Breathe Read online

  Now, he was checking me out from head to toe.

  ‘Wow, Sara! I knew you had it in you.’ He winked at me. I blushed and felt naked again.

  ‘Oh, this isn’t me. This is all Alice’s doing.’ I rest my back against the bar, trying to act casual.

  ‘Hey, I’m not complaining.’ He got his beer and held it up for a toast.

  ‘So, what’s going on?’ I clink my bottle against his.

  ‘Nothing much. I’m going back to Bristol in a couple of weeks. How about you?’

  ‘I don’t know yet.’ I hadn’t meant to ask the future-question, but it seemed to be on everyone’s mind. ‘I meant, what’s going on tonight?’

  ‘Tonight is going to be epic.’ he grinned. ‘I think Pocahontas is ready to give me a chance.’ He points at a girl standing twenty feet to our left. Even though she looked foreign with her bronzed skin and black hair, he didn’t mean it in a racist way; she was dressed in Indian costume.

  ‘I know her, she’s from the Scenography studies with Alice, isn’t she?’ I had seen her a couple of times on school. ‘So you have moved on from the visual arts then?’ I added with a laugh.

  ‘You are the only one left,’ he leaned in and whispered. I knew he was joking, and we both laughed.

  ‘Well, you better run along then, before she escapes,’ I said and pushed him in her direction.

  When he left, my eyes flickered around the room. I tried to do it slowly, feeling the effect of alcohol in my body making me dizzy. I decided, as I reached the bottom of the bottle, that this was the last one tonight. The guy in the white suit was on the dance floor with Catwoman. Not a bad choice, I thought, but Matthew didn’t look so happy standing at the sideline. They were shaking and moving, owning the floor. It had to be warm in those clothes. Who would be so stupid as to wear a thick leather suit at a dance party? They had no way to drink or communicate with that big helmet. Maybe they were party crashers. It wasn’t likely, since everybody had to show an invitation before entering. This was a closed party hosted by Kiro. And Kiro seemed to know them. He was still helping the other guy with the beer. I didn’t understand why they kept the helmet on. Then it hit me, as I watched the one dancing give up and head back to the table. Kiro knew them, but they didn’t want anybody else to. I bet the one Kiro was helping was his brother Andrew. And I bet I knew who the other guy was. The way he stopped me at the dance floor, demanding to dance. Crashing a student party. He probably saw my invite on the board. He was looking in my direction now. I realized I was staring. Suddenly his arm raised, and gave a quick wave. I didn’t look around me to see if it was directed to someone else. Instead I turned around and ordered a new beer without thinking. My mind was focused on something else. Its stupid to imagine that he crashes a student party to see me. How stuck up am I? In your dreams, sweetie! But he was in my dreams. He had been in them every night since the exhibition. I could still close my eyes and imagine his lips o my skin. It might be him. Did I want it to be him? No. Yes. Shit, this is bad. And I was loosing my beer count.

  Alice walked up.

  ‘Why are you standing here? Come and join us.’ She orders a Long Island and turned around again, leaning at the bar like I did a moment ago.

  ‘It’s too crowded at the table,’ I answer lightly. ‘Besides, I needed a break.’

  ‘Do you know who Salt and Pepper are?’ She beckons to the suits while getting her drink. ‘They’re not speaking, and refuses to take their helmets off. So annoying!’

  ‘I have no idea,’ I lied. No way was I giving her my theory.

  ‘But you have to know who it is. One of them waved at you.’

  I just shrugged to that, and giggled. In-my-dreams-Christopher waved at me. Wow, I AM drunk. Alice looked at me worried. She had seen me drunk maybe three times since I met her, all of them in the first couple of month of me coming here. I didn’t do drunk well.

  ‘Have you eaten today?’ she asked me, and I shrugged again. I honestly didn’t remember.

  ‘Geez, Sara! You’re coming with me so I can keep an eye on you.’

  Then she dragged me along back to the table, and placed me in a chair next to Might-be-Christopher. I slumped down, swallowing another giggle. I tried to sober up by focusing on the conversation. Mark and Una were there with a blond girl I didn’t know. They were rating the costumes, both on originality and looks. They had just giving someone a ‘One’, and I saw the guy was dressed in an ordinary suit and a Bowler hat, so I guessed ‘One’ is on the low scale. They gave a girl named Viola a ‘Nine’, because of her Fairy-costume. She had big transparent wings, glittery make-up and a green Tinkerbelle dress. She looked beautiful. But she lost a point because the wings kept knocking into people at the dance floor. The only one they gave top score was a guy wearing only a thong. His whole body was painted black, with bits of the universe on it. The details were amazing, and it must have taken forever to paint it. But his one clothing was a little revealing for my taste. I couldn’t hide my giggled when I noticed; he was really showing. I shook my head at his boldness, only to realise that kind of movement made the room sway. I put my beer down, forbidding myself to finish it.

  The I-hope-it-was-Christopher guy by my side nudged me with his shoulder and gestured towards the dance floor again. I looked into the visor, trying to see who was behind the glass, but I could only see my own reflection. I wouldn’t mind dancing with Christopher. But I wasn’t sure my balance was in order. So after some hesitation, I shook my head. Alice bends towards me and asked, loud enough for him to hear:

  ‘What score would you give these guys?’

  ‘Not much’ I answered, and looked back at my own reflection while continuing: ‘Difficult to drink in, impossible to talk through and too warm to dance in. Definitely not a party outfit! A plus for originality though, even if it’s two of them.’ We both laughed, while Damn-it-had-to-be-Christopher shook his head, clearly not pleased with my assessment. Then he nudged me again, this time pointing towards the exit. It only took me a second to decide. I wanted to confirm who he was. Without a word, I stand up, startling him with my sudden movement. Then he got up and reached for my hand.

  ‘Where are you going?’ Alice asks as he drags me along.

  ‘To have some fun,’ I shout back at her, grinning. She looked worried, so I amended my smile to a reassuring one, or at least I tried too. It must have worked, cause she didn’t get up to follow.

  It felt strange, walking away holding a stranger, not knowing if it were him or someone else. We walked past the bar, but instead of heading up the stairs to the exit, he quickly pulled me to the side and into a dark hallway. He stopped in front of a metal door labelled Staff Only. It was a number pad beside it, and my stranger pushed the digit without hesitation. The gesture made me waver, as the lock clicked and he opened the door to a large storage room. This was obviously planned in advance. Or maybe my stranger was some employee, and not Christopher. I dropped his hand when he went inside, reluctant to follow. This was a bad idea. I was about to turn back when I heard his voice.

  ‘Wait, its ok,’ he said as he removed his helmet. ‘It’s just a quieter place to talk, that’s all.’

  I let the door slam shut behind me as I entered the room without hesitation. My smile stretched out, and I felt unbelievable happy and weightless. In the back off my mind, I knew this wasn’t a good idea, but I didn’t care. I was so thrilled that he was here.

  ‘Did you know it was me?’ he asked, smiling back. Actually, he seemed a little cocky.

  ‘No, I have a habit of going with strange men to unknown locations.’ Although I did use irony, I suddenly realise that’s exactly what I had done. And even now that I knew who it was, it didn’t mean it was safe. I had met this guy two times in my life, and both times he had his lips on me. He had made his intentions quite clear, and I was in no position to complain, after I followed him through a locked door. But was I scared? Hell no. I wanted him. I wanted him to kiss me, touch me. My body wanted him. If he wanted me,
I was ready. Or was I? Did I really want to get involved with him? He was a hunter, and I was an easy pray. He just drags me along and I follow his every move. This shouldn’t be a good thing. I shouldn’t feel so happy about it.

  ‘This is wrong, we should head back to the others.’ I turned to the door, searching for the button to unlock it.

  ‘Wait,’ he gasped, and unbuttoned the top of his jacket. ‘This suit is killing me. God, it’s hot.’

  My eyes followed his hands as they unbutton the rest of his jacket. Then he removed it, and was standing in a white tank top. I could see his abs through the fabric. My body went wild, and I forgot whatever I was about to say as a response.

  ‘I came because of you.’ He was looking me right in the eyes as he said the words. He seemed sincere, but then again, he was an actor.

  Somehow, his words made me angry. ‘What stupid line is that, coming from a married man? We should go back.’ I really didn’t mean the words I said. My emotions were in turmoil. I should go back. I didn’t want to.

  ‘Just give me five minutes to catch my breath. I should never have danced in these clothes.’

  ‘It didn’t look like Catwoman minded.’

  ‘So you were watching, were you? Did you get jealous?’ His grin was too self-satisfied.

  ‘Mr Petrelli, you are married, remember? I don’t get jealous when married men flirts with other woman. Besides, I didn’t know it was you.’ My word didn’t seem to have any effect on his smug face.

  ‘Well, you shouldn’t be jealous, I asked you first. And please, call me Chris. Mr Petrelli, sounds so old.’

  ‘You are old,’ I quickly respond. I didn’t mean it. He was only five years older then me, and didn’t look it.

  ‘Ouch!’ he said as he walked away from me and jumped on a high bench by the back wall. He gestured for me to join him on the bench. I walked closer to him, but remained standing. Some racks crossed half the room, and I leaned against the back of one. My head was spinning. I could hear a low beat from the music from the other side of the walls. Christopher was sitting still, watching me. The silence made me uncomfortable.

  ‘So, what’s the deal with the suit and helmet? Not the smartest outfit to wear at a dance party.’

  ‘That would be Andrews bright idea. I suggested to him that we stopped by his brothers party after I saw your invitation…’ I knew he had seen it! ‘…but Andrew thought it would be too much fuss with drinking fans. So he borrowed a couple of bikes and equipment from a friend, so we could walk around without being recognised. It was actually quite fun, up until we tried to drink.’

  I laughed and remember the trouble Kiro had with getting a straw up their helmet.

  ‘You are so beautiful when you laugh, Sara.’ He jumped of the bench and came towards me.

  I stopped laughing. ‘That’s not funny, Chis. You have to stop encouraging me.’ I leaned back to keep my composure.

  ‘You can’t make me deny the truth.’ He lifted his left hand against the rack, blocking my exit. My pulse started to rise, and I wasn’t sure if I was afraid or turned on. I took a step to my right, towards the back corner, to get some breathing distance.

  ‘So, are you and Andrew straying a lot, crashing student parties and such?’ I tried to disarm the atmosphere.

  He was about to respond when we heard a noise from the other side of the room. Someone was grabbing the knob and punching in some numbers on the outside. Christopher reacted fast, moving me to the corner were a cabinet hid us from view. He put one finger against my lips, and I had to restrain myself from kissing it. Not the best time to do that, I though. The sound of the music became louder as the door opened. We could hear steps moving towards the right wall, and sounds of bottles as they moved back. Christopher was leaning against me, covering me completely. I didn’t know why. If they saw him, they would stop and eventually see me too. But I didn’t mind it. I could feel his breath on my hair, and the sensation sent tingling messages to my body. I was soaking up the smell of him, mixed with leather and sweat. His lips trailed my forehead like the other day, and I was biting my lips again, desperate to taste him.

  When the door opened and closed again, I half expected him to move away. Instead, he looked down on my face. I lift my chin and his lips touches mine. First, they were gentle, searching. He took a step back and looked at my face, to see if it was ok. I missed his closeness, and pulled him towards me. I was beyond thinking if this was right or wrong. Then he kissed with a lot more force, pushing me to the wall and grabbing me from behind. My arms locked behind his neck, and my body pressed against him. I was flying again. My blood was rushing, my legs felt weak, and my heart was beating wild. Nobody else existed. I wanted him. He clearly wanted me. I could feel it against my hip despite the leather suit. His lips left my mouth to kiss my neck. I moaned as they reached below my ear. I pushed him harder to me, tugging his hair. His hands where moving up my back, taking my top with them. He had almost unveiled my breast, when he suddenly lets go of me, and steps away with a growl. Only then do I hear his phone ringing from the jacket left on the bench. As he goes to get it, I try to regain my balance and slow my heart. My breathing is ragged.

  ‘Yes?’ You could hear his irritation in a single word.

  I lower my shirt in place and tried to clear my head of what I had been about to do.

  ‘Where?’ Christopher asked into the phone. ‘No, not now!’

  He goes back to me, and places a hand around my hip while talking. I was still leaning against the wall, trying to compose myself.

  ‘Ok, I’ll talk to you later. Hey wait, do you need the helmet?’ His eyes are locked with mine. ‘I’m sure you can stash the rest here, I think Jared has some clothes you can snatch. The staff’s room. Do you remember the code? Come alone, ok?’

  He put his phone on the bench and stepped away from me whispering ‘stay’, about the same time I heard someone outside the door. I could hear Andrews voice mixing with the music as the door opened.

  ‘Wait here, I’m just going to change my clothes.’ I could hear a girls voice whining. ‘No, sweetie. It’s for staff only, see? I’ll be right back.’

  Then the door closes, and I could hear Christopher. ‘Andrew, you dog. How old is she?’

  ‘Old enough! I heard Andrew laugh. ‘Where are you heading? And with who? Should I be worried?’

  ‘Very.’

  They stopped talking for a minute, and I bet Christopher were gesturing something. I could hear Andrew unbuttoning his clothes. My legs didn’t hold me, and I slid down to a sitting position, trying not to make a sound, although I was sure Andrew knew I was back here.

  ‘Next time, lets not do the helmets, ok?’ Andrew finally broke their silence.

  ‘Hey, it was your idea. Just put the clothes under the table, and get it later. I’m borrowing the helmet.’

  ‘I’ve got room in the car, if you want me to drive you somewhere.’

  ‘I don’t think so. I’ll see you later. Lunch at the club tomorrow?’ I didn’t hear the answer, but I could hear hands clashing together, and pictured a high five. Then the door opened and closed again, and Christopher stood in front of me with another helmet, grinning at me.

  ‘Do you want to go for a ride?’

  I looked up at him. ‘Where?’

  ‘Anywhere,’ he answered.

  ‘Are you sure you should drive? Haven’t you been drinking?’ I didn’t know the limit in Britain, but I was sure it wasn’t as strict as in Norway. I didn’t want to be a riding with someone under the influence, though.

  ‘How much do you think I got from the straw? I’m completely sober. Besides, it’s so hot in there, that I probably lost more fluid than I drank. I wish this place had a shower.’ He reached for my hand and I grab it while staggering to the floor. I could swear the ground was moving.

  ‘I have a shower,’ I said while trying to get a hold of my balance. I wasn’t completely aware of my words.

  He gaped at me for a second. ‘You, on the other h
and, are obliviously not sober. How much have you had to drink today?’ he asked, scrutinizing me.

  ‘Not much,’ I lied.

  ‘Enough to invite me home for a shower?’

  I blushed all over. Should I take it back? Did I realise what I just implied?

  ‘Yes’ I answered both Christopher and myself.

  ‘Well, then I’m going to take you up on that offer.’ He reached for his jacket and phone, and started to dress. ‘You won’t regret it.’

  ‘Hey, you know I just said shower, right?’

  ‘I know!’ He was grinning his smug smile again, and gave me Andrews helmet.

  ‘Maybe you need a cold shower’ I muttered as I follow him towards the door.

  Chapter 4

  «All the world is made of faith, and trust, and pixie dust.»

  - J.M. Barrie, Peter Pan

  He put his helmet back on, before exiting the door. I didn’t see the point at first, since I already knew it was him. Then I realised that it would be a problem being recognised by someone else, while leaving a bar with another woman. The other woman being me, excited me more than it should. I got out first and headed for the stairs before he grabbed my hand. He pointed towards a door in the opposite end. I could see a sign above marked Exit, it was probably the door the employees used. Christopher seemed to know this place a little too well. If this was planned, I hadn’t giving him much fight. In fact, I was ready to throw myself at him.

  As soon as he opened the door, I could feel the cool breeze waking me up. Soft light from a streetlight above shined on a stone stairwell. He stepped out, but I didn’t follow.