Before Take Off

9. not just yet

"Fall in love with being alive. Fall in love with car rides at 2 a.m., cycling along the river, smell of the earth after a downpour, quenching your thirst with wine after a long day at work, being upset –because it means that you'll have a chance to be happy-. Fall in love with your life and let me fall in love with you."

LEWIS's POV

I couldn't budge the slightest bit for a couple of minutes after both girls flounced out of the café, leaving me to gawp after them with wide eyes. I didn't know what Rosie's problem was but it was obvious that she wasn't the biggest fan of Ayla.

"Just sit down man," I heard Jaime call behind me and I turned my head slightly back over my shoulder to face him. He looked unruffled, still sitting on the floor, leaning his back leisurely against a coffee table.

I sighed, accepting defeat, before scuffing my feet towards him and joining him on the floor. He offered me the wine bottle that was lying beside him and I snatched it off his hand without hesitating.

Jaime chuckled at my brisk movement. "You're dramatizing the issue Lewis. So what, they argued? They're girls, girls bicker." The look in his eyes was very reassuring that I felt a sudden wave of tranquility wash over me.

I shifted my gaze up towards the ceiling and took a swig from the wine bottle. It was probably far beyond the limits of healthy to be drinking two days in a row but my life was already a little bit too complicated to worry about making healthy decisions.

"Hey, we haven't talked since you've got back from Amsterdam," Jaime started off talking. His voice was concerned, having me dart my eyes back at his face. "How was everything with your dad?"

I tried to hold myself back from exposing any unwanted emotions on my face as I replied solemnly. "It was like reading the same old story all over again. Nothing much happened." Yeah, I'd take myself with a pinch of salt Jaime.

Rosie and Jaime were the only two people who could read between the lines when it comes to my messed up thoughts and feelings. I was sure that he didn't believe any of the statements that I had just put forward but decided to let it pass at least for a little while.

"Alright, if you say so," He shrugged off, jumping right into another subject. "Is it true that Allison cheated on you? Ayla started mumbling something about it but hushed herself once she realized that it counted as gossiping."

I could feel my lips curling up into a mocking smirk as I remembered my tragicomic break up.

Allison and I had met each other at the Roxy, a popular nightclub, couple of months ago. Just the appearance of her under the bright, flashing club lights had stirred me up, leaving me with an urge to throw myself under a cold shower. We never had the conversation, never declared our love for each other or expected anything promising from our relationship.

"I wouldn't have even bothered arguing with her if she had asked me whether she could sleep with another guy," I stated firmly, before taking another sip of wine and tilting my head backwards until it rests against the wooden leg of the coffee table. "But you know how I feel about cheating. I couldn't hold myself from going off the deep end and preached loyalty at her."

Jaime pursed his lips, amusedly. "Wrong move." He knew exactly how Allison was. She was all fun and laid back and shining on the outside but she definitely wasn't deep enough to tolerate discussions on moral values.

I shrugged, "It was definitely wrong on so many levels but I wanted to annoy her by taking her time with my speech."

"So she dumped you," Jaime came into conclusion as I nodded.