What are the chances?

Kiss you

"Shall we go and sit outside, it's a lovely warm night and I could do with some fresh air after all that food?" Jack threw his napkin on top of what was left of the apple tart in front of him.

"That suits me." Jayne quickly got to her feet pulling her vape out of her pocket.

There were several agreeable mutters from around the table as they all grabbed their bottles and glasses and followed Jack and Jayne through the kitchen and out to the seating area.

In the small toilet, Kat leaned on the white porcelain sink to steady herself as her head began to swirl from the mixture of alcohol and emotions.

'I don't know how they do it.' She said to herself in the mirror as she shakily tried to apply some lip gloss. Removing a tiny smudge of mascara with her little finger, she could see her eyes were becoming a little bloodshot and the more she tried to swallow, the quicker her mouth was getting dry and furry. She chucked the lip gloss back in the bag and rummaged around for a mint, finding an old packet of chewing gum she popped one in her mouth, giving her a well-needed awakening. 'Ok Kathleen, let's go. Be cool.' She mouthed to her reflection before turning towards the bathroom door and slowly exiting.

As she got into the hallway she saw the empty table and rolled her eyes. Looking behind she could see the unoccupied living room so moved forward towards the kitchen hoping to find some clue as to where everyone had gone. She glided her fingers across the glossy worktop as she heard the muffled tones coming through the open door at the back of the kitchen.

"You ok?" Damian's soft voice came from behind her making her jump.

"Shit- Yeah- Erm- could I get some water, please, I've gone really thirsty?" She shyly smiled trying to hide her babbling.

"Sure." Damian brushed past her as he strode over to the fridge and took out two bottles of water. "Here you go." A full smile appeared across his face as he tossed a bottle to her.

"Thank you." Kat caught the bottle, and instantly opened it, pleased with herself that she didn't drop it and look silly. "So long was I in there?" She coyly laughed.

"Not long. Jack decided to move the party outside as soon as you walked out." He watched her intently as he took a long sip from his bottle. "I like your dress." His voice was soft and cracked slightly as his head dropped shyly.

"Thank you." Kat's nostrils twitched as she bashfully smiled.

Damian rested against the kitchen counter warmly grinning at her flushed cheeks, while Kat mimicked his action facing him on the opposite side. He let out a nervous laugh and fidgeted awkwardly before taking a deep breath. "Have lunch with me tomorrow?" He finally broke the silence.

There was a short pause from Kat as she registered what he was asking of her, and went into a quiet panic.

"I can't, we're going to Florence tomorrow for the day." She nervously bit the inside of her mouth as she played with the bottle top.

"Dinner then?" His eyes looked up at her through his dipped head. A cheeky half-smile formed on his lips as Kat laughed.

"I can't, sorry. It's my turn to cook for the group tomorrow." Kat bit a little harder on her lip causing a dimple to form at the side of her mouth.

"The next day then?" Damian continued as he pushed himself off the counter and took a step closer to her.

"Damian..." she hesitated, causing him to abruptly stop. "I.." she closed her eyes for a second and took a breath.

"It's ok if you're not interested." His eyes dropped back to the floor.

"No, that's not it."  She stopped again causing his forehead to furrow into an agonising frown. "I want to... like... I really want to have dinner with you but... oh god this is awkward." She mumbled then paused again to take a big gulp of water, her mouth was dry again and she could feel her tongue sticking to her lips.