Better Than Before

Chapter Sixteen

The room was blanketed in a comfortable silence. Sean laid on his back, staring up at the ceiling, one arm rested behind his head whilst the other laid relaxed by his side, his hand drawing circles absentmindedly on the palm of Kelsey's hand.

Kelsey breathed deeply, her eyes closed gently as she attempted to slow the room from spinning. Turning off the light had helped initially but then Sean had removed his shirt and tossed it to the ground in a drunken spur, sending her thoughts into orbit and pumping more alcohol contaminated blood fast around her body and therefore causing the room to spin once more.

"Hey, you still awake?" Seans voice cut through the silence in a deep whisper. Kelsey let out a release of air through her nose before mumbling a quick response.
"A-hum." She swallowed back the saliva that was forming in her mouth, her heart racing and the sudden fear of being sick growing.

Sean stopped tracing her palm and interlocked his fingers with hers, softly he squeezed her hand.
"Are you alright, Kels?" His voice matched his gesture, calm and comforting. The world was starting to slow down for Kelsey, her head heavy against the pillow she opened her eyes slowly. Sean's head was turned and looking at her on the pillow adjacent, in the darkness she could make out his features, his mouth curling up slowly into a smile when her eyes met his. She squeezed his hand back slowly.

"All good." She replied, surprised by the rasp in her own voice. She sighed, all feeling of nausea depleting and relief swimming in. "Somehow that measly amount of champagne really fucked me up."

Sean's deep chortle shook the bed, dropping Kelsey's hand back on top of the duvet her turned to lay on his side facing her.
"Yeah it done me in too." He said. "I haven't felt like this in some time."
     "What. No late night drinks with the office guys? Our restaurant is full of you corporate lot getting messed up on the weekly."

Sean scoffed, his head nesting comfortably into the pillow his grin visible as Kelsey's eyes adjusted to the darkness. She pulled her now empty hand up to rest under her cheek, propping herself up slightly.

"No not really. I'm usually the last to leave the office, getting ahead of the game for the next day."
"Wow proper invested in your work. Your mum and dad must be so proud of what you've achieved." Kelsey smiled, pride growing in her own heart to see how far Sean has come since the last time they were both in this town.

Sean shifted beneath the sheets, the duvet falling past his chest, exposing his bare skin, Kelsey didn't resist this time, her eyes slowly taking in every muscle and detail. His broad shoulder and toned bicep, the veins that ran down his forearm to the back of his hand. She pulled her eyes away to look back at Sean, his smile faltering as he released a breath sharply.

"They have no clue what I do for work at the moment." He said. "As far as they're aware I'm still some Personal Trainer in a rough gym someplace in London. They never cared back then about the details so I guess I just didn't bother telling them about my change in career."
A silence fell between them.

The wind whistling outside the window synced with the distant sound of the traffic that raced down the roads towards the heart of the town centre. Seans chest rose and fell in pattern with Kelsey's, their hushed breathes stuck in the moment. He shuffled closer towards Kelsey, his face merely inches from her own.

"Enough about my monotonous life, tell me more about how the musical genius herself, Kelsey Owens, has gotten into the restaurant business." Sean said, his infectious smile returning. Kelsey eyed up a small dimple etched into his cheek, her automatic feeling to reach out and caress it.

"Well this musical genius had bills to pay." Kelsey laughed, rolling onto her back to focus on the ceiling instead of the face that could easily distract her. "Started off as just a waitress at the weekends, but as time went by I picked up more shifts. I put down the guitar and picked up the new skill of dealing with the hot mess that is hospitality." A lighthearted laugh left her lips, the memories from the early days floating above her along the ceiling. "I picked up the tricks quite quick. Though Cam and Milly would take credit for that."