Before she could get very far, he lunged and grabbed her arm, whirling her back to him. His face was only inches from hers. His jaw tight. His body tense. I had no way to know what he’d said, but the brunette shrugged and crossed her thin arms once again.
“Oh my god,” I whispered to myself. I glanced down at myself and straightened my slightly rumpled clothes. Shame rolled over me like a tsunami. I wanted no part of this. At all.
I glanced back at the elevator and made my decision.
I ran.
Graham
Feel Again
I could have strangled Halley for fucking my night up. From the time she was shitting herself, dragging her baby dolls on the ground and sneaking to my room at night when she’d have a bad dream, she’d been screwing my life up every chance she got.
Damn her for messing things up for me tonight! Flor. What a beauty. A beauty that had been haunting me since the moment I first laid eyes on her. Like an unsubdued impulse, visions of her beneath me terrorized me day and night. The ache in my gut to have her seemed only to grow exponentially by the day, and I had given serious consideration to just finding someone to mollify the ache for a night or two. I couldn’t go on like this. I needed to have her or forget her, and it needed to happen quick or I’d fucking combust…or drink, and I’d rather end up in smithereens than disappoint the people who loved me one more time.
The phone rang three times before Martin’s voice came over the line.
“Something tells me this is no good.”
“I’m going to kill Halley,” I confessed to my mentor and the only man capable of talking me down from anything, especially drinking.
“Are you ever going to stop calling her Halley?”
“Why would I? That’s the exact name my folks should have given her. Halley, an icy-cold bitch orbiting in space who could devastate and destroy with her ice and dirt if she chose to.”
“When did you name your only sister after a comet, exactly?”
“Openly? Right before rehab. The first time, but me and Tommy shared that little inside joke for years.”
“Mmm,” he hummed in that way that he always did when he was encouraging me to think about whatever was just said. “So what did Margaret do now to make you threaten death?”
“There’s this woman,” I confessed, knowing full well that Martin would grab hold of that confession and start about his gentle lecturing.
“Go on,” he prompted, and I flopped down in my office chair to explain myself.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Where did you meet?”
“Indigo.”
“Graham, bud, I hate to say it, but that doesn’t sound like the beginnings of a positive relationship for a recovering alcoholic.”
“I know, but she just seemed different.”
“Aren’t they all?”
“All right, all right. I get it, but the point is, I really wanted to hang out with this woman tonight. Things seemed to be going in a really good direction and in walks Halley in all her ice cold death and destruction. She ran her off.”
“Maybe Margaret is scared that you’ll fall off the wagon.”
“She can’t act like that because she thinks I’ll drink again. She’s an idiot if she thinks that her methods are effective because right now, after her stunt, I could use a drink in the worst way.”
“You’d hate yourself tomorrow. Trust me, bud.”
“I know that, but…damn!”
“Spend an hour or two in the gym, give it hell. You’ll feel better afterward and if you don’t…” he lead.
“Call, come over, just don’t cave,” I recited our little mantra on a sigh, but I did already feel better. The urge to grab a bottle, drain it, and then use it to bludgeon my sister with it wasn’t as all-consuming as it was before my talk with Martin.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Are we still on for tomorrow?”
“Wouldn’t miss it, bud.”
“Night, brother.”
“Gym,” he ordered.
“I am. I am.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Graham.”
“’Night, Martin.”
Sweat
“Oh my god,” I whispered to myself. I glanced down at myself and straightened my slightly rumpled clothes. Shame rolled over me like a tsunami. I wanted no part of this. At all.
I glanced back at the elevator and made my decision.
I ran.
Graham
Feel Again
I could have strangled Halley for fucking my night up. From the time she was shitting herself, dragging her baby dolls on the ground and sneaking to my room at night when she’d have a bad dream, she’d been screwing my life up every chance she got.
Damn her for messing things up for me tonight! Flor. What a beauty. A beauty that had been haunting me since the moment I first laid eyes on her. Like an unsubdued impulse, visions of her beneath me terrorized me day and night. The ache in my gut to have her seemed only to grow exponentially by the day, and I had given serious consideration to just finding someone to mollify the ache for a night or two. I couldn’t go on like this. I needed to have her or forget her, and it needed to happen quick or I’d fucking combust…or drink, and I’d rather end up in smithereens than disappoint the people who loved me one more time.
The phone rang three times before Martin’s voice came over the line.
“Something tells me this is no good.”
“I’m going to kill Halley,” I confessed to my mentor and the only man capable of talking me down from anything, especially drinking.
“Are you ever going to stop calling her Halley?”
“Why would I? That’s the exact name my folks should have given her. Halley, an icy-cold bitch orbiting in space who could devastate and destroy with her ice and dirt if she chose to.”
“When did you name your only sister after a comet, exactly?”
“Openly? Right before rehab. The first time, but me and Tommy shared that little inside joke for years.”
“Mmm,” he hummed in that way that he always did when he was encouraging me to think about whatever was just said. “So what did Margaret do now to make you threaten death?”
“There’s this woman,” I confessed, knowing full well that Martin would grab hold of that confession and start about his gentle lecturing.
“Go on,” he prompted, and I flopped down in my office chair to explain myself.
“She’s beautiful.”
“Where did you meet?”
“Indigo.”
“Graham, bud, I hate to say it, but that doesn’t sound like the beginnings of a positive relationship for a recovering alcoholic.”
“I know, but she just seemed different.”
“Aren’t they all?”
“All right, all right. I get it, but the point is, I really wanted to hang out with this woman tonight. Things seemed to be going in a really good direction and in walks Halley in all her ice cold death and destruction. She ran her off.”
“Maybe Margaret is scared that you’ll fall off the wagon.”
“She can’t act like that because she thinks I’ll drink again. She’s an idiot if she thinks that her methods are effective because right now, after her stunt, I could use a drink in the worst way.”
“You’d hate yourself tomorrow. Trust me, bud.”
“I know that, but…damn!”
“Spend an hour or two in the gym, give it hell. You’ll feel better afterward and if you don’t…” he lead.
“Call, come over, just don’t cave,” I recited our little mantra on a sigh, but I did already feel better. The urge to grab a bottle, drain it, and then use it to bludgeon my sister with it wasn’t as all-consuming as it was before my talk with Martin.
“You okay?”
“Yeah. I’m fine. Are we still on for tomorrow?”
“Wouldn’t miss it, bud.”
“Night, brother.”
“Gym,” he ordered.
“I am. I am.”
“Okay. Goodnight, Graham.”
“’Night, Martin.”
Sweat
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