Page 11 of Spiralling Skywards
I was drunk.Drinking and swearing were two things I wasn’t good at. I swore in my head, but when I said it aloud, it just didn’t seem to sound right.
Luckily, the alcohol didn’t affect my dance moves. I loved to dance, and after the disappointment I’d felt at my brother’s words earlier, I’d spent the rest of the night drinking, dancing, and swearing in my head a lot more than I normally would. If I were being honest, it wasn’t just my brother that had me all in a spin, it was Liam Delaney too.
I threw my head back and raised my hands in the air as the Scissor Sisters “Filthy/Gorgeous” began to play.
I was twenty-two years old, and I had managed to get to this stage of my life without ever having a man make me feel that way. I wasn’t sure if I should be happy or disappointed by that fact. It was intense, and it made me feel both scared and euphoric at the same time.
I wasn’t naïve or stupid when it came to men, but I most definitely had very limited experience, which was entirely through choice. With just a stare, he’d had me feeling just a little out of control, and I didn’t like it. Or perhaps I did. I actually had no clue. I wasn’t a virgin, it was two thousand and six, not eighteen twenty-eight, but neither of Sasha or I had ever slept around. Sasha had a little bit more experience than I did, but that wasn’t really hard. I’d had sex, with actual men, exactly twice in my life. Twice, two times. Each time had been with a different person, but since both times were terrible, I gave up. I went out on dates, sometimes with the same person more than once, we kissed, and there may even have even been a little bit of boob rubbing and squeezing, but that was exactly where I made sure things ended.
I wasn’t a prude, and I most certainly wasn’t frigid, my rabbit was more than rampant and the batteries were replaced monthly, I’d just decided after my second awful encounter of the sexual kind to stay away until I met someone I actually wanted a relationship with.
One look. We’d shared just one look, and my whore of a little heart was offering herself up on a platter for him to devour. I was under no illusions that he would consume her whole.
Nelly Furtado’s “Promiscuous” started to play, and Sasha slid her front up my back before she whispered in my ear, “He hasn’t taken his eyes off you for the last three songs.”
I turned around and faced her, held on to her shoulder with one hand, slid my knee between both of hers, arched my back, and ground my hips forward. When I straightened I asked, “Who?”
She slid her hands down over my waist and hips, bending her knees, and lowering herself to the floor as she did. We were putting on quite a show, and we both knew it. We were good girls, Sasha and I, off the dance floor that was.
“The hot as fuck Aussie,” Sasha said into my ear.
“What?” I asked. She stopped dancing and took a step back. Frowning, she looked all over my face.
“Are you pissed?” She sounded almost astonished.
I shrugged my shoulders. “Maybe a lil, lil bit,” I told her with a smile.
“Good girl. Let’s get another drink.”
“Na, na, na, na. The hot Aussie, what were you saying about him?”
“He’s not taken his eyes off you for a while. He’s still watching you now, so make sure to brush past him on our way to the bar.”
My stomach churned. That man had me feeling all kinds of weird. He was most definitely as hot as fuck, but it wasn’t only that. It was the way he looked at me. When he did, I wasn’t just Sarah or Sunshine, I was more than that. Hesawmore than that. Each time it was as if he’d seen right through who I was to everyone else and just seemed to seeme. I felt his stare touch me, like a gentle stroke or caress, each glance from him was how I imagined his lips might feel brushing across my skin.
I needed to stop drinking. My brain was talking shit to my whorey heart and giving her ideas.
I swallowed hard as I felt myself blush. Sasha, who was still holding my hand, didn’t notice as we manoeuvred ourselves off the dance floor and towards the bar.
“How ya goin’, ladies? Vodka tonic and a G and T. Both with ice and a slice. Figured you’d need those after the little performance you put on out there.”
Fuck me, that accent just made me, yeah, squeeze everything tight.
Luckily, I was already hot from dancing, hopefully the glow that had spread across my skin could be attributed to that too.
“Thank you,” I said quietly as Liam passed me my drink.
“Cheers, mate,” Sasha replied with a terrible Australian accent as she accepted her drink. “I’m just gonna get more ice for this,” she added, thankfully losing the accent, before turning and heading towards the bar.
I’d been full of confidence when I’d spoken to him earlier, I would have thought now that I was three sheets to the wind, I’d be even more so. We were in a crowd then, but now it was just me and him. My mouth felt dry, and my tongue felt fat, possibly due to the vodka I’d consumed and the tequila shots we’d necked earlier.
“So you live nearby? I know Luke said he stayed with you for a while when he first came home.”
I heard every word he said. My brain just didn’t seem to want to process their meaning.
“Hmm?” It was all I could manage in response, and then our eyes met and stayed met.
“You have the most amazing skin.” He shook his head as soon as the words were out but never took his eyes from mine. “I … that’s not a pick-up line or anything. I never say things like that to women … or blokes for that matter.” He laughed nervously. “No one in fact, not ever . . . but you do. Have amazing skin.”
