After You... (1st Draft)

Chapter 12 - No Words

We soon passed by a venue called Low Society, with Malachy taking mental notes on the place. He said it would be their competition at Reds if he managed to find the money to buy the place and turn it into something along the same lines. Despite his noteworthy scrutiny of it we chilled there anyway. He said he loved what they did with the place, and told me it was legendary.

Apparently, music producers teamed up with A&R to start the place up after finding themselves frustrated by the calibre of music venues in London. They hosted all sorts of music nights here from live bands in rock and indie to slam poetry nights and hip hop open mic and jazz and soul and, well, everything, and it felt like we'd just turned up to an impromptu gig.

But tonight was so relaxed. We danced and laughed, and he pulled some moves that had me creasing, like fold-in-on-myself-clutching-my-tummy laughing. I had a feeling he was trying to geek me out, there was no way anyone could be so bad.

And it turned out he was kidding, because the moment he wasn't joking was when he pulled me in and moved with me, he was pretty damn smooth. He took my hand and lifted it high above me in his as I'd spun and he'd pull me back to hold again. When we stood to watch the band he slipped his arm around me from behind as I leaned my head back under his chin, my hand coming round to rest over the arm around me. We soon made our way downstairs and ended up in the basement lounge; it was so quaint and intimate.

Before long we'd stopped by an all night buffet for takeout, he said it had the best food this side of London and after having a bite, I completely concur, though I'd challenge him to my local Chinese buffet. Those spring rolls though...

I went for a full on wrap with an...interesting filling, sauce dripping from my mouth, he went for a full on greasy burger, and after eating on a bench in front of a park with his jacket swamping my shoulders it wasn't long before we'd squeezed by a curved out railing to get inside.

The time seemed to have raced away with us, and Illuminated now by a creeping sun, we soon got yelled at by the arriving park keepers who were to open the several entrances at 5:30am. The park keeper ended up waving his hand off when he realised there was no point anyway, we were already here and they were opening anyway.

I'd woken from a very brief doze to my leg slung over both of Malachy's, the shorn grass beneath us, and slowly opened my eyes to a quietly observant Malachy who broke into a soft smile. I grinned back with squinting lids, wiping at them forgetting I'd probably smudged at my mascara doing that.

"Napping already?"

I looked down at myself, his jacket swamping me but covered in a way I knew I hadn't done. I pulled it up more just under my chin as I hunched my shoulders.

"Oh my God...think I got too comfortable."

"I'm not gonna complain about that." He said. "I want you to feel comfortable in my company. I'd carry you home. Piggy back ride, remember?"

I smiled. "I remember. Imagine me on top of you."

"I have." He grinned,

I lazily smiled without the energy to even nudge him, "Gutter brain."

Arm lazily over his chest I looked up at him, his eyes now fixed on the sky. He looked intriguingly thoughtful and I wondered what was going through his mind right now and couldn't help trying to quietly decode his expression. Under his lashes his dark eyes glinted and he lifted an arm to tuck under his head as he lowered his gaze towards me, giving me a quick caress across my cheek. I murmured contentment with closed lids at that touch and soon observed him again as he stared among the sparse clouds. Damn, he really was beyond gorgeous. Something came over me and I had an inclination to return that touch and trace the soft expression on his face. I felt his perfect lips curve beneath my fingers.