Overjoyed

Chapter 10 - You feel it in your chest

We pulled up outside my apartment after dinner, which Dan insisted on paying for even though I wanted to thank him for the concert. Not wanting him to leave just yet, I took a chance and asked him to come up for a drink. He accepted and I smiled inwardly.

When we got in I realised Courtney wasn’t home yet. As usual, she’d gone out clubbing and for her the night had just started. “How long have you two lived here together?” Dan asked as he sat down on the couch while I went to fix the drinks. “Since our college days. Her dad’s pretty rich. Red wine okay?” I called from behind the cupboard door. “That’s great” he mumbled. Walking over to where he was sitting I handed him the glass and sat down next to him. He took a gulp and grinned. I laughed and followed suit.

We joked and revealed little secrets to one another and soon we’d polished off the bottle. “More?” I giggled and Dan nodded a little too enthusiastically. Surprisingly, the liquor cabinet was empty so I headed over to the fridge where I found a couple of beers. I flopped down beside him and handed him the beer, almost spilling it. We laughed at my clumsiness. I glanced at the clock and it read three thirty, and in a matter of minutes Courtney walked into the apartment, looking surprisingly less trashed than I’d expected. Hell, even less than Dan and I. She stared at us in wide-eyed wonderment, opening her mouth as if to speak and then closing it and saying nothing. After about a minute she walked off to her room. Dan and I both burst out laughing at the sheer awkwardness of the situation.

We drained our beers and I got up, somewhat unsteadily, to get us another. Brushing my way past Dan’s legs I lost my footing and landed straight in his lap. Oh the drunk girl cliché. I was mortified. I got up as quickly as possible and apologised, deciding that was enough alcohol for the night and heading to the kitchen to make us some coffee, my cheeks scarlet. Dan looked highly amused and moved off of the couch, coming to take a seat on one of the bar stools at the island. ‘Don’t look so horrified” he said, “I didn’t mind at all. I liked it quite a bit really.” His tongue had certainly been loosened. “You liked having me drunkenly land on top of you?” I snorted, handing him his coffee. “No,” he said, “I liked catching you, breaking your fall. I’d like to do that again, in the less literal sense, Eliza.”  He took a swig and I stared at him, aware my heart was beating so loud it could wake up all the neighbours.

We said nothing for a few minutes, just watching one another, drinking our coffee until Dan got up, rinsed his empty cup and walked over to me. “It’s pretty late” he murmured, “I’m gonna get going. Thanks so much for the awesome evening, and morning.” I smiled up at him and he gently kissed my nose. Oh my. I stared at the door a little while after he left, my heart heaving.