Dark Alley: Stranger (Dark Alley #1)

Two

It was Sunday morning, the morning after. And as agreed, Alice was sitting at the kitchen table with her not-so-best-friend while having brunch, alone, as in just the three of them.

She couldn't help but occasionally look at Bianca's belly trying to see the first signs of pregnancy.

"I'm 15 weeks!" Bianca finally exclaimed, and Alice glued her eyes to the black coffee in her mug; two spoons of sugar.

"Look, I'm not mad at you for not staying the night at our place," her best friend bravely faced the big pile of crap in the room, "I know what I told you. We weren't expecting to get instantly pregnant after stopping the pill."

"I didn't know Matt was preggers, too," Alice mumbled as a response and didn't need to look up to know Bianca was rolling her eyes. "Yeah, I get that. Still, losing my best friend that fast was kinda hard to digest."

"You've not lost me!" Bianca shouted.

"You're more emotional than me nowadays," Alice finally looked up at the cute brunette with large freckles.

"Yes," her friend exhaled in defeat, realizing that she just had contradicted what she was trying to say. "Sorry."

"It's okay, I'm happy for you," Alice confessed. "I just had hoped that the two of us would be clubbing a few months more. So, when's the wedding?"

Bianca's face brightened up hearing the new topic, but her expression darkened just as quickly.

"Will you have a date?" She wanted to know, and now it was Alice's turn to roll her eyes.

"Just because I stayed out late yesterday, doesn't mean I found a new guy," she huffed with annoyance. "I just made some new acquaintances."

"That word doesn't sound very promising." Bianca frowned, failing terribly at hiding her disappointment.

"They were soldiers on leave." Alice shrugged and took a sip of her coffee. "Not sophisticated minds, but sweet."

"So, no boyfriend material," Bianca mirrored her best friend with a taste of her own drink.

"Men can be more than just boyfriends, you know," Alice scolded. "Jeff is a sweet guy." She remenisced, staring into the distance as if the white wall behind Bianca was actually a screen showing her the rest of the night before. "He's a peace keeper. I know if I need to get rid of a stalking boyfriend, he's the one I can call. But..." she narrowed her eyes, bringing her gaze back to her coffee, "Not someone who really can challenge my mind, unfortunately."

"Unfortunately," Bianca repeated.

Alice was still thinking about the black business card, with nothing more than an address and a times printed on it. She wondered if she could tell her best friend. Somehow she knew that Bianca wouldn't be any help.

Alice had been invited, but she had no idea by whom, and more importantly, for what? There had been no further information on that card. It didn't say when exactly she was expected to be there. It was eerily mysterious, but that made it all the more exciting.

"Alice?" Bianca's voice dragged her out of her world of thoughts. "Where are you?"

Still not entirely back in reality Alice, brought up her right hand, pinching her the bridge of her nose and shutting her eyes tight. Maybe Bianca would believe she had a huge hangover.

"I guess, I haven't slept enough, or I'm not used to drinking scotch, or both," Alice mused.

Listening to her own words, she had to think of the man she had named after said drink. She hadn't seen him again after their short encounter. Not clearly, at least. For the rest of the night she had hoped to see him now and then among the crowd. Had he sent this strange invitation? Or had it been someone else? Was this a prank? She wouldn't find out until she went to the mysterious address.