t w e l v e
" does that make me a bad person? "
-

-

It was at the point Cora offered him a shot that he knew he wasn't turning back. As he knocked it back, he felt it rush down his neck and even the thought invigorated him. It topped all the other drinks off.

Cora knew what she was doing. It wasn't the first time she'd dealt with a guy straight out of a relationship. Simon was no different to the others who wanted to be over it but really weren't. The night was only ever going to end in two ways, which she knew from experience. The guy would either end up regretting it and go back to his girlfriend, realising that was what he wanted, or he would realise that whatever that relationship was isn't what he wants anymore.

Cal was long gone. About an hour ago he'd patted Simon on the back and told him to 'show her what he's made of', in reference to Cora, who'd raised an eyebrow at the comment. Then he'd walked out of the bar with the blonde girl on his arm and a grin on his face.

Now, Simon had a drink in his hand as he danced with Cora. He wasn't ever much of a dancer, but Cora managed to get him to drink enough to the point where he just didn't care, especially not as she danced against him.

"You're not so bad," She said, placing a hand against his chest.

"Thanks?"

She laughed and her hand slid onto his shoulder, honey eyes meeting his. "I expected you to be a lot more... sad," She explained further. "But you're really going for it tonight."

"Does that make me a bad person?" He asked, mixed with slurred speech.

"I don't think so," Cora replied, her finger tracing across the base of his neck. It send tingles shooting up his back. He watched her molten eyes flicker between his own and his mouth.

She smiled warmly for a moment as if giving him the chance to pull away.

He didn't.

So neither did she. Committed, she leant her lips up to his and laced her fingers thought the back of his hair, knowing her work was done as soon as he began to kiss back. He was good too, even in his state.

It wasn't an unusual sight for people to see Cora kissing someone, but, as they broke apart, Cora came eye to eye with the man from Newcastle. She smiled sweetly and said, "Sorry, babe."

Simon looked between them; between the man's confused, hurt face and Cora's unremorseful expression.

"Whatever," Will muttered, turning away and storming back though the crowd.

Cora shook her head with a laugh as he left, facing Simon again and kissing him before any questions could be asked. Questions always ruined things.

They danced and kissed and laughed together until the life of the bar began to die down. Her lips tasted like alcohol and he couldn't get enough. It was then that Cora lifted her lips from his and whispered in her usual, purring manner, "How about we get out of here?"

He couldn't do anything but nod.

She intertwined her fingers with his and pulled him behind her as they weaved between the remnants of the night, scooting past a couple kissing against a wall, and into the back room to the stairs.

"You can still say no," Cora offered as they walked up the stairs, their footsteps echoing in the stairwell. "You can still leave and make all of this better with your ex, whoever she is."

"I think it's too late for that," He replied shortly, not intending to be rude but wanting any conversation entailing Adela to be over when he was about to have a one night stand.

Cora shrugged her shoulders, letting go of his hand to unlock the door. They were barely inside when Simon took a hold of her waist and pushed his mouth on hers. She laughed against his lips, reaching around him to push the door shut.

-

The sound of chirping birds was what woke Simon up to be immediately greeted with an awful headache and the sight of a girl, that was not Adela, sleeping beside him. Groaning, he rolled onto his back and sat up, his head ringing.

That was when he realised he was naked.

He rubbed his hands over his face, sighing.

"They always react like that," The girl said from beside him, sitting up. She dragged a hand though her hair before slipping out of the bed. He quickly averted his eyes as she was naked, too, and just standing there redressing herself in front of him.

"What?" Simon frowned.

"As if it's the end of the world." She let out a low laugh as she pulled an old t-shirt over her head. "But it's really not. At the end of the day, you were single and you're more than entitled to sleep with whoever you want."

"Right..." He trailed off, taking the opportunity whilst her back was turned to get out of bed and begin pulling on his clothes. When she came back into the room, opening her mouth to begin to speak, he cut her off. "Well, did you want to get breakfast or something?"

"That's another thing that guys always ask, no matter who they are or what they're going through," She replied, pointing her index finger at him. "But the answer is no. I don't do breakfast."

"Why not?" He asked. Adela always liked to go and get breakfast with him.

Now, it was Cora's turn to frown. No one ever asked why. They usually either got annoyed at her or just accepted it and then left, never to set foot in her apartment again. But maybe Simon really was different. 

"Because that sounds too much like a relationship and, if it isn't already obvious enough, I'm not a relationship kind of person."

"Hm," Simon hummed, sitting back down on the end of the bed as he pulled his shoes on his feet "I've always been in relationships. Never really had one night stands or anything like that."

"Well, there's a first time for everything," Cora muttered, scratching her cheek. "Honestly, if you're looking for a relationship, you're looking in the wrong place. Whoever or whatever you came here to get over, your reaction this morning shows that it clearly didn't work."

"What?"

"You weren't exactly ok with waking up next to me."

"Sorry, it's just-"

"Difficult. I know. I've been there, but what you tried actually worked for me and hasn't stopped working since. Maybe you need to try something else to get over whoever they are or stop trying and just tell them that you're not over it and that you're down to try again.

Either way, thanks for last night." She patted him on the shoulder. "You were great, but I'm still not giving you breakfast."

"Right, thanks," Simon replied, but he was already distracted by her words as they began spinning in his head, bouncing off every curve of his skull.

Cora dropped her hand from his shoulder. "Well, you know the way out," She said gently, and slightly sympathetically, before leaving him to himself.

He thought about everything Cora said in the taxi home. His eyes were tired and his head ached like hell, but through it all there was the horrible sensation of regret that he hoped was just hunger. He knew what it was, but admitting it was an entirely different story.

It was like a hurricane in his mind through the hangover and all the thoughts. There was too much to think about.

Maybe Cora was right. Maybe he wasn't over Adela and maybe he should tell her that, but wasn't it already too late for that when he'd thrown it all down the drain in one stupid decision of self-discovery.

He told himself he was being dramatic and made a new decision as he clambered out of the taxi, paying the driver on the way out. He was going to call Adela and ask her to meet him so he could tell her about all these new feelings.

He felt the hurricane subsiding ever so slightly as he took his phone from his pocket and called her contact, hoping for the best.

-

1400 words
bois