another very long pause indeed.
‘Ah, so that’s why you really came here tonight?’ I try to sound light, not give away my shock, and force myself to look straight
at him.
‘Maybe,’ he says quietly. ‘When I got your message … I – I wish it had never finished like that you know.’
‘Me too,’ I say. ‘It was – not nice.’
‘I should never have done it.’ He looks ashamed. ‘You were very special to me.’ Bizarrely, that makes me want to laugh. I
sound like a favourite pet he had to have put down.
‘Don’t, Leo,’ I say kindly. ‘It doesn’t need to be said. It doesn’t matter any more.’ Maybe
that
was why I messaged him, because it had still somehow been unfinished for me too. Well, not any more. I offer him my hand
to shake. ‘We’re OK, you and I.’
He reaches out and takes it. His hand is warm as he grips mine and the temperature contrast makes me shiver. ‘Cold hands,
warm heart,’ he muses and then gives it a gentle squeeze before letting it go.
‘We should go back in,’ I break the moment.
‘You feel all right again?’
I nod. ‘Yeah – I feel much better now. Thanks.’
We walk back into the foyer, him carrying my bag for me until we reach the stairs.
‘I can’t tempt you to join me while I have just one more for the road?’ he offers.
I grimace as I slow to a stop. ‘Kind offer – but I’d actually puke.’ I reach out for my bag. ‘Thanks, and thank you for coming
to see me too. I really mean that.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he says. ‘I’ll look you up in another few years, shall I? See how you’re getting on.’
‘Well maybe,’ I say, ‘but I think we’ve put the world to rights tonight haven’t we?’
He looks a bit surprised. ‘Fair enough,’ he says eventually. ‘Well, in the next lifetime then.’
‘Why not?’ I say. ‘Oh – your jacket!’
And I slip it off and hand it over to him. He takes it and as our fingers touch, he reaches out further, takes my arm gently
and leans towards me. My eyes close automatically for a moment. The smell and familiar feel of him that close to me is well,
not pleasant exactly, but somehow an oddly compelling sensation. It reminds me, just for a moment, of other things we’ve done.
Things he was pretty good at. I wait to feel his kiss on my cheek but he places it very lightly
on my lips
. It lasts no more than a flicker of a second, but I almost gasp out loud before I pull back. Who does that? Who kisses people
on the mouth like it is a normal and acceptable thing to do? Who? WHO? I only EVER kiss Dan like that – brief kiss or not
brief kiss.
‘Be good, Moll,’ he says softly, and then winks at me before turning and sauntering out of the hotel, hands in his pockets.
That
did
just happen, didn’t it? On the
lips
? The cheeky …
Swaying slightly, and clutching my belongings I turn to begin to walk up the stairs to my room before stopping and looking
back over my shoulder, but he’s vanished. In trying to right myself, I manage to trip slightly. I glance around hoping no
one has noticed, but a woman in her sixties sitting in the lobby leans forward disapprovingly and whispers something to her
husband, who turns stiffly in his chair to look. I decide it might be best to just remove myself to bed as quickly as possible.
I am clearly still a little tipsy. Everything is starting to feel a bit lopsided …
So I begin my renewed attempt to get to my room. Walking up the stairs, my legs are starting to feel like lead. Oh why did
I drink so much?
Back in dark, unfamiliar surroundings, I stagger over to the bed and collapse on to it as I try to take my shoes off. My limbs
are suddenly incredibly heavy, it is an effort to lift them, and yet my stomach is churning ominously, aching to be rid of
its contents. I’ve hit the tipping point and begin to wish I could go back in time and
not
have so much to drink. I roll my body sideways as my eyes close heavily, until I am in
‘Ah, so that’s why you really came here tonight?’ I try to sound light, not give away my shock, and force myself to look straight
at him.
‘Maybe,’ he says quietly. ‘When I got your message … I – I wish it had never finished like that you know.’
‘Me too,’ I say. ‘It was – not nice.’
‘I should never have done it.’ He looks ashamed. ‘You were very special to me.’ Bizarrely, that makes me want to laugh. I
sound like a favourite pet he had to have put down.
‘Don’t, Leo,’ I say kindly. ‘It doesn’t need to be said. It doesn’t matter any more.’ Maybe
that
was why I messaged him, because it had still somehow been unfinished for me too. Well, not any more. I offer him my hand
to shake. ‘We’re OK, you and I.’
He reaches out and takes it. His hand is warm as he grips mine and the temperature contrast makes me shiver. ‘Cold hands,
warm heart,’ he muses and then gives it a gentle squeeze before letting it go.
‘We should go back in,’ I break the moment.
‘You feel all right again?’
I nod. ‘Yeah – I feel much better now. Thanks.’
We walk back into the foyer, him carrying my bag for me until we reach the stairs.
‘I can’t tempt you to join me while I have just one more for the road?’ he offers.
I grimace as I slow to a stop. ‘Kind offer – but I’d actually puke.’ I reach out for my bag. ‘Thanks, and thank you for coming
to see me too. I really mean that.’
‘You’re welcome,’ he says. ‘I’ll look you up in another few years, shall I? See how you’re getting on.’
‘Well maybe,’ I say, ‘but I think we’ve put the world to rights tonight haven’t we?’
He looks a bit surprised. ‘Fair enough,’ he says eventually. ‘Well, in the next lifetime then.’
‘Why not?’ I say. ‘Oh – your jacket!’
And I slip it off and hand it over to him. He takes it and as our fingers touch, he reaches out further, takes my arm gently
and leans towards me. My eyes close automatically for a moment. The smell and familiar feel of him that close to me is well,
not pleasant exactly, but somehow an oddly compelling sensation. It reminds me, just for a moment, of other things we’ve done.
Things he was pretty good at. I wait to feel his kiss on my cheek but he places it very lightly
on my lips
. It lasts no more than a flicker of a second, but I almost gasp out loud before I pull back. Who does that? Who kisses people
on the mouth like it is a normal and acceptable thing to do? Who? WHO? I only EVER kiss Dan like that – brief kiss or not
brief kiss.
‘Be good, Moll,’ he says softly, and then winks at me before turning and sauntering out of the hotel, hands in his pockets.
That
did
just happen, didn’t it? On the
lips
? The cheeky …
Swaying slightly, and clutching my belongings I turn to begin to walk up the stairs to my room before stopping and looking
back over my shoulder, but he’s vanished. In trying to right myself, I manage to trip slightly. I glance around hoping no
one has noticed, but a woman in her sixties sitting in the lobby leans forward disapprovingly and whispers something to her
husband, who turns stiffly in his chair to look. I decide it might be best to just remove myself to bed as quickly as possible.
I am clearly still a little tipsy. Everything is starting to feel a bit lopsided …
So I begin my renewed attempt to get to my room. Walking up the stairs, my legs are starting to feel like lead. Oh why did
I drink so much?
Back in dark, unfamiliar surroundings, I stagger over to the bed and collapse on to it as I try to take my shoes off. My limbs
are suddenly incredibly heavy, it is an effort to lift them, and yet my stomach is churning ominously, aching to be rid of
its contents. I’ve hit the tipping point and begin to wish I could go back in time and
not
have so much to drink. I roll my body sideways as my eyes close heavily, until I am in
Similar Books
