An ocean so inviting

Eliza knew she had a little too much to drink. She came to that conclusion when she found herself mocking the way he talked to her friends, who kept giving her smug smiles and exchanged knowing looks. But truly, it wasn’t her fault that he had such a haughty tone of voice when he was discussing Greek mythology – of all things. Nor was it her fault that he was just constantly infuriating. And, well, so what if he was an attractive guy? She’d met plenty before, and at the very least they were far less annoying than him.

“Whatever, you know what? You’re no fun. I’m going home!” she pouted with mock irritation and took out her phone to check the timetable for the night trains, heading toward the exit of the club. She was so concentrated that she ended up running right into him.

“Sorry! –Oh.” She rolled her eyes realising who he was.

He gave her a smug smile. “Hi, princess”, he raised an eyebrow, “clock struck midnight?”

She continued toward the door, ignoring him, she had managed to avoid him for most of the night, and now here he was. Thankfully she had quite a bit of whiskey, or God knows how she could put up with him.

“Ah, I see you’re going for the silent treatment.” He added while following her out, “And here I was, offering to save the damsel in distress and walk her all the way to the station. You’re going toward Liverpool Street station, I presume?”

She sighed, put on her coat, and walked onto the street. “Yes, but I don’t need a chaperon, thank you very much, I can fend for myself”.

William laughed at that, but it came out as a snort, which would have been in equal parts endearing and hilarious, if it wasn’t for the fact that it came from William himself. Or maybe it was precisely because it came from him? Alright, maybe she could have done without that last glass of whiskey on ice. “Oh I know very well that you can”, he said while stealing a glance at her. She felt blush creeping in on her cheeks, forced herself to blame it on the alcohol, and kept her gaze down on her feet. If she stumbled now he would never let her live it down, even she tried to blame it on her high heels. “I just thought I could annoy you a little, you seemed to be ignoring me all evening, giving me no chance to do that.” He said in mock-disappointment, but then he must have noticed the way she was so concentrated on her steps and added “On second thoughts, I’m not sure how much you can ‘fend for yourself’, you give more of a 'stumbling and barely making it home’ vibe.”

She scoffed, “So what? In that case, I’m perfectly capable of stumbling home to my cats. Alone.”

She glanced up for a moment, which was a mistake because the bastard was smirking. “Can I come along?” he asked with a Cheshire cat smile. Ignoring him was the best course of action, if she wanted to control the fire spreading to her cheeks. After all, she knew he was just teasing her. For heaven’s sake, why did his favourite pastime have to be making her life a living hell? Regardless, she felt her blush deepen and had to scold herself. Sure, he was gorgeous, but also aggravating, rash, and judgemental –and couldn’t get over the fact he kept calling her “princess” just because she came from a well-to-do family. All she wanted to do was enjoy the cool night breeze while she walked on the deserted Shoreditch sidewalks, was it really too much to ask? Or, alternatively, if she really must be in his presence, why not pressed up against the wall, with his lips crashing against hers, his hands roaming her body. ‘No.’, she shut her eyes trying to erase the image from her wild imagination, ‘you know damn well it would never happen, nor should you want it, Eliza’. She realised those thoughts infuriated her, or maybe it was his beauty, or maybe it was the fact that she didn’t have him but he still had the power to inspire such feelings within her. She suddenly noticed how close they were walking, their arms almost brushing, and felt the pull of his magnetic field a little too strongly. She tried her best to ignore it, focussing on her irritation toward him instead.

**

They walked in silence for a couple of minutes. At times like this, William couldn’t help but wonder whether she appreciated the constant friendly banter or whether she actually despised him. Not that he should care. She was probably the most stuck-up person in town, anyway. With her perfect hair, her perfect house, her perfect job, her perfect family. Sure, everywhere she went she turned heads, which would make her a great “conquest” to some, but she was more trouble than she was worth. Although he had to admit, irritating her was rather satisfying. He found himself imagining what her life must be like, she must have it so easy –after all she was well-off, beautiful, wanted. He could see her in his mind, wandering around dainty coastal towns, on weekend getaways. He could see himself there with her. He cleared his throat.

“Lost in your thoughts, princess?” he asked quizzically while raising an eyebrow and giving her a playful shove.

“I’m just ignoring you, buddy. Sorry, I’ve got enough to deal with as it is, no need for you to increase my load of problems by trying to make small talk in the most exasperating manner possible.”

“Oh but I’m not making small talk. Plus, you may say I’m exasperating as much as you want, but I know you secretly adore this.” She scoffed, he knew she would, but he still hoped beyond hope she would laugh at his obvious joke. Why was he even bothering? She clearly did not care for him. But her hair looked golden under the dim streetlights and he was sure the ticking of her heels on the ground was synchronised with his own heartbeat somehow. He pushed the thought aside. “I wonder what you could even worry about, haven’t you got it all in life?”, he joked. She groaned, but he pressed, “Where’s your perfect boyfriend anyway? I haven’t seen him around lately.”

She seemed to sober up at that, for a moment he thought he could see a flash of hurt in her eyes before they turned to ice, and he wondered whether he had actually overstepped.

Eliza cleared her throat, “Probably in some club in Soho, doing I don’t know what. Not my business anymore”, she answered after a few beats, her voice level.

William scoffed. “I always knew that guy wasn’t good enough for you. Hell, even I would be better and I’m your sworn enemy!” He guessed feeling protectiveness toward her was probably unwarranted, but he couldn’t bring himself to care.

She looked up at him, seemingly surprised at his words. There was an intensity to her gaze that pulled him in and for a second all he could do was stare back, struggling not to drop his eyes to her lips. Then she surprised him, linking her arm with his.

“I didn’t realise we were enemies.” Perhaps it wasn’t the answer he hoped, but at least her tone was more jovial than it had been throughout their conversation.

“Oh? What are we, then?” he asked just as they arrived at the entrance of the station.

She walked past him and, for an instant, their hands brushed. He tried to ignore the electricity sparked by that quick contact. She stood in front of him, head slightly tilted, a half-smile on her face. When she answered, her voice was excessively casual. “I don’t really know, to be honest. But I would think it odd to flirt with your enemy, no?”

He opened and closed his mouth, then swallowed. Her gaze moved to his Adam’s apple, then travelled up, resting on his mouth for the briefest of moments, before finally meeting his eyes with a quizzical expression. He shifted on his feet before desperately trying to regain his composure. But her eyes were twinkling and felt himself sinking into that ocean. He anticipated he would the red flush on his face before he could even feel the heath rising and hated every second of it. It was a rather surreal situation, especially considering he knew he had been flirting with her, he chose to do so. He just didn’t think she’d ever look closely enough past his banter to notice. Certainly, he never thought he’d want to take the plunge with her, he was too afraid of crashing to the ground. But he knew in that instant that even though she would never say it, she could feel that magnetic pull, too. It was now or never. He could smirk and make a joke, he knew how to put on a façade. Instead, he put his hands on either side of her face, pulled her toward him, and kissed her fiercely. Her eyes snapped open, there was a split-second of terror when he thought he’d read it all wrong. Then, she kissed him back, and it was all-consuming, impatient, electrifying, and he could feel her skin burning under his fingers.

She pulled, back, all too soon for his taste, until his surroundings faded back into view and he remembered they were still in the station.

“Does that answer your question, then?” he did smirk now.

She giggled, a sound so foreign but so welcome. “I’m not too sure. All I know is that I must truly be very drunk if I just kissed you back.” She answered with an excited smile on her face, her eyes gleaming. “Perhaps I should take you up on your offer, after all. Want to come along and meet my cats?”

William grinned, “What kind of man would I be if I left you going back home alone while so obviously drunk?” he asked rhetorically, taking her hand in his, trying to play it cool, trying not to notice how small and soft it felt. “But only to meet your cats.”

“Oh, so these two are the only reasons, right?” she asked leaning into his shoulder as they approached the platform.

“Obviously.”