Page 8 of Drink Up, Darling
Dariel straightened his back, choosing to lower his voice for some reason. “The staff. He sent them all home for a few days. We’re the only ones in the building.”
Athens made the shape of an ‘oh’ with his mouth, his face tense. “How odd.”
As if on cue, footsteps sounded in the hall then Godwin re-emerged, an oven glove on one hand and a metal spoon in the other, twirling it around like a magic wand. “Gents! Forgive me, dinner may be a tad longer than anticipated. It appears I am not the chef I once was. Sorry to keep you waiting.”
“That’s okay, Mr Peters, we were just getting acquainted.” Athens was quick to respond with charm, turning on the chair with his arms crossed over it in the comfort of an unruly child.
Godwin bowed his head, hastily breathing in. “Oh, wonderful.” He cleared his throat, his eyes shooting wide open. “Oh, I’m so sorry, I forgot to offer you a drink, Athens! How rude of me. Gosh, you can tell I’m not used to guests. Can I get you anything? Oh, and please, call me Godwin, did I not already say that?”
Athens politely declined, insisting he would wait until dinner, and after a brief glance to Dariel, Godwin nodded his head again, flustered. “Oh, right, okay, well, in that case, you both could erm… it’s a big house, please feel free to have a look around. Just, erm… the downstairs. I’ve not quite organised upstairs yet.” He left in a flash, missing how Athens squinted and screwed up his face as he slowly turned to Dariel, who was tensely on the edge of his seat in confusion. Athens laughed once more, breaking all tension. “He’s an odd fellow, isn’t he?” he said.
“Quite,” was all Dariel could add.
‘He’s quite a handsome gentleman though, don’t you agree?’
‘What? How are you… you’re in my head?’
‘You’ve never experienced this either, have you?’
‘I… no. How are you…’
‘Have you never controlled anyone? Made a human bend at your will?’
‘Yes, of course. It’s necessary.’
‘So how come this is a shock to you?’
‘Please get out of my head, it hurts.’
‘I’m not in your head.’
Dariel choked out a breath, eyes bursting wide.
Athens stared at him, waiting for his panting to stop.
“Gosh, you’re so tense, you don’t need to fight it, you’re making it hurt. You just need to relax a little. I’ll show you. Come on, let’s go and have a wander, I’m intrigued to see what he’s got hidden in these walls.”
Athens winked and reached out a hand as a thousand butterflies erupted inside Dariel’s stomach.
Chapter Four
They retraced their footsteps down the corridor, Dariel taking extra note of the height difference between the two of them, and the confidence in which Athens walked—strode.He walked as if he owned the hallways, his head held high with a permanent grin on his face. Dariel was always self-conscious of his height, and this moment was perhaps the worst he’d felt in a while as he struggled to keep up with Athens’ pace. He kept looking at the other man in admiration as they passed the oil paintings Dariel could almost envision Athens being a part of.
Dariel had too many questions, his mind ablaze.
They reached the lobby area again, and Athens took charge of their destination, briefly nodding to Dariel’s untouched case.
“I say we try this corridor first then work our way back.” Athens pointed ahead of them to the west wing of the house.
Dariel nodded, but it wasn’t enough for Athens, who rolled his eyes. “Have you forgotten how to speak?”
Dariel startled. “Oh, no. Sorry, I zoned out a bit.”
“Do you do that a lot? Zone out.”
Why is he asking?
‘It’s okay, I do too.’
