Drink Me

4. DISCRETION ADVISED

DISCRETION ADVISED

Riley woke up on Saturday morning, his head pounding from the night before. Alice had left him and Simon after their third round, but he and his friend had continued the evening until past midnight. He was moderately hangover but felt good about it.

Since leaving the Marines eight months before, he had felt lost and lonely, his friends still in the military too far away to maintain a satisfying relationship. Until GCHQ had transferred him from their headquarters in Cheltenham to the secret office in London, where he had met Simon. After Noah, he had barely even tried to get to know people, but with Simon's easy-going personality and caring soul, he almost hadn't had a choice. S

With a greater effort than he would have liked to, he rolled out of bed and steadied himself on his feet, taking a moment to allow his head to stop spinning. He put on a pair of grey joggers and made his way downstairs, black coffee the only thing on his mind. As he descended into the main floor, joyful laugher echoed unwelcomed in his ears, causing him to wince.

"Hey buddy," Aidan greeted him.

He was sitting at the kitchen counter, Alice standing between his legs, a grin still on her face. When she saw Riley she quickly wrapped her oversize shirt tightly around her short sheer white nightgown.

A groggy hey was all Riley could manage.

Had Alice come back to Aidan after the pub? He wasn't expecting to see her there. He shook that thought away, too knackered to waste energies on someone else's couple dynamics.

He passed them and busied himself with the kettle, enjoying the silence that his presence had somehow created. When he turned around and sat at the counter, Alice was gone. He drank his coffee in silence, squinting at the brilliant morning light against the white marble of the kitchen.

"Thank you for kipping Alice company yesterday," Aidan said out of the blue.

Riley looked up at him and shrugged.

Aidan continued. "I know she's been having a hard time settling in London and I'm aware I don't always make it easy for her..." he paused for a moment, scratching his arms, lost in his thoughts. "Anyway, I'm glad you guys go along well, it means a lot to me."

"Sure," said Riley, feeling he probably had to use words to communicate now. "She's sound, we had a decent time."

"Yes, she's great. I'm lucky to have her..." Aidan mused.

"Then maybe next time you could try harder to make it easier for her..." he found himself saying. Riley didn't know where that had come from and was as surprised as his cousin in hearing those words.

Before Aidan could say anything, Alice appeared from the stairs; she had changed in a pair of jeans and a simple white t-shirt, her feet still bare. She approached the kitchen with a sweet smile.

"Why don't we go for a walk?" Aidan asked.

Riley didn't fail to sense the grudge in his cousin's voice.

"Sure." Alice smiled.

"Let me put on a jumper, I'll be a minute," Aidan said and kissed her forehead before disappearing up the stairs.

"What did you say to him?" Alice's voice came as a surprise after a long moment of silence.

When Riley looked up from his mug, the girl was standing close to him, her hands in her back pockets. A sympathetic look on her face.

How did she know?

"Nothing," he lied. His brain too slow to find an excuse.

Alice nodded slowly, dropping the subject. "Thank you for yesterday," she said instead.