Adrian’s voice had had Alicia smiling to herself. Even though everything had seemed off this past week, this was just like it used to be, he sounded just like he used to, and instead of opening the door, he simply called for her to come inside… like he used to.
“I see we have to have that talk about manners again,” she called back just as she was closing the door behind her. Adrian’s place wasn’t big, so it didn’t take more than a few moments before she was looking at him and she felt like the thumping in her heart was resonating through the flat, echoing off the walls like a bouncing rubber ball. She had come here, determined to tell him everything, to get this dance of uncertainty over and done with, but now that she was here and he was there, his bare feet on the hardwood floor once again messing with her mind, she wasn’t so sure she couldn’t.
“It was Finnigan’s” she answered with a shrug; it wasn’t bad but it wasn’t exceptional either and she had done it for the company. Alicia paused for a beat, before she went to him. She wondered what it would be like to kiss him. Maybe that would be easier than talking. It sure as hell would get the message through. But the sight of the wine bottle behind her made her second guess that idea; she had had wine with dinner, wine that could undoubtedly still be tasted on her lips, and the last thing she wanted Adrian to think was that she was kissing him just because she’d been steeled off by an exceptional year from Chateux de Liquid Courage. Instead she greeted him with a kiss to the cheek, like she used to, and sent him a small apologetic smile when she wiped away the trace of lipstick she had left behind. “Have a good evening?”