Page 23 of Drink Up, Darling
Athens pressing you into the wall. Skin to skin. Hands running down your bare torso to the button of your trousers.
Then Godwin appeared at the door in his mind, and the image faded a bit until his gaze focused in on Godwin’s form, then it washisfirm hands on Dariel’s shoulders and he felt a tug behind him as Athens brushed back his hair and planted a delicate kiss on his neck and?—
“So, Godwin, what drew you to our work?” Athens asked.
He didn’t sense my mind wandering. Good.Dariel flushed, keeping his head down. He wasn’t ready to unpack those thoughts, his body had other ideas though.
“You both have a rather unique flair, and I was wanting quite a drastic change to my entire image. Call it a mid-life crisis.” Godwin spoke with a calm manner once more, his nerves almost entirely settling.
“Were you wanting a full house redesign? I couldn’t help but notice you keep a lot of your doors shut,” Athens persisted.
Godwin scrunched his lips as if considering his answer. “Hmm, perhaps. Though some of those rooms are closed for a reason,” he finished firmly.
And the reason?Dariel looked up from his food, eyes shifting between the two men.
“You let me know what things you had in mind, I will need to take some measurements first, of course. Get the floor plans to make some sketches.” Athens didn’t push the topic for once, though it seemed to Dariel that was intentional.
Godwin nodded and ate a forkful of peas, then turned to Dariel, his eyes sunny. “And you, Mr Hale, have the task of making me look…cool.” There was a smidge of humour in his tone.
Dariel awkwardly mopped his mouth. “I will try my best.”
“Then you can start frequenting town as the most fashionable man in Oxford,” Athens added.
Oh, that was clever.
Godwin winced. “Perhaps I will have to.”
“You don’t want poor Dariel here to design you an entire new wardrobe, only for the only people to see it being the Victorian ghosts in the halls now, do you?”
Godwin looked like he’d been shot in the back. “You’ve seen ghosts?” he asked, severely panicked.
Athens looked equally shocked for a moment, then sank back, entertained. “Oh, no, that was meant to be a joke.” He mellowed. “Is this placesupposedto be haunted?”
Godwin shook his head, taking another sip of wine. “No. I do not believe so. You may hire a team of investigators who will claim the place is riddled, but I’ve never experienced anything that could not be explained. Thankfully,” he added as his eyes blanked.
“I’m terrified of the concept of ghosts.” Dariel thought it helpful to inject into the moment.
“That makes two of us,” Godwin said. “The last thing I want in my home is unwanted guests.”
Overthinking was Dariel’s speciality.Does he mean he is sick of us?
“What do you enjoy doing then, in your spare time? A house this size should surely have some entertainment gems.” Athens was swift to keep the topic from wandering.
“I do read a great deal. I’m sure you already guessed that from the library room I invited you both to earlier. That’s my favourite room to frequent. It brings me peace.” Godwin closed his eyes briefly, reminiscing. His mask was well and truly falling now, and the bubbly man who opened the front door hours ago had returned.
“I used to read a lot of fantasy when I was younger, a bit of horror too, which probably comes as no surprise.” Athens gestured to his own attire. “Once a goth, always a goth.”
“I loved the goth scene when I was younger, I should let you take a look through my record collection, they’re all stacked up in one of the rooms upstairs. My record player broke a good few years back and I never had it replaced—you might find some stuff you like, and you can take whatever you want.”
Athens’ eyes widened like a child’s on Christmas morning. “Oh, are you sure? I wouldn’t want to take anything valuable. Ihave a friend who is good with fixing up old stereos and vintage electronics. I could get him to take a look at your player if you want, and you can relive your youth!”
Godwin swatted a hand. “Oh, there’s not much point, it was far beyond repair even in its final days. Besides, I’m too old for that stuff now.”
“You’re not too old at all. There’s no such thing as being too old to enjoy things, anyway.” Athens almost looked offended. “I’ll get you back into enjoying these things, just you wait.” Athens winked at Godwin, and for a millisecond, a wave of jealousy slapped Dariel in the face.Stop this, you hardly know either of these men. It’s only a month-long job, you may never see them again afterwards. Athens is free to flirt with whoever he wants.
“Oh, Mr Danek. You flatter me, but truly, I was never made for standing out.”
Athens’ voice dropped. “I can help with that too,” he promised, sheepishly.
