Drink Me

3. DEVIOUS EYES

DEVIOUS EYES

Alice stood in front of him, her long legs in a pair of thigh-high black boots leaving a strip of naked skin below her suede brown miniskirt. An open leather jacket let her cream cardigan visible. Her hair was up in a thick ponytail and her fringe framed her face.

"We meet again..." she said walking past Riley and into the flat.

"It's nice to see you too," Riley retorted quietly, annoyed by her bluntness.

She turned to him and gave him a fabricated smile. "How lovely to see you, Riley." She mocked in a perfect British accent.

"You know, Aidan should really give you a key to the place. Or hire a butler..." Riley said, angry with hunger.

"He did." She shrugged. "The key I mean. I lost it and with it the privilege. But apparently, he also got a butler..." She winked at him.

Riley let that comment slide with a shake of his head and went back to his food-seeking task. He opted for a butter and crisps sandwich.

"So, how's life?" Alice started, much to Riley's surprise, as she took a seat at the kitchen island.

Riley looked up from the bread he was removing from the bag and studied her face, her eyes were scanning him back, expectant.

"Life's dandy," he replied, not sure what she wanted him to tell her.

Alice was silent for a moment then an insecure smile appeared on her lips, she played with the charms of her bracelet.

"I'm not great at small talk..." she admitted.

Riley's look softened, suddenly feeling like he had been unfair to her. Despite her initial sarcasm she was still trying to build rapport with him. He placed two slices of bread in the toaster and leaned against the opposite counter.

"I've been busy. And don't get me wrong, I'm grateful to Aidan for letting me stay here but I can't wait to get back to my flat!"

Alice nodded, "Yeah, I know what you mean, you need your space..."

Riley's eyes widened as he thought big time.

When the toaster released the bread he buttered the slices and meticulously piled a handful of ridged crisps as a filling.

"What?" he asked, taking a bite.

Alice stared back at him with a bemused look on her face. "What the hell is that?"

Riley followed her gaze to his sandwich. "Erm...food?

"It's banging," he added after a second bite.

Alice didn't reply, she just kept looking at him disgusted. "That's so weird..." she muttered to herself.

"What? Aidan never made you one?" Riley asked in a tone mixed with annoyance and amusement.

"Thankfully not," Alice chuckled.

Riley shrugged. "Your loss..."

Then Alice looked down at her phone illuminating between her hands and a deep frown crossed her face.

"Are you freaking kidding me?" she blurted out, letting her phone fall heavily on the counter.

"Is everything OK?" Riley asked tentatively, not wanting to intrude but feeling obliged to say something.

Alice sighed heavily, her head shaking slightly from side to side. "Aidan cancelled our plans again..." her head fell into her hands.

Riley looked for something to say that would reassure her but not penalise his cousin.