Black Coffee, Red Lipstick, and Cigarette Smoke

Chapter Four

"Here's to the health of beautiful women." One man chanted from across the bar.

"And their lovers." Alexander added in, his speech already slurred. Sure, he had consumed copious amounts of alcohol, but Alex thought he had at least one more drink in him before being drunk.

He ran a hand through his unkept hair, noticing the strands that fell out of his ponytail. They rubbed against his face, wiping away some of his sweat.

Alex knew a few things to be facts when he was drunk.

First, he always blushed as a result of the alcohol. It was disgusting, and always prevalent.

Second, Alexander became exceedingly chatty when he was drunk. His speech was slurred and his sentences incoherent, but he refused to shut up.

Third, Alexander always threw up the day after.

"What's on your mind pretty boy?" The bartender asked. His blue eyes glared at Alex, as if challenging him with just a glance.

Alex scoffed. "Don't call me pretty boy. I'm dating someone." He complained, half aware that he didn't even want to be talking.

"So? Everyone flirts a little." The bartender retorted back.

"Exactly!" Alex declared. He was just as surprised by his sudden uproar as the barkeeper. "What's your name, anyway?"

"Drake, like it says on my name tag." He teased lightly. "And you are?"

"Just call me Alex." He liked the way that sounded, so tough and prepared, that's what Alex thought anyway. The real truth is he was just too drunk to remember his last name.

Drake twisted one of his light curls around his fingers, smiling slyly. It was just a small smile, something faint, and in the corner of his mouth.

"So why are you getting so wasted, Alex?" He asked, putting extra emphasis on the name.

Alexander thought the man sounded like a snake, watching his prey. Each word sounded carefully crafted and placed in order to convey whatever it was the man wanted.

"Love." Alex mumbled, gaining a snort from Drake.

"Do tell all." Drake taunted, carefully pouring Alex another shot.

Alex downed the drink gratefully, knowing he'd need help to tell this story.

"This stupid ass, freckled Jesus has consumed my thoughts." Alex paused, laughing at his own comparison. "I mean, he has so many fucking freckles, it's so hot. I wish I could just bathe in his freckles."

"I don't see the problem." Drake said, breaking Alexander away from his rant.

"I've also got a stupid ass girlfriend. And she is really pretty." She was too, that was a valid fact. He was tied down, Eliza thinking it was very serious. Peggy had started asking Alex when he'd propose. Sure, it was a tease, but it was another thing Alex could drink to.

"Ah, affairs." Drake practically sighed the words out of his plump lips. "Let me tell you what I'd do." His voice lowered, sounding more feminine than before, but also kind of childish.

"I've got this girl of mine, and she is a beauty. The problem is, she's married and my best friend is her brother."

He paused, grinning a full toothed smile this time.

"Secret affairs are the key. Buy the boy a drink, keep her a secret. Kiss the girl like you mean it, buy her flowers and shit. You can have both. Who said you couldn't?" Drake's voice had risen again, and if it were possible to hear someone's grin, that is what one would hear coming from Drake.

"That's a good idea." Alex agreed, although he knew it was an awful plan. "No one would have to know."

"Exactly! Now buy the boy a meal, take him out. Have a nice date." Drake painted the reality before Alex with his words, each word convincing Alex even more.

Alexander stood up, wobbling. He grabbed onto the chair on front of him for support. "I'm g-g-gonna go call, uh, John." His head was spinning, but nothing about this seemed like a bad idea. Drunk love confessions could never go wrong in Alex's head.

"Maybe let me call you an uber, take a nap, then call the kid." Drake offered, dialing up a car before Alex had a chance to object.

As Alex left, Drake slid something into Alex's hand. "Just in case." He had said under his breath with that same signature grin of his.

~
Alexander woke up without a headache, but what felt like his guts were going to explode. He rushed to the bathroom, vomiting up everything from last night.

After that, he took a shower, careful to wash all traces of sweat, alcohol, and vomit out of his hair.

Alex remembered when his mom had held his hair back, as Alex threw up over and over again. It wasn't a fond memory, but a memory none the less.

It was getting harder to remember his mom. He had the important stuff down, her birthday, her hair color, her personality.

Yet, he could hardly remember the sound of her voice, or her warm brown eyes, or how she used to sing silly lullabies to him when it rained. He didn't remember why green was her favorite color, how she chose the books she would read to him, how she dotted her eyes with hearts and made the letter J cursive, no matter the context.

He wanted more than anything to remember her, he just couldn't. He had a grasp of what she was like, but it wasn't enough to shape together a whole human. She was nothing more than an idea.

Alex turned the hot water off, quickly getting dressed.

He sat by his phone for a while, contemplating the best way to phrase it. He had a resolution, with a solid plan, but there were still errors.

In debate, one common strategy to destroy the opposing sides resolution is to show that the plan does more good than bad. When Alex thought about what he was doing like this, saying everything as though it were a debate, it helped him think better.

On one hand, he would get to date two perfect people at once. He wouldn't have to choose, he could just take both. Why should he have to choose? It wasn't fair to force Alex to pick. It was just cruel and unusual, and absolutely unnecessary.

On the other hand, he would hurt Eliza. She was so sweet and gentle. Surely though, she felt the same as he did. She had to realize they weren't meant to be, that this was not going to end happily for them. He would just date her until they both came to that conclusion.

That was such a nice thing for him to do. He was sparing her feelings in a sense. He was protecting the little cinnamon roll.

And John knew that Alex had a girlfriend, yet he had called Alex initially despite that.

Alex picked up the phone, dialing John's number eagerly.

"Hello?" A groggy voice greeted Alex.

"John." Alex said, a smile forming on his lips. This was right. There was no way he would say no to this. "Still want to go grab that drink?"

"Really?" John announced, shock apparent in his voice. "I mean," he began, recomposing himself. "That sounds great. See you in an hour?"

"See you in an hour."

A/N Two updates in one day! I went from disgusting writer's block, to the sudden motivation of two chapters in a day. Also, I threw in a shit ton of references. Good luck catching them all.