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Bloody hell, what a motherfucking boring day it’s gonna be. And why the hell is he late again? Danny I swear, if you don’t show up in the next five minutes I’m gonna kick your fucking ass. There you are, god dammit!
- Oh come on, move your ass! I said while stepping in the car.
- Yeah, good morning to you too, Angela, he replied with a childish smile. Sorry, I couldn’t find my tie.
- Your... tie? You never wear any!
- Yeah, well, I thought that maybe it’s about time I start wearing one.
- Right, okay... whatever you say.
When we arrived, Jenny had already opened the office, and actually we were the last ones to come. Nothing unusual, though.
- Ah, there you are, Danniq. Er, in five minutes I want you all in my office, er... we have to clear up some things before the minister calls us.
Urg. What’s with Jeffries wanting a fucking reunion at 9am? I know she said ‘first thing in the morning’, but still, what a fucking pain in the ass. Anyway. Where’s my noteboo... ah, there. Right, off we go, then.
- Alriiiight, so, we have to think. What policies could we possibly submit to the minister? Katherine said, while writing ‘immigration policies’ in capital letters on a whiteboard.
What’s with the whiteboard though? She thinks we’re some big corp or what? Anyway I guess that’s kinda important. Let’s just write that down.
- Anyone? Okay, when you think about immigration, what do you think about?
- Boats.
Everyone stares. No wonder why, Nathanial. You fucking moron.
- Okay Katherine, Iiiiiiiii personnally thought about this project, I mean, it’s just an idea really, nothing serious yet, just bits and bobs in my head you know, but it’s something I call ‘religious playgrounds’. Basically it’s a playground where children and parents of different faiths could just come and play together.
Damn, not bad, Jenny. Should write that down... Religious playgrounds, right?
- And I mean, it could help families to integrate, I can already imagine a cute little Muslim girl and a cute little Christian boy just playing in the sandbox and finding a syringe together, and -
- Right... Uh, wait, Angela? What are you doing?
- Well I’m writing that down. I’m a PA, ain’t I?
- Yeah but I wanted to keep that, you know, off the records.
- Serious? You don’t need me, then, I said while exiting the meeting room and regaining my - I mean, Danny’s office.
Not as if would change anything, their little meeting-briefing-brainstorming-whatever. Eighteen months I’ve been there and we got nothing done, so, well. I mean, can’t say we aren’t working, cause we are. It’s not as if we were, I dunno, spending the day boozing or something. Kay, is the computer on? Yeah, he just left it locked. Well then, let’s see what you last worked on... Call of Motherfuking Duty? You little fucker. Right, let’s launch a new game. Wait, what do you mean by ‘no wifi’? Gotta inform Jen- ah shit, yeah, the meeting. Eh, whatever.
I wonder how long they’re gonna be in there. At least I got the couch all for myself. Hm, what are we gonna do tonight? There’s that rave we wanted to go to for ages, I guess we should go tonight. Yeah... that’d be great.
Her face showed a little, dreamy smile.
But the memory of the other day kept being here, somewhere in the corner of her mind. Her smile diminished.
She sighed deeply and stood up.
Right, whatever, gonna put the kettle on.
- Oh well look at who’s back in the land of the living...
- Yeah, tell me about it.
- Fancy a cuppa?
- Yeah, sure. You know which one.
Of course I know you tosser. Chai latte, three sugars. Am ya fuking bff or not? How dare you, you silly little twat. How dare you - haha I sound like fucking Greta! Anyway. Right, there you go.
- A chai latte for mister Danny-the-boss.
- Oh great, thanks, Angela-the-PA.
- Soooo, I thought, maybe tonight we could, I don’t know, pop to that rave I told you about?
- Er... I mean... I’ve been sober for almost a week now, and -
- Oh come on, nothing too strong, I promise! Just one ecsta and a few hours dancing on some loud music, you know, the two of us, enjoying our lives?
- Angela I’m sorry I’ve got important things to do.
- What? What’s happening to you? Since when you’ve got ‘important things’ anyway?
- Angela, really, stop, I command you to stop!
- ...what? Are you fucking serious?
- I...
- Right then.
She left the office and slammed its door.
_____________________________
Great, I crossed her. What a fucking idiot I am. I never learn, oh my god, I just never fucking learn. Uuurg anyway. No time to think about that. Focus. Gotta write that shitty useless report, and after that I’ll just go for a fucking ice cream. Right, let’s do this.
An hour later, Danny stared at his screen.
Why the fuck are so many words underligned in red? The software must be bugging or something. At least I did write, er, eight lines, that’s surprisingly a lot. Hm, it’s soon gonna be noon, I guess I’m just gonna take me lunch break.
Someone knocked on the door.
- Yeah? Oh hi Katherine.
- Everything’s alright? You progressed a bit on the report?
- Yeah, there, come and see. I just, er, I don’t know why all the red.
- That’s... nothing to worry about! I’ll, er, I’ll ask Anthony if he could help you a bit, I mean, most of the ideas were his.
- Yeah, thanks.
‘From the little I know, I mean, it's as much about your environment as you, I think. So work out who drags you down. Root them out’.
With his cold cup of tea in the hands, Danny gazed into the void and felt his stomach ache.
Yeah, thanks for the perfect tip, Katherine. But I don’t want to do this. I can’t. Not to her. Not now. Not ever. I know, I fucking know what’s wrong with me. But I can’t just rule that out. Not now, not fucking ever, I said.
Screw this.
Danny abruptly left his office and slowly walked towards the desk where Angela was writing something in her notebook.
- I didn't mean it.
- What?
- Any of anything I've ever done or said in my life to upset you.
- Yeah, so, what?
- So I'm going to take you to that party and buy you whatever you want and never fucking disrespect you again forever and ever and also some ever after that as well too.
- Well, about fucking time, mate.
After a few seconds of seriousness, Angela smiled, and Danny smiled back.
_____________________________
It was a nearly five when most of the people from Immigration Pathway started to leave. Danny shut down the computer, took his car keys and, with a head movement, told Angela that they’re leaving too.
While opening his car, Danny said with a wink:
- I’m taking you to your favourite Chinese, hope you don’t mind?
- Of course I do, you know I fucking hate my favourite Chinese!
They laughed. Angela, while accustomed to sleeping on the backseat, sat on the front.
- Right, off we go, then.
- You remember the address?
- Course I do! It’s 32, uh... shit, what was that street again?
- I fucking knew it you twat. 23 Saint Anne street.
- Yeah, that’s what I said.
- No you didn’t, asshat.
‘Anyway’, she said with a little smile.
The restaurant - which location was a nod to the street that bears the same name while being in the Asian quarter of Paris - was a very simple and absolutely all but high-end restaurant, which suited them perfectly. Neither of them were the kind of people to be interested in expensive locals. Angela even told Jenny no later than a few hours ago that she sees no point in paying to sit and have dinner. But she really enjoyed this little, simple Chinese, where nothing else but the cheap food mattered.
Fifteen minutes later, they arrived at the other side of the town - the same Northampton that Katherine despised. Pretty much as always, the restaurant was busy, not crowded yet given the hour, but busy nonetheless. They picked a random table by a window and took off their coats. Angela already knew what she wanted, and as always, Danny just followed her choice, and simply ordered a jasmin tea.
- Jasmin tea? You serious? You some grandma or what? She said, visibly amused by Danny’s choice.
- What? It’s a tea like any other.
- Yeah well, as you say, grandma.
They were rapidly served, the perk of having just a few favourite menus. Without any surprise Danny still couldn’t manage eating with chopsticks, which, as always, annoyed his Chinese food adoring assistant, who swiftly grabbed the teacup to taste the freshly brewed tea.
- Really? I thought you said it’s a tea for grandmas?
- Did I? Can’t remember.
She smiled. He sighed.
Once they got back to the car, Danny asked:
- It’s still early, so I thought, maybe we could, you know, pop to my place for a drink?
- Yeah, sure. Hope you saved some nice stuff though, last time’s tequila was awful!
- Yeah, I know, no worries.
Ten minutes of driving later, they arrived at Danny’s flat - a small a rather disorganised flat where he lived alone, although Angela was familiar with it and its living room, where she had several occasions to sleep after being too drunk to come back to her own flat after a party near Danny’s.
Angela sat in the living room, while Danny fetched a bottle and two glasses that he put on the small table before pouring in them the liquor.
- Bourbon? Really?
- What?
- Nothing. I just thought, you know, that you’d serve me tequila or gin or something.
- Let’s leave that for the party, okay? I wanted to chill a bit before that. And that’s my Salvatore Bourbon, it’s brand new and it’s excellent, I promise!
- Okay, we’ll see, then.
After having filled the glasses, Danny handed one to Angela and sat next to her. Her facial expression meant clearly a big ‘yeah, not bad, not bad’, which made Danny proud.
- Alright, said Danny. I’m gonna, uh, take a shower, change me clothes, you know.
- Yeah, fine, whatever, Angela replied, serving herself a second glass of bourbon.
Danny went to his room and chose some clothes, more casual ones than his grey-brown suit. As soon as he locked himself in the small bathroom, Angela stood up from the sofa and peeked through his bedroom. She already had the occasion to enter this room, but simply while following Danny when he had to fetch something during a conversation, never privately. She looked around. Without any surprise, Danny’s bedroom was rather simple, yet something made her gently smile. She threw herself on the bed and crossed her arms behind her head.
Lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear Danny step out of the bathroom. He came to his bedroom half naked and startled, as he wasn’t expecting to stumble on Angela on his bed.
- I, er, forgot my shirt.
- No, shit, she joked.
Danny opened his wardrobe. Angela, still lying on the bed, asked him:
- Isn’t there the dress I left the other time?
- The one you forgot after that party when you were so pissed you had to sleep here and you went back to work with a shirt of mine instead of the dress? Uh yeah I guess it’s there somewhere.
- Cool, so I’ll just follow you and take a shower and put that dress on.
- Alright, there you go, Danny said while giving Angela back her dress.
- Thanks mate.
Angela took her handbag, went to the bathroom and locked herself in. Hot water, as always, reddened her skin. A milion thoughts were rushing in her head, but she tried to deny them all. She didn’t want to bother with work or with the awful memory of the kiss Danny shared with that stanger the other day. Right now, all she wanted was to spend a nice night with her mate.
She let the hot water relax her. As usual, she borrowed Danny’s shower gel, of which she loved the smell and that she wanted to buy for herself but always ended up forgetting to do so.
A few minutes later, she turned off the water, dried herself with some random towel and put on her black mini-dress and ripped stockings. She touched up the black khol around her eyes, and put on her favourite purple lipstick.
When she left the bathroom, Danny was wearing a casual black shirt and a pair of jeans, as well as a perfume Angela was familiar with. He was writing something in what looked to be a journal.
Angela silently sneaked behind him and took the notebook out of his hands.
- Ang! No! he shouted.
- What’s that? A diary?
- I, er, I started to write some things down cause it, like, helps me to sort me thoughts out.
- You? Why the hell would you do that?
- Doesn’t matter, Ang, please give it back.
- Alright, sorry, didn’t know you were into this kind of stuff, she said while handing Danny back the journal. Anyway, c’mon, tonight we party, remember? Who the fuck cares about life problems right now.
- Yeah, you’re right. Oh and drinks are on me tonight, Danny said with a smile.
- So you boh pay both the restaurant and the drinks? Well, damn, Dan.
- Told you that tonight I’m the one taking you, not the contrary.
- Yeah well doesn’t mean I’m a fucking princess either, does it?
- Yeah no of course you’re not. But you kinda are. At least tonight. Right, let’s go?
- Yeah, sure. But no car, right? Remember the last time you got so fucking pissed you nearly killed us.
- Yeah, sorry ‘bout that. No car, then.
They left the flat, put the home keys in Angela’s handbag and left the building, arm in arm.
Once they arrived at the club, Danny paid their entrance, and they were immediately welcomed by loud techno beats, which made them smile like never before.
Danny went for tequilas, leaving Angela alone on the dancefloor for a moment. When he came back, she was already pretty much in the mood, but that was just the beginning. She finished her tequila in the blink of an eye, and so did Danny. Shortly after, she took out of her bag a small plastic box, which contained a few ecstasy pills. She took one and swallowed it, and then took a second one and handed it to Danny.
The party started to unravel, the music became more and more energetic. As the pills started to kick in, they danced joyfully. The heavy beats of acid techno dictated their moves and made them feel hot. Angela passed her arms behind Danny’s neck and danced closer to him. Their senses started to be overwhelmed. She could smell his perfume, this spicy and modern scent that always made her feel something - especially when being high. In the hot and dark club lighted with epileptic strobes, they both let go of their troubles and went into this drugs and music-driven transe. Their bodies got closer, and without thinking, Danny filled the remaining space between them as his lips brushed Angela’s neck. She gently bit her own, melting to this touch and to the hot breath on her skin. Both their hearts beated faster. Soon, Danny wasn’t brushing her neck anymore - he was leaving there small kisses. Shortly after, his eyes met hers. Eyes half-closed, in this deep transe, Danny kissed Angela. Without a single hesitation, they both melted into this deep and rough kiss. In the blink of an eye, their tongues swirled heavily, and Danny moaned as Angela bit his lower lip. Just for a short moment he broke the kiss to lick her neck, and it was her turn to moan - a silent groan sunked in the ocean of deep and heavy techno beats. After such a long time of knowing each others and of partying together every other night, it was the first time they went so far - and yet it felt so natural. Even while being high, they knew that this wasn’t the result of the pills they took - it was more deep than that. All the desire that they kept tamed for so long was being relased, to their greatest pleasure. Their lips melted together, creating an out-of-time and out-of-space feeling. They explored each other’s mouth without any limits, giving themselves up to the heat.
Danny was slouched on one of the nightclub’s couches. The rythmic techno had handed over to softer trance. Angela was gently caressing his hair.
- I'm not gonna let that happen to you, Angela. I won't. I won’t let you be sacked. And I won’t let people take you out of my life. You're all I've got. Sort of got.
- Oh, Danny, that’s lovely...
- You're, you’re kinda how I'm living. They say I should take some space, but I can't envision that. It never was about the drugs or the clubs, Ang. You’re like the other half of my brain.
- And you are mine, Dan. You are.