, not a reputation repair.”
I grimace at the memory and I can see a flush rising to Delilah’s cheeks as she clearly experiences the same distaste for the entire affair as what I had been battling in Helmsley’s office.
“So… You quit?”
I feign outrage, “I most certainly did not! We had a communications break-down…”
“You quit.”
“Okay, yes, but you would have done the same thing. He wasn’t going to back down, D. Wanted me to disguise my ninja intentions with my skills as a reporter so that Dimitri would only know about the negative slant of the piece when the issue gets published.
“I couldn’t bear the thought.”
Delilah shoots me a warning glance just as she is about to speak in response and I can see the obviousness behind her cheerful greeting for my older brother, “Alex! Eva’s been pining for you,” She grins at me.
Cow.
Strong arms embrace me from behind and, gratefully, I breathe in the scent of Alexander; his cigarillo smoke, so well infused into his clothing that no amount of washing can release it, and his semi-cheap cologne.
“Little sister!” His voice booms in my ear as he steps in front of me where I can marvel at the added muscle mass he has somehow managed to squeeze onto his frame since the last time I saw him. His arms ripple like he has industrial strength steel cords under his skin.
“I love the hair,” I say, motioning to his black mane, a perfectly male version of Cecily’s, silky and straight. Not the crow’s nest that mine resembles. It’s
grown to past his shoulders and he has made no effort to tie it up, just allowed it to languish about his face and neck.
Last time I saw him it was practically a crew cut. Now he resembles something closer to a native Indian.
“Sure. I guess you want me to cut it, huh?” He smiles wryly at me and I can’t help but grin back at his stupid face. As much as I don’t want to admit to my loneliness, I really missed
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