Drink Me

15. 8 TRUTHS

8 TRUTHS

The rest of the day dragged between some mundane work and coffees; no matter what was going around him, Riley couldn't stop thinking about Aidan. Even Simon's silly stories of drunken accidents couldn't distract him from wondering what the hell was Aidan up to.

When five sharp hit the clock he switched off his computer and left, eager to go home for the weekend and maybe find the chance to talk to his cousin.

He met Alice outside her office in Belgravia and the two slowly walked to the tube station, enjoying the cool air of the evening.

"How was your day?" Alice asked, throwing her hands in her pockets.

"Ah, uneventful," lied Riley.

"Good, no IT-related emergencies," she commented and Riley didn't fail to sense the sarcasm in her voice.

"At least I didn't use my paid time to go shopping," he retorted, hinting at the ZARA bag in her hand.

"I didn't feel like going home for clean clothes." She shrugged. "And I needed make-up..." she added, keeping her eyes in front of her.

"Fair enough," Riley said simply, feeling now a bit guilty for his comment. "How does pizza sound like for dinner?"

Pizza would cheer anybody up.

Alice smiled. "It sounds awesome. Is Nicole coming over?" she asked as they passed the turnstiles in the tube station.

"No, she has some dinner. She's very social..."

Alice chuckled. "Are you jealous?"

Riley grinned. "Only of her social skills, I mostly lack in those."

"Mm, you're not so bad..." Alice said, removing some lint from the lapel of his smart coat.

Riley smiled back then asked, more serious, "Have you talked to Aidan?"

Alice nodded. "Yes, we texted. I told him I'm staying at a friend's and that I need some time. He seemed to understand."

"That is good, at least he knows you're OK," Riley agreed.

He wished he could tell her about his finding, or lack of; that way maybe she would have let him talk to his cousin. But he had signed a contract of confidentiality that he had no intention of breaking.

Not even for Alice.

He had already crossed the boundaries of legality, he didn't want to take any more risks.

As the train approached, they entered the compartment crammed in the six o'clock crowd.

Riley held on to the metal bar near his head, and wrapped his free arm around Alice for support as he grabbed the side of his coat to steady herself from the train's movement.

Riley looked down at her; the faint shadows of her lashed on her cheeks reminded him fireworks. He found them cute. Then she looked up at him and mouthed "sorry" as a man passing behind her pushed her close against his chest.

She smells so good.

Thirty minutes later, they finally arrived at Riley's flat.

"Mind if I steal your clothes again?" Alice asked as she headed for the shower.

"Help yourself," Riley called from the kitchen.

When the pizzas arrived they sat on the sofa and put some old episodes of The Peep Show as background noise.