Elegantly Wasted | ✓

𝐈𝐕.

Water was what he gulped down. Chilled, refreshing mineral water from Franklin's water cooler in the staff room. Demetrius was trying to cleanse his body today, a Friday. A day he usually didn't come to the pub.

He was awaiting Vivian's arrival. They hadn't exchanged numbers, they still deemed each other strangers, but they had agreed on a time to meet. Unusual for Demetrius, meeting a woman at the pub and wanting to regularly keep in touch. Truly unusual.

He took on her advice about his ex girlfriend, something that he hadn't just thought of himself.

He blocked her number.

Almost as though he erased her from existence, from his memory and from his worries. He felt lighter and much more of an urge to smile. The urge was in full motion when Vivian took her seat beside him. She removed her overcoat and laid it across the empty chair beside her, then her eyes landed on him and they both smiled widely.

"I'm shocked," she started, "a glass of water sits in your grasp." He chuckled as if that were the funniest joke he'd ever heard.

"I don't have the money to be paying for a liver transplant, I need to look after the one I already have." he replied. She softly laughed and got to ordering her usual wine.

Demetrius's attention was flowing all over her, intrigued by her dressing, and even her posture; which was as neat as how she perfectly pushed the strands of her black silk-like hair behind her right ear. The clang of beer jugs further into the pub snapped him out of his scrutiny.

"You seem a lot happier today." she mentioned, lifting her glass to her lips—which Demetrius had noticed were glossier than usual.

"That's because I am. There's a bit of weight off of my shoulders because of you. It was slyly dumb of me to not even realise that I was looking like a mad dickhead." he explained. He kept his eyes on her, as well as his wide, appreciative grin; which she returned as she lowered her glass.

"You confronted her?"

"I didn't need to. If I had, that would've given her all the more reason to keep trying to get a hold of me. I simply just blocked her. And I know," he chuckled stupidly, "I'm that stupid to not even think about that as a solution in the first place but —"

"You've had a lot on your mind lately?" she finished and he nodded. "It's understandable, but it's not stupid. And now you've got a clearer head since you're also drinking water." She pointed down to the slim glass of water in his hand with her index finger that was wrapped around her Bordeaux glass.

"You should try it some day, when you get tired of that wine." Demetrius joked.

"Oh, don't come for me! This wine is shit but I like it. You want a sip, so you'll see why I enjoy it so much?" she challenged and he shrugged nonchalantly, taking her glass gently from her grasp, their fingers brushing the other's briefly, and letting the rich liquid run down his throat.

His sip was small but the taste was strong. Sweet but bitter, and heavy but almost silk-like as it went down. It warmed his insides, more than any wine—any alcoholic beverage, as a matter of fact—had ever done.

Or maybe he was just exaggerating.

"It tastes cheaper than it looks." he smacked his lips and then finally said, slightly jesting her, as she waited patiently for a positive review.

She sulked and retrieved her glass back. "You don't get to say that. Your taste buds are fucked, Demetrius." she commented in a child-like voice. He laughed amusingly as he watched her gaze up through her lashes at him, just to turn away and sulk once more.

"Well, how about you explore my taste next time? We meet again and you enjoy a glass of my Henny. You're bound to like that."

"Henny is shit, bruv." Vivian tutted teasingly, tilting her head back to him.

"Lowe it. Henny is beautiful."

She rolled her eyes, "I'll be the judge of that."