Page 18 of Love, In Balance

I kind of wish I knew how to read lips at this moment in time. It would help give this situation context.

She shakes her head, gets into her car and shuts the door before Pierce walks off.

When she drives away, I feel relief that she’s away from him. There’s just something off and I can’t shake that feeling. But I’m pulled out of it by a text notification from my phone.

Oli:Game night tonight at 6.30pm. I’ll pick you up at 6.10pm from yours.

Quin:Cheers. See you later.

I get home, take a long shower and decide to make myself look slightly more presentable for a game night with friends and less like a university professor heading to a professional conference.

I choose my baseball style T-shirt and roll up the sleeves. I ruffle my hair slightly, choose a pair of smart casual jeans and pair them with my checked black and white classic slip-on vans. I wear my usual coat. It actually reminds me of Lista, since I was wearing it the night we met.

I feel more…mewith these types of clothes on, but sadly it’s not often I find the casual opportunities to dress down for.

I pour myself a whiskey and coke, pack my drinks for this evening, feed my feline friend Edison his well overpriced cat food and sit watching game play throughs to make the time pass by and to help ground my busy mind.

Watching YouTube game playthroughs is a regular thing for me. It serves as a distraction, background noise and a form of entertainment for me during evenings after work or weekends in alone, with the exception of my cat for company.

Working in a serious environment and having to keep up my hard exterior to avoid any further issues can be draining, so it’s nice to come home and watch something light and funny. It’s good to let go, relax and laugh a little.

Oli:I’m outside.

That’s my cue to stop cuddling Edison and actually leave the house to socialise with humans.Not cats.

We drive for about fifteen minutes before reaching Oli’s friend’s house. I’m hoping that I’m not being kidnapped and held for ransom by random strangers. I don’t know Oli that well, so who knows what’s about to happen. I may have been watching too many horror game playthroughs considering this is my train of thought.

Under the ruse of a game night could be all sorts of horrors. I suppose I’m about to find out.

I walk into a nice home. It’s fresh but warming and the sound of laughter coming from further inside is inviting. The kidnapping probability has lowered in my mind substantially. Although when thinking logically, it was fairly low in the first place.

We walk through to the living room where there are five men, and a woman sat on the sofas and floor around a low coffee table. They all look up and greet me and Oli. The four men look familiar, but I’m too overstimulated to think of where I know them from, plus I merely glanced and then studied something imaginary at my feet.

You know when you feel awkward in a new situation and have no idea where to look or what to do.Yeah. That.

I notice Pierce, from earlier in the car park sitting with them. He turns his head towards me and lifts his beer, greeting me. I smile politely but internally my guard is up.

“Head into the kitchen through there”. Oli says, pointing toward the door down the hall through the living room.

“Deposit one’s tipples, good sir. Oh and I think my single friend is in there” he says with a joking smile and a raised eyebrow. He is a great guy. I regret the thoughts of him luring me to my possible kidnapping and demise.

I take a sigh of relief when I head down the hallway and through the kitchen door.

I can use this time to adjust and breathe before socialising with everyone, although I’m really not in the mood for chatting with someone just because they’re ‘single’.

I’m happy just relaxing with friends.

I brace myself for walking into the kitchen, nervous for socialising with a random person without Oli here.

My mind is still a little cloudy from the last week of work and everything that’s happened, so I’m a little tense and quite frankly not in the mood for getting to know someone new on a possible romantic level.

My relief however returns when I walk into the open, bright, airy kitchen.

It’s Lista. Oli’ssingle friendis Lista.

She’s standing with her back to me, checking her phone.

Her hair is down, loose long curls flowing against her back.