4th No Kiss Blog Fest: For want of a holiday

Tweet of the Day: A Question of Identity

——-

Almost missed the deadline, but managed to put something together for the 4th NO KISS Blog Fest. And here it is.

Enjoy!

P.S. A big thanks to Neyska for the timely reminder. 😉

——-

Winter’s dark grip enveloped London’s streets. Carl and I rushed to the local pub on the first day of work after New Years. Work had been dreadful, doubly for me since I missed Christmas with my family in Puerto Rico. Carl offered to buy the first round.

“Sure, I’ll get the next one,” I said absentmindedly.  In a blink of an eye Alison appeared in the chair across the table, with bright cherry lipstick and a brighter smile.

“Hi, Ricky!” she said in singsong.

I shook my head in surprise, “Hey, I didn’t…where did you…”

“Decided I needed a break, you know from all the work. I can’t believe we had so many reports waiting for us,” she said. Her cheek rested on her left fist.

“Must be Mr. Witherson’s punishment for the mess we left after the office Christmas party,” I said.

“Must be. Hey, I noticed you didn’t bring anyone to the party,” she said.

“Didn’t have anyone to bring, along, I mean.”

“Oh…I’m sorry.”  Not an iota of regret marred her voice.

“I noticed you didn’t bring anyone,” I said.

“Nope.”

“Oh, kind of strange. I could have sworn that you were dating someone. At least that’s what I heard, not that I put to much stock on the office gossip,” I said.

“No, not at the moment. Although I’m hoping to change that,” she said.

Oh really!

Memories of the office party came to mind. The smiles from across the room, the laughter at my jokes, the grabbing by the arm to sing Christmas carols. And now she sat across from me, bright eyed and extremely flirty. The thought of her wearing little or nothing had crossed my mind.  Officer romances could be hazardous to my career, but doing nothing would be worst. I decided to call her bluff.

“And what would it take to change that, exactly?”

She leaned closer, “Sometimes you have to take a risk, you know,” her nose twitched, “go for it.”

I moved in close enough to feel the heat that flowed from her skin on mine, “Who dares wins, no?”

“Yes….”

A splash of beer on my arm destroyed the moment.

“Sorry mate, I’ll get the next one,” said Carl as he plopped down on free chair on my left. To top it off, Veronica walked into the pub. She headed straight for Alison.

“Hey, Allie, I need to powder my nose,” she said without a glance at us.

“Ah, yeah, sure. I’ll be right back,” said Alison. Veronica stared daggers at me on the way to the bathroom.

“What was that all about?” asked Carl.

“Nothing.”

The rest of the night Veronica hovered around Alison like mother hen over new born chicks. I wracked my brain thinking of a way around the ‘problem’ and then I remembered that for me Christmas wasn’t quite over.  I managed to get within whisper range of Alison before the pub closed.

“You know that we Puerto Ricans celebrate Epiphany, right?”

“Do you?”

“Yes. It’s another chance to exchange gifts and share with those close to you. I’ll invite a few people to my place on the Friday. Care to join us?”

“I dare say I will,” she said with a wink and nod.

——-