The Fall

Criminal

CLAIRE POV

Sally was engrossed in a text message war when I returned, squinting at the bright screen with a line of concentration creasing the smooth ebony skin of her forehead.

"Can you read this and tell me if it has the right amount of silky venom? Oh." She had looked up and taken in my baffled countenance. "Are you ok? What happened?"

I reconstructed the scene in the hallway, she responded with the appropriate amount of indignant confusion. "Do you want to go over and demand answers? I will back thee." Ladies and gentlemen, this is Sally. Forever in my corner no matter the situation.

I tapped a finger on my lips, considering. "I'm not quite sure what I want. I feel that being this chemically attracted to someone can't end well. A fling would be nice, but do I need that sort of drama in my life right now?" I shook my head in answer to my own question. "Maybe in the summer, when my scholarship doesn't rely on me being on my A+ game. No. I don't want to open that can of worms. I would just have to lie in it, and only have myself to blame."

"Alternatively, we can glue up the mess he made of you with wine and laugh about it tomorrow?" She suggested, sliding her phone back into her bag, message forgotten in favor of supporting a friend.

"Alcohol. The possibly wrong glue, but all the right reasons. Cheers!" I clinked my glass to Sally's. We wrapped our arms through each other like it was a wedding toast, and downed the remainder of the scarlet purple glue.

"Oh that's nasty. Wine was created to be sipped, not gulped." I said, screwing up my nose and setting down my empty glass while Sally shook her head to rid herself of the sensation. I wavered on my feet with a giggle bubbling up from my tipsy stomach. It halted in my throat, my best friend was looking at me with an intensity that did not match the leivity of our toast.

Her hands gently cupped my face, staring at my lips. The ebony goddess pulled me closer, stumbling just a little, and licked my top lip like an enthusiastic puppy. "You still had chocolate on your face Claire."

The giggle proceeded to escape through my nose in a happy little snort; mildly mortified that I had a chocolate moustache through that entire scene with the man I was putting in my rearview mirror.

"Hey Jerry," Sally called to our favorite sexy bartender on our way into the outside, "What's the boat count?"

"Eighteen babe!" He called back, shaking up an espresso martini and pouring it with his signature flourish. His gaze was just over my shoulder, which seemed a little off, so I followed it and caught the cheater red handed.

My lying, scheming best friend was holding eight fingers in the air behind me.

Eyes wide, nostrils flared in mock outrage. I pointed an accusatory finger at her "I knew it!"

She shrugged it off with a cool nonchalance like it was nothing. I supposed it wasn't really.

"Next round is on me for not catching you sooner, criminal." I tickled the nonchelance out of her, shaking my head as she wheeled me out of the bar.

HER

XAVIER POV

"I think I have found her Alexi." I sank into the tall stool at our bench table overlooking the water.

"I'm going to need you to be more specific Xavier. I may be your mate, but I am not your mate. I cannot read your mind." Alexi said, glittering eyes mocking me over the rim of his beer glass as he drank deeply, and sighed contentedly.