Drink Me

13. 4 LIES

4 LIES

On Monday morning, Riley walked into the little cafe for his dose of caffeine and Nicole before work. He opened the door and joined the queue, fully immerse in the news app on his phone until his turn approached and he came back to reality. As he looked around the crowded place, he saw her.

Alice?

His eyes did a double-take.

Am I having visions now?

She was sitting at a corner table, her coat still on and a laptop opened in front of her, which illuminated her face blue. Her hair was up, exactly how he liked it.

"Hey, sleeping beauty," Nicole's voice woke him from his stare.

Riley looked at his girlfriend and then quickly back at Alice, who was still very much there.

"Are you OK?" Nicole pressed again.

Riley finally took the final steps to the counter.

"Good morning." He smiled.

"Good morning, the usual?" replied Nicole, eager to get his order in and the queue going.

Riley nodded. "Thanks," he cleared his throat. "Sorry, I was just surprised to see Alice here..."

Nicole's eyes briefly lifted from the paper cup on which she was writing Riley's name and glanced in Alice's direction. She smiled.

"Yeah, when we talked the other night we found out she works not far from here. I told her to stop by sometime." She took Riley's phone to process the payment. "You know, for a chat when I'm not busy..."

"That's very nice of you, Nicky." Riley beamed.

And yet, a small part of him was uncomfortable.

Once his coffee was ready, he took his paper cup and walked to Alice.

"Is this seat taken?" he asked.

Alice looked up from the journal she was now writing in and a sweet smile appeared on her face. "Riley! Please, sit." She pointed to the empty chair with her pen and quickly closed her notebook and laptop.

"Thanks for your message yesterday," she said.

After his talk with Aidan, Riley had sent her a quick text to tell her that she didn't have much to worry about in his opinion.

"Eh, no problem. Do you feel better?" he asked.

Alice tore a corner of her croissant and her head tilted slightly. "A little..."

Riley reached out and gently stroked her forearm. "Alice, the man got a tattoo for you. I mean... Aidan! He'd promised he would never get another one. He loves you, he's absolutely mad about you..."

Alice looked at him but relief wasn't in her eyes; they mirrored the same unspoken shame that was in Riley's.

The woman cleared her throat and lowered her voice before speaking. "Does Nicole know?" Her smile disguised her words.

Riley's hand instinctively retreated. "No, nobody knows. It's between you and me..."

Alice nodded, satisfied.

"I think you made the right decision with her, you two look great together. She's a cupcake," Alice joked, causing Riley to chuckle.

"Definitely want to eat her out," Riley commented casually, from behind his paper cup.

Alice held her hand up. "Too much information!"

They both laughed softly.

"Right, I have to go now," he said. "You have a good day."