Ice Burns Read online

  The stranger hands one of the cups to me just as Mr Marks steps away from me. Immediately playing along, I say nothing as the stranger puts the arm holding the other cup loosely around my waist - somehow the way he does it makes me feel protected, not prowled upon. He sticks his free hand out to Mr Marks who is now looking between the newcomer and me.

  “Jamie Fiscale”, he tips his head to me for a moment, never breaking eye contact with Mr Marks before continuing, “A close friend. And you are?”

  “Jamie, this is my boss, Mr Marks. Mr Marks, Jamie, my, errr, friend”, I stammer out, feeling heat rising to my cheeks.

  Mr Marks smirks in Jamie’s direction, runs his eyes slowly down my body, licking his lips as he gets to my crotch area and saying something about us having a good night before he disappears into the crowd.

  “I hope that was okay,” Jamie says, carefully removing his arm from around me so as not to spill his drink, his eyes following Mr Marks till he’s out of sight. “You looked really uncomfortable. That’s really your boss?”

  “Uh, y..yes. That’s my boss, and yes, I was uncomfortable. Uhm. Thank you.” I stretch out my hand offering his mulled wine back to him.

  “No, that’s okay, you have it. Are you here alone?”

  Why when he says it does it sound concerned and not like a pick-up line?

  “Uhm, I came with a friend, but I lost her,” I say, looking around as if to emphasise the point.

  “Well, I came with a friend too. He’s a great guy but a bit of a third wheel tonight. He’s.. uh… not dating at the moment. Do you fancy some non-lecherous company?”

  His words are upfront and seem socially out of place, but his face is so totally sincere that I burst out a laugh, and with a final look around to see if I can spot Sarah, I nod ascent and follow him towards one of the chill out areas furthest from the dance floor.

  *AIDEN*

  I’ll admit the vibe here is incredible. I was nervous about coming back here, but it all looks so different tonight. The whole place looks like you’ve arrived in a different world, and just blanked out the flight and passport control. There’s a real buzz in the air. It could be the five beers I’ve had so far tonight, but I don’t think so.

  Jamie’s disappeared off to the warm bar for mulled wine for himself and his date - Felicity - who I’ve given up trying to chat to as she’s tap, tap, tapping her phone screen. The barn’s essentially a Faraday cage, but she’s not figured that out yet, so I leave her to it. I’ve long since stopped bothering trying to get to know Jamie’s dates. He’ll be onto the next by sunrise - perks of owning your own modelling agency, I suppose.

  This chill out lounge has sofas set into a square space, with huge bean bags and cushions scattered around. There are people lying, leaning, perching all around fake flames fluttering in fake fire pits. They are lit by yellow, red and orange lights, filling the room with flickering, so with a bit of imagination, it looks like a crowd of people camped out on a very cosy mountainside somewhere. Smooth jazz is streamed in just loud enough to allow for conversation, interrupted occasionally by the blast of music from outside when the door opens to let someone in.

  Each time the dance music infiltrates, I look up to see who’s arriving, and finally, it’s Jamie, carrying just one mulled wine and guiding a beautiful woman ahead of him. I roll my eyes, wondering what he’s up to now, but as they walk towards us, I can’t help looking at her. She’s really gorgeous.

  Long, beautiful legs, that end in a short, sparkly dress, form fitting enough to show off a shapely, hippy body topped off by breasts that just about peek out the top. She has long black hair and a pale complexion. She’s nervously chewing her bottom lip, and there’s a stirring somewhere inconvenient at the thought of those lips on …

  “Yo, Aid, you gonna get up for the lady or what?” Jamie’s clearly been trying to get my attention, but I was… distracted.

  “Sure, yes, of course. A friend of yours?” I ask as non-committally as possible, but Jamie knows me well enough to know when I’m a bit dumbstruck.

  “Aiden, meet… uhm… “ I know Jamie too, and I can see his brain scrolling through a mental contact list, trying to put a name to the face. I smirk a little. Jamie’s normally so smooth.

  “Amber”, she says, putting out her hand for me to shake, I finally meet her eyes for the first time and know without a doubt where the name came from. They are the colour of tree resin, luminescent in the fake fire light and as they meet mine I have to look away quickly. I can drown in those eyes. Be burned up by them. It’s official. I’ve turned into a girl.

  Fortunately the whole package in front of me is so hot, I’m aware of an increase of blood to my cock, so at least that part of me still works like a guy.

  Jamie hands the other mulled wine over to Felicity and heads to the more basic bar at the back of the chill out room for some beers. Felicity hasn’t looked up from her phone, so I gesture for Amber to take a seat where I was sitting a moment ago.

  “Do you mind if I perch on the edge?”

  “Sure, but I don’t want to take your seat, I am happy to perch,” she replies, those brown eyes lingering on mine. I am aware that if I’m in the low seat and she’s perched on the arm I’m going to be very close to those legs. I’m also aware that my mouth is suddenly very dry.

  “No, that’s fine. You get cosy and enjoy your mulled wine,” I say smiling, trying to be comforting and welcoming, without intruding on Jamie’s territory. He brought her over, after all. Maybe he’s looking for a threesome. Or maybe he’s ditching Felicity. I sure as hell would in his shoes.

  “Thank you. This wasn’t really bought for me. So I’ve taken your seat and maybe your drink?” her gaze is questioning, conversational.

  “No, it’s fine, really. So,” I shift to get comfortable, and from my position I’m looking down on her a little, just enough to see down her dress to two beautifully rounded breasts, but I’m trying hard to keep my eyes focussed north of her chin. “How do you know Jamie?”

  “I don’t. He kind of… rescued… me, from an awkward situation back there,” she says nodding her head in the general direction of somewhere else.

  Felicity finally looks up, scowling. She openly scans Amber up and down, obviously assessing the level of competition she’s facing, when Jamie returns, hands me my beer, and slides down into the seat with his original date. A victorious smirk flits across her heavily made-up features, like she’s won a battle, and I wonder whether she’s aware there was never actually a war.

  *AMBER*

  The girl with Jamie glares at me like I personally drove over her cat. No one’s introduced us, but I’m not broken up over it. I’m guessing we’re not going to be friends. When he lifts her legs up over his, so she’s straddling him sideways, she seems unaware that there’s anyone else in the room and locks lips with him in much the same way a dog marks a tree. He’s gorgeous though, so I can see why she’s staking her claim.

  Aiden and I look at each other and he rolls his eyes, shaking his head in a “sorry about them” gesture.

  He is pretty gorgeous himself. Obviously spends some time in the gym and his dirty blond hair is spiked up like he’s stuck his fingers in a half-powered socket, but it suits him. Despite his strong jaw and very good looks, he doesn’t have the cocky self-assuredness that Jamie has. He looks hot as hell in a casual suit and I did notice that he’s a bit taller than I am, which isn’t always a given for me. His dark brown eyes are darting around the room and he seems unsure what to say next, so I ask him if he’s been here before. He shifts, almost uncomfortably, which I don’t really understand.

  “Uhm, do you mean the venue or the event?”

  “I… I guess either?” It’s a detailed question and I’m quite surprised by it, so I smile widely. I don’t get the feeling he really wants to be talking to me.

  “The barn, yes, the event, no, it’s my first time. How about you?”

  “Same. I’m really excited to see all the different bars and ch
ill out areas.”

  Aiden takes the cue and offers, “We can take a walk around, if you like? When your wine is finished?”

  He’s looking into my eyes again, and I feel a flutter begin in my pelvis and move through my whole body, pulsing in my heart and leaving me momentarily light headed. Romance novels talk about boys with eyes like deep pools and for the first time I get what they mean. Except his eyes are brown, and dark, so I guess they’d be deep pools at night time and the reflection from the fairy lights in the room twinkle in them like stars in an open sky.

  Oh mercy, I do read too many romance novels.

  His eyes are searching my own, and I realise he’s still waiting for an answer. My breath has hitched in my throat so I can’t say the words just yet. Instead I nod like a crazy person for way too long, and finally manage to breathe, “I’d like that”.

  And we do. We spend the rest of the night walking, talking, exploring, laughing and drinking. So much drinking, I don’t even remember leaving.

  ~ 3 ~

  *AMBER*

  I open my eyes and my first thought is that is that the sun is shining into my room, which means I’ve slept all day. The second thought follows swiftly, and in it I wonder when I acquired a windowsill full of bonsais interspersed with little Japanese Zen trays. It dawns on me that it is a good thing, taking on new interests and all, but it also concerns me that I have no memory of it. The third thought hits me like one of those fast trains that don’t stop at the station: I’m not in my room. And it’s at this point that a foot touches my leg under the duvet, I scream - loudly - and launch myself out of the bed while clutching at said duvet as I’m not entirely sure whether I have clothes on or not.

  I get tangled up in the sheets, and end up face down in a twist on the ground. The movement makes my stomach drop out and I’m sure an axe has split my head in two. A gorgeous blonde man - wait, that’s Aiden, right? - half jumps, half falls out of the bed on the other side, yelling defensively while looking around for whichever intruder has so rudely interrupted his sleep.

  His eyes settle on mine, scanning me like he’s looking for blood and following his gaze I see that I am in fact wearing a t-shirt I’ve never seen before, and boy shorts scrunched up in front with a hair band to keep them up.

  Aiden is wearing shorts too, and I’ve got to say, whatever happened last night… I really wish I remembered it. I’d trust that body to fight off my enemies any day. I have a sudden strong desire to lick him.

  “Uh. Are you okay?” He is still holding the defensive pose and I realise that I’m still clutching the duvet like a life raft.

  “I have no idea. I don’t know where … I don’t remember… I mean, did we… What did you give… “

  He holds up his hand to stop me.

  “You’re at my house because you didn’t think it safe to give a stranger your address.” He quirks his eye at me as the logic of that sentence settles over me. “No, we didn’t .. anything… And I didn’t give you anything either - though I’m not sure in retrospect that trying every one of the 30 flavoured vodka shots at the Snowman Village bar was such a great idea, but at some point, things got a bit blurry. Don’t worry though - you emptied your stomach pretty definitively as soon as we walked into the house, so the hangover shouldn’t be too bad”.

  As he’s speaking, memories are slowly finding their way through the foggy haze and lodging in some order that resembles accuracy and I pretty much want to die. I’m not sure whether the lopsided grin on his face is making things better or worse, but I sink back down onto the ground, hiding my mortification behind my hands and groaning loudly into them.

  “I had 30 vodka shots?” I’m not a big drinker, so if this is the case I’m either really impressed or surprised I didn’t die.

  “No, I think we quite after 9 or so.”

  Well. That’s better, I suppose.

  “It wasn’t all bad though - you more than made up for it when I tried to get you out of your dress and into something to sleep in. You promised to… hmm.. What was it again?” He has a huge grin on his face, and looks up at the ceiling, as if trying to remember something… “Rock my world as soon as it stopped spinning? Yeah, that’s right. I believe you also demanded a strip tease, but I must have been too slow, because by the third button you were kinda … comatose.” He is holding back laughter right now. I can hear it in his voice and I wish he’d leave the room so I can sneak out the window and never.look.back.

  He doesn’t though, which is probably a good thing because out the window I can see treetops and that might not be the safest idea. He takes my hand and pulls me up, picks up the duvet and shakes it out over the bed. Then takes my hand again and leads me into the bathroom, and he’s smiling all the while.

  “Have another shower. You’ll feel better. The yellow toothbrush was new last night, so use that again, and I’ll get something fresh for you to wear. There’ll be coffee waiting for you in the kitchen when you’re done.”

  “Wait, Aiden,” he’d let go, but I grab his hand again. “I’m so sorry - I don’t drink like that, normally. Or ever. It’s been a long week, and I was stressed out by running into my boss. I’ve never had memory loss from drinking. I’m mortified. Why are you being so kind?”

  Yes, I want to die of shame, but I’m also really curious. I’m sure most guys would have sent a wreck like me packing long before dawn.

  He shrugs and winks at me, then leans in and plants a quick and gentle kiss on my cheek. I’m so surprised I drop his hand, and he heads out the door, calling over his shoulder, “I liked kissing you. I’d like to try it again, sober.”

  I stare at his retreating back as tears begin to prickle my eyes. This whole thing is so unlike me.

  We kissed?

  That’s something I really wish I could remember.

  *AIDEN*

  Okay. I may have exaggerated that a little. Or a lot. We never actually kissed. I thought we might, a few times, and I really wanted to, many times, but Amber was always just a little out of reach. She was okay with my arm around her waist, her shoulder, and even holding my hand, but every time I thought ‘now’, she’d turn her head, or smile and step away. It was a total tease, but I loved it. Yes, we got horrendously hammered, but even that… well, I suppose if she hadn’t passed out it might have happened, but the closest we got to a kiss was the one I planted on her forehead when her dress came off. And that took all the control I could muster.

  The girl had no bra on. She had the skimpiest panties on. I needed every ounce of self control to slip a t-shirt over her head and step away. For just a moment I allowed myself to touch my lips to her skin. By the time the hem dropped over her hips, I was shaking with the violence of an internal battle raging between my brain saying she was too drunk to consent, and another part of me really standing up for himself, arguing that she was in my room and she was nearly naked. It was a hell of a battle, but I’m not that guy, so my brain won. My balls still hate me though.

  I should probably pop her in a cab and send her home, but there’s something about Amber that I can’t shake. She might dress like a sex-kitten but she’s gentle, almost vulnerable, and I need to know her. I walked around my old stomping ground with her last night and everything just felt right. As mesmerised as she was by the temporary splendour around us, I was by her. She looked at each decoration, every bit of clever design, and her eyes lit up. The joy of discovery written on her face. Every now and then she’d shut her eyes and take a deep breath, like she was breathing it all in. She was clearly enamoured with the unique décor of each bar, each chill out area, each zone and enthusiasm and energy bubbled out of her. She came alive under the beauty of it all, and it made being around her addictive. I wanted to drink her in, bask in the glow from her light. I’ve never seen anything like her before.

  I could tell when she was going over the far edge of sobriety, but I plunged straight after her, because I didn’t want the night to end. And even though she was dressed every bit the vixen, she wasn’
t giving anything up for nothing. I think she’s going to make me work for a round two. Or is it round one, since nothing actually happened, even though I’m sure my dick stood sentinel to her virtue most of the night.

  I turn the coffee machine on and head to the bedroom as the toothbrush hits the glass jar on the basin. I hear the shower door open and close, the water switch on, a while later it switches off. I’ve found my smallest pair of sweats and a large t-shirt and lay them on the bed. I’m trying not to picture her naked body in the shower, and not to picture her running soapy hands over herself. I’m trying not to think about the fact that she’s going to have very little on underneath, and my clothes will be against her body but I’m failing, so I quickly put on my own clothes and head for the door just as Amber steps out of the en-suite with a large bathsheet wrapped around her beautiful body. Steam billows off her and out of the bathroom behind her.