Drink Me

36. PURPLE

PURPLE

Riley left the safe house in a dreadful mood.

How dared Alice brush him off like that? This wasn't a game, but all she seemed to be doing was playing. She was taking everything he held dear and destroying it, whether she intended to or not. But with Nicole, there were no excuses.

He knew he didn't have a right to be jealous after all he had done to her, still, resentment was killing him. Was Nicole so desperate for revenge? Or was she already over him?

What had once been a dark fantasy was now reality; only he wasn't enjoying the imaginary this time. The dream had turned into a nightmare.

Lost in his thoughts, Riley stumbled into a club determined to drink his disappointment away. The club was dark and only half full on an early Thursday night, most of the patrons busy on the dance floor grinding to house music from a live DJ.

Riley passed the green and purple crowd and headed straight for the bar where only a couple of people were in line.

"What can I get you?" the bartender asked, leaning towards the man.

"Jack and Coke, please," Riley, ordered sliding a twenty-pound bill across the counter.

The girl nodded and taking the money, she hastily worked on the cocktail.

Riley observed her skilfully mixing the ingredients together over ice and ending the task with a paper straw.

"Enjoy," she said once done. "And here's your change."

Riley put the money back in his wallet and moved to the corner of the bar where two stools were left empty as a couple walked away. He took out his phone as he sat and scrolled through some of his notifications, mainly annoying Instagram tags from his friends back in the Marines.

The only reason he had gotten the app in the first place was that Noah had suggested it.

"It will help you interact with the ladies," he had said.

And maybe it was true because that was how his ex had slid into his DM, he believed they called it, after the two had hooked up at a friend's party. She was in the past too, anyway.

He closed the app with angst when a photo of Alice and Aidan at a restaurant appeared on the screen. Surely all this anger couldn't be good.

He took a long sip of his drink and opened his WhatsApp chat with Aidan.

Hey mate! Drinks sesh tomorrow night? I've finally found that vintage wine you've been going on about...

And with that he put his phone away, not waiting for a reply. His priority was to replace his empty glass with a full one.

Riley called the bartender over and ordered another Jack and Coke. "Make it double this time," he said.

The girl chuckled but promptly fulfilled the order. "Bad night?" she asked.

Riley sneered. "More like a bad week."

"I'm sorry to hear that," the girl said. "Should I keep these coming?"

Riley took a better look at her.

Her ginger hair was loose down to her lower back, and her freckles complemented her green eyes and pale complexion for a good girl look in complete contrast with the tattoo sleeve on her right arm and the multiple artworks on her exposed legs.

"Please," he winked.

The girl smiled and winked back before attending to another customer.

Just as Riley was taking the last sip of his drink, a full glass appeared in front of him.