Cocktails in Chelsea

Putting the glass down on the bar with a clink, he stopped and stared at her. Nodding, ‘Of course Milady,’ he said mockingly. ‘I thought trying to protect your dignity might be appreciated, but apologies for any insult caused.’ His eyes dropped to her low neckline. ‘Besides, I can see now that I’ve got a front view that your dignity isn’t really a priority.’

Her mouth dropped open and she looked down, realising her folded arms were pushing her boobs up so they were almost spilling over the edges of the yellow material. Dropping her arms, she stared at the bar top, cheeks burning and unsure what to say. Why was it that when it came to work, or travelling, or anything other than her love life, she was confident and bold, but when faced with a guy she found attractive, she fell to pieces? It didn’t help that she didn’t feel quite herself tonight, in the alien outfit and surroundings.

‘Hey,’ a long-fingered hand slid around her wrist and squeezed it gently before letting go. ‘Sorry. That was harsh. Are you okay?’

Perfect. Now he felt sorry for her. Suck it up Sofia, you’re better than this.

How would Christie handle the situation? Sofia might not like the girl much, but she was ultra-cool when it came to the dealing with the opposite sex. It was worth a go. Tilting her chin up, she smiled at him breezily, ignoring the tingle where he’d touched her skin. ‘Of course I am.’ She arched an eyebrow and flipped her trailing hair over one shoulder. ‘Now, is that cocktail going to make an appearance this year, or not?’

Nathan nodded, sliding the ice-filled glass out of the way. ‘Coming right up.’ He took a metal cocktail shaker off a shelf and scooped some ice cubes into it as a shorter barman with slicked back hair and model-material chiselled features appeared. ‘Hey, Quinn,’ Nathan jokily threw an ice-cube at him, ‘you’ve been gone ages. What’s going on?’

‘You know me, mate. They’ve been eating me alive.’ Quinn grinned, selecting a tall pint glass from the side and filling it from one of the curved silver beer taps. He glanced at Sofia and then did a double take. ’Hi, there.’

She smiled. ’Hello, back.’ He wasn’t her type, was far too smooth, so there was no danger of him making her tongue-tied. It was also nice to be appreciated rather than mocked. She widened her smile, noticing Nathan scowl from the corner of her eye.

‘Quinn, can you pass me the orange juice?’ Nathan growled.

‘Sure, here.’ Without taking his eyes off Sofia he handed over a plastic beaker of juice from beneath the bar.

‘Thanks,’ Nathan replied, rolling his eyes at his colleague’s obviousness as he poured the OJ into the cocktail shaker. ‘Do you want to add a bit of a twist and have pineapple juice in it too?’ he asked Sofia, adding a double measure of vodka to the shaker along with some cranberry juice, before pouring some Peach Schnapps in freehand, not bothering to measure it.

‘Sure,’ she agreed. ‘I can be adventurous.’

‘Really?’ he drawled, sloshing in the pineapple juice from a jug.

‘Yes!’ She propped her chin on one hand to watch him work. ‘You don’t believe me?’ She scrunched her feet up inside the high heels, toes starting to hurt from standing for so long.

‘I guess I’m just surprised,’ he pulled a mock shocked face. ‘Girls like you usually like it straight up.’

‘Girls like me?’

But he didn’t answer, instead he started vigorously shaking the container full of mixture up and down, arm moving so fast it was just a blur.

She forgot what they’d been talking about as she gazed at him. His movements were easy and super-confident and her heart pounded, hands going clammy, mesmerised by the way he flipped the shaker over his shoulder and caught it underarm before spinning it in a circle on his fingertips, as if by magic. Tom Cruise, you’ve got competition. It was a shame Nathan seemed to have taken a dislike to her. He really was bloody sexy.

Slamming the container down, he grabbed the glass he’d put aside and threw the ice chips into the sink. ‘Chills it,’ he explained when she frowned.

She nodded slowly, mouth dry. ‘Uh-huh.’

Straining the mixture into the glass, he twisted a slice of orange onto the rim, and then garnished the cocktail with a maraschino cherry. ‘There you go,’ his mouth quirked in a lopsided smile, ‘worth waiting for; Sex on the Beach.’

Yes, please. Sofia thought hazily. Clearing her throat, she managed a croaky, ‘T-thank you.’

Quinn sauntered up with a circular tray in his hand, sliding her drinks onto it. ‘I’ll carry this over for you.’

‘I’m okay, thanks,’ Sofia took a step away from the bar and stumbled. It was embarrassing how badly the heels were crippling her, she was usually quite tough. There was no point being an idiot about it though. ‘I mean, that would be helpful, thank you.’ Spinning around, she walked carefully across the room to Tori and Christie, a little part of her hoping that Nathan was watching. But when she glanced over her shoulder he had already turned his back on her.