Blue Eyes

14

          "I don't want to go back," Ella whispered to Alfie.

Six simple words that led Alfie to shelter her in his big coat and escort her out to the car. After requesting to be brought back to his flat, they were quiet during the drive. But he kept a comforting hand over hers. They arrived and Alfie helped Ella step out of the car. He wished his driver a good night and led her inside.

Cyril was ecstatic to see the young woman again. It had been so long since he'd seen her. His tail was practically a blur from wagging so fast. He trotted up to her and pushed his face against her hand, itching for a pat.

Ella smiled and fussed over him for a few minutes, cooing softly to him and ruffling his ears.

Alfie took his coat from her shoulders, hanging it up and retiring to the kitchen. "Want me to put the kettle on?" He offered.

"Sure." She responded and made her way into the parlor, Cyril following at her heels. She'd only ever been in the front room of Alfie's flat. It was very interesting to finally see inside his personal space. You could tell a lot about a person by their home. Even little bits that they themselves didn't notice. Habits they hardly even realized anymore.

Alfie was far neater than she was. Maybe it was because he was always working and hardly ever home to make a mess. The room was fairly sparse. Cyril jumped up onto a well-loved couch that the large dog decided to claim as his own. His long legs sprawling out as he fit into the perfect mold he'd created in the cushions.

Ella continued wandering around the room, passing by the tall bookshelf. She'd never been much of a reader. She learned her alphabet and arithmetic in the betting shop. Her brothers would often tease Ada for being a bookworm and she didn't want to be made fun of either. So she pretended she was too tough for school and anything that came with it, including reading. But she secretly adored when Ada would read to her at night.

Her fingers grazed across the bookshelf as she ambled over to a large but handsome looking radio. One that was surely top of the line. She smiled because she never imagined Alfie listening to music in his free time. They'd go to the club together but he never mentioned ever enjoying what the bands played. Toying with the dials for a moment, she wondered what sort of music he listened to. Classical would surely bore him, wouldn't it? A man who got his kicks from large amounts of money and guns. But she couldn't picture him listening to popular jazz music either. He wasn't one to follow trends of the modern age. He was so deeply set in his ways.

"Here we are." He entered the room and set down two teacups. "Cyril..." He rolled his eyes at the dog that had taken up the entirety of the couch. But he had too big of a soft spot for the mutt that he didn't shoo him off.

Ella knelt down and started tuning through the radio waves to find a clear music station.

"Hardly use that thing." He admitted, lingering behind her. "Waste of fucking money."

When she found a good song, she stood up and turned to face him. "I don't think so." She smiled and stepped toward him.

"Yeah, why's that?" Like a magnet, she drew him closer. It became instinct, upon hearing music, to automatically take one hand and rest another on her waist.

She melted into his embrace, wrapping an arm around his neck and resting her cheek on his chest. "Because what else would we dance to?"

His chuckle sent vibrations through her. "S'pose that's a good enough reason."

They fell quiet, simply listening to the music and swaying together, somewhat out of sync from the song. It was their own rhythm that they found together. It was enough to push out the rest of the world. For at least one song, they could pretend like everything was okay. There was no harm or foul being so close. She wasn't a Shelby, she was simply Ella and he was simply Alfie.