The Smell After It Rains

14.

"What were you saying?", she said. Her hair slightly messier than when I'd last spoken to her, her cheeks were slightly rosy, and she had a big cheeky grin on her face. I caught her gaze, and once again, for what felt like the millionth time since I'd arrived, got lost in her eyes, their colour barely distinguishable in the dim light, not helped by the fact that everything was spinning ever so slightly. I decided that I could definitely see hints of green, but also a slightly golden tint in the centre near her pupils.
I don't know how long we sat like that, looking at one another, but I was broken from my spell by the sound of someone clearing their throat loudly.
"I'm gonna leave you two... to it", Noah said awkwardly, sliding off of the bar stool and slapping me on the shoulder. He leant in close so that I could smell the alcohol in his breath, and whispered in my ear. "If you're going to do anything stupid, make sure it's the right thing. Choose your path and stick to it", he said quietly. Then he vanished into the crowd, disappearing before I had the chance to reply.
I looked over at Claire, who was staring at her glass, clearly embarrassed by Noah's previous comment.
I suddenly realised that she was probably assuming that I'd told him everything, including details of the kiss. I felt my face flush as red as her hair, and was filled with the urge to tell her what I hadn't mentioned her. The issue was, I had.
"I- I didn't tell him- I"
"You sure?", she said, her voice small. Then she looked up at me, and I could see a cheeky glint in her eye that hadn't been there moments before. "I saw you over here having a bit of a heart-to-heart. I was almost considering not disturbing your manly chat, but my glass was empty"
She was smiling now, and her tone was so mocking I couldn't help but laugh. I also noticed how she was slurring her words ever so slightly, which in itself was funny.
"You've had quite a few of them and you're still able to make sarky comments", I said, shouting slightly over the fast growing crowd. "I reckon that's a skill in itself"
"Well I try my best. Although I reckon one more of these and my capacity to make jokes in your presence will be exhausted"
"My presence specifically?", I tried to say, but I couldn't seem to get the last word out properly. That caused both of us to laugh hysterically, so loud that people turned around to look at us, but right now I didn't care.
"You're even cuter when you're drunk", she slurred, her eyes suddenly serious and filled with something I hadn't seen on her face before, something that looked to me slightly like passion.
"I could say the same for you", I said, my filter completely gone. Now I was just saying that I was thinking, which I knew was going to be dangerous, but I couldn't stop it.
"You know I secretly hoped that you'd be home when I came back to visit mum", she said, placing her glass down on the bar. Her voice had gotten quieter and her tone was flirtatious, only just loud enough to here over the noise. "I wanted to see you again"
I felt my heart begin to pound slightly. Part of me desperately wanted to ask her how she could say that when she didn't bother to contact me, but the rational part of my brain was gone. All I wanted was to kiss her.
"Well I'm glad you came back", I said, my own voice wobbly. My emotions were going crazy, I couldn't tell whether I wanted to laugh or cry.
I watched as her face broke out into a smile.
"You know I tried to imagine what you'd look like, you saw the drawing I did." She didn't even seem embarrassed by that anymore, although I was certain it was the drink taking away her filter too. "I liked to think you'd have the whole nerdy-but cute look- no offence", she said, rambling so quickly I could barely keep up with what she was saying. I smirked at her comment, but the butterflies were still going crazy.
Suddenly I felt her hand on top of mine, which was placed on the bar. I felt a jolt of electricity run up my arm, as my heart sped up even faster.
"But you're nothing like I expected", she said quietly. "In a good way". I noticed that her face had got closer to mine, I couldn't tell whether that was due to her or me. "You're just the Jamie that I knew before. The Jamie that I was certain I was in love with"
My heart did a somersault, flipping over and over, my head spinning. I felt sick yet on top of the world at the same time.
"You're so beautiful Claire", I said, noticing how close she was to me now.
Sitting there, I noticed how her ponytail had come loose, and how strands of her hair hung over her forehead in orange waves. I noticed how her red top brought out the colour of her eyes, and somehow didn't seem to clash with her complexion at all like I'd always thought it would. I noticed how she was a fair bit shorter than me, even sat down, and that the top of her head in line with my eyes, so that she was looking up at me. I noticed how her lips were parted, still red like roses, her lipstick having faded only slightly. I also noticed how she was probably the most beautiful person I had ever laid eyes upon.
She lifted her hand up slowly to my face, running her thumb over my lips, cupping my cheek. I felt shivers run down my spine, like electric shocks, slowly paralysing me.
Then leaned in to kiss me, and even though I knew it was wrong of me, even though I knew that I really shouldn't, I kissed her back, my heart full of love for the wrong girl.
She melted into me, sliding off of the stool and pulling me off of mine with her, her body pressed against mine, her arms wrapping themselves around my neck as she ran her fingers through my hair. My arms quickly found themselves around her waist again, in a way that felt so familiar, and so right. Her body seemed to fit perfectly against mine, in a way that was so natural.
Her lips were soft and tasted of alcohol, and I suddenly became painfully aware that every inch of her perfect body was pressed up against mine, every curve sinking into me. My skin was on fire in every place that she was touching, my heart was pounding so fast that I could feel it in every inch of my body, and all I could hear was blood rushing through my ears. Nothing was better than this feeling, being so close to her; I was so content, yet I craved more. I felt so fired up with passion, like I never wanted this moment to end.
The image of Anna burst into my head, but unlike earlier, I didn't care about that. There was clearly something up, and she didn't want to tell me, which made me mad. Why shouldn't I get to kiss Claire? Why shouldn't I be allowed to be happy?  Her lips were pressed against mine like she was yearning for more. She kissed me like she was desperate for this to go on forever, and in that moment, I would have be happy for it to.
Eventually she pulled away, staring right at me, her breathing heavy and a huge grin plastered across her face. I noticed that her lipstick had smudged around her mouth, and I reached up to wipe it away with my thumb. She laughed, before doing the same to me, her fingers soft against my lips.
I looked over my shoulder, to see a couple of my friends staring at us, and in particular Noah, who was raising his eyebrow at me. I blushed, realising that we'd probably made a bit of a show.
"Have you had enough socialising yet?", I said, leaning towards her and whispering into her ear. I could smell her perfume, light and floral, like flowers in spring.
She looked over at the others, before turning back to me and nodding.
I took her hand in mine, our fingers entwined, before the two of us said a quick goodbye to the others and slipped out of the door, laughing at how stupid we must look but being too drunk to care.