R U Mine? - Alex Turner

Chapter III

05th April 2012
~ Coraline ~

A mix of Flo Rida and P!nk echoed through the crowded apartment.
Only two hours have passed since the first guests arrived and half of those present were already drunk or were having clothed sex on the couch.

I stood in the corner next to the only, now dead after Cat forgot to water it, plant in the apartment and had to listen to already 10 minutes of babbling from a guy who had confidently, and drunkenly, invited me on a date.
He was cute, blond hair and blue eyes, a well-built body that was accentuated by the dark blue button up.
The information about which pair of socks was his lucky pair, however, was an incredible turn-off and bored me to death.
It was the green shamrock ones he got in Ireland.

I looked around the room, hoping to spot the birthday girl just to have an excuse to get out of there.
Useless.
She had told me 23 minutes ago that Nick had arrived and she went to greet him at the door before she wanted to introduce him to me.
I sighed and turned back to the guy in front of me.

What is he talking about?
Sheep?
Space?
Backpacks?

I gave up trying to understand the slurring of the person opposite me, who was highly motivated to jump onto a new topic every second, and left him standing by the dead plant as I made my way to the kitchen.

"Cora!" the familiar voice of my best friend rang out behind me.
I rolled my eyes.
Just when I needed her, she vanished into thin air, only to suddenly reappear.
My steps slowed until I stopped and turned around.
There she was, in my dress with her hair up and my black and green shimmering gator skin boots.
Next to her, a slightly larger male figure.
That must be Nick.

I eyed at him carefully.
He had chin-length light brown hair in soft waves that framed his face.
His face was flawless except for the shadow of a three-day beard that ran across his jaw and cheek.
He looked well built, not too few and not too many muscles adorning his body, but enough to be accentuated by his orange striped shirt.

Cat must have seen my look and stretched out her arms as if she was presenting her next painting.

"Cora! This is Nick" she smiled in my direction, but I knew the smile wasn't meant for me.
I smiled back and moved closer to them.

"It's nice to finally meet you, Nick" I said and held out my hand.
A twitch at the corner of his mouth was all I could get before he took my hand and shook it.

"Cat has told me a lot about you" he told me and glanced over at his girlfriend.
I blinked once, twice.
I was surprised that Nick knew anything about me, because Cat usually didn't like to talk about me, about the party girl who didn't get very far with her modeling career.
Ridiculous, honestly.

For months I haven't received any new orders or have only been rejected.
And I knew how embarrassed she was. Cat had already published two books, both of which were quickly becoming popular in England.
She was embarrassed to be seen with someone like me, someone who didn't meet her high standards.
She never says it, but her looks said more than enough.

"Oh really?" I asked and glanced at Cat as well.
She looked at me with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes.

"I'm surprised, I heard you model?"
he asked, finally letting go of my hand after realizing he was still holding it.

"Indeed, yes" I said, nodding, my hands finding themselves behind my back and playing with my rings.
I hated talking about my declining career.

"How come I never see you in magazines or on billboards?" he asked.
The question was not meant to be offensive, I could see the interest in his eyes.
How his eyebrows rose slightly and the edges of his eyes narrowed into a friendly smile.

My ears turned red with embarrassment.
Cat was a writer, Nick was the bass player in a band.
Both were more successful than me.

"Oh, my modeling career is on hold right now" I explained, my hand coming up to scratch the back of my head.
I expected disappointment, the slight twitch of the corner of his mouth that revealed much more than one might have imagined.
Nothing.

"I'm sure you'll find the path" he said with the same smile he'd been wearing for a few minutes.

Then he turned back to his girlfriend and put his hands on her waist and his lips on hers.
I turned away.
I didn't have to put up with their caresses.
My love life was already dry enough, otherwise I would just get jealous.

I let my feet lead the way and found myself in the kitchen.
A drink would be wonderful right now.
Various bottles were lined up on the table: beer, beer, beer, vodka, whiskey and other hard liquor.

I reached for one of the beer bottles and grabbed a bottle opener.
The bottle cap was simply relegated to the table with the other metallic circles.

I turned to head back to the living room when I collided with someone.

"Fuck- sorry-" a deep British accent that sent a shiver down my spine.
The smell of leather, cigarettes and dark cologne enveloped me, numbing my senses.

I looked up.

And green met brown.