beach//reece bibby

23.3.17

Intoxicated bodies flirted past me, lumbering over to the bar and demanding more shots for them and their friends so they could post it on social media, fooling everyone into thinking they were having the time of their lives.
I watched them inquisitively, working out where their lives had gone wrong, and wondering out what I had done to be in this situation. In fact I knew, I shouldn't have agreed to come out with my work lot, I barely knew them and with every passing second my anxiety levels rose. The screaming, the drunken souls and hoards of sweaty bodies.
I placed myself by the window, in hope it would give me that sense of freedom, so far it was failing.
My boss kindly paid for my double pink gin and lemonade, which I sipped at delicately, letting the raspberry notes dance on my tongue before it burnt its way down my throat. I'd already had a couple and could feel the dizziness waver through my dy every time I moved, I darent stand up because I know I'd make a fool of myself.
Messaging Reece also wasn't a good idea, but the devil on my shoulder had convinced me otherwise. It took me minutes to type a 'im at tge pub plesae come nd seee me' and I knew that wasn't enough persuasion for him, but it least it gave him an answer to where I was, so he didn't think I had deserted him for the second time this week.

"You're going to have to try harder than that" he wrote back within seconds and I could picture him smirking behind the screen.

"im alll alone pleas dome" I typed back. I was getting rather bored, three and a bit drinks in and nothing exciting had happened and I didn't feel included at all.
"I'm at the King Gaoege" I typed and the seen button flashed up.

"Shiloh you cant be doing this!" he typed back. 

The window became my movie screen as I stared at it with boredom, hoping some drunken youths would become my amusement; but the streets outside were ghost-quiet. For a Wednesday evening at around eight, it wasn't unusual.

"is this seat taken?" A voice loomed behind me, prizing my eyes away from the window. With the words that dripped from their lips, my insides began to tie themselves into a knot - I had to place my hands on my legs to stop them shaking. I wasn't use to the male attention.

I spun my head around and sighed a relief to find Reece, standing with a pint in his hand.

"Uh no, I saved it for you," I lied, it just so happened that no one from my group chose to sit next to me, but opposite instead.

"You can't be messaging me things like that Shy, you had me worried." He said as he took a seat beside me.

"I'm sorry," I lied again, sipping the gin through the straw.

"At least you're okay," he beamed, and I smiled back at him, wanting so badly to rest my head on his shoulder and for him to wrap me in his arms.

"I'm just happy you're here," I said, "I don't know why I came out!" I stated, my eyes flickering around the group of acquaintances that were my work friends. Realising that actually, me and Reece were far from them.

"Neither do I, it's so unlike you," he chuckled, slugging down his ale.

"Do you prefer it?" I giggled, I didn't want him to answer that.

"You going out more?" He asked and I nodded, "I like you no matter what you do Shy, you've given me no reason to hate you," he replied with a shrug of the shoulders. He could tell by my face that I was moved, my hand placed on his shoulder before I buried my head deep into his tan, checkered top. He smelt of sandalwood with notes of cinnamon.
"Should we go outside?" He asked, his hand pushed at my shoulder so I was looking at him. If I were honest, I just wanted to stay right there in that moment for as long as I could.

Reece and I both stood up and he walked behind me, his hands placed on my shoulders, I paused in my steps and pushed past him, reaching for my leftover gin and tonic, that was diluted due to the leftover ice melting inside. I didn't want it, but I didn't want anything to happen to it either.