Someone I Used to Know - By Blakney Francis Page 0,43
up. He ruined everything by opening his mouth.
So I told him so and left it at that, giving him the finger over my shoulder as I walked away.
Chapter Eight
Declan
My favorite thing about America had to be the numerous forms of diabetes-inducing treats they’d concocted. I inspected the surplus of chocolates, candies, and pastries that spread out over the crafts table. A sprinkle-topped donut caught my eye, and I considered taking it to Adley. Maybe it would cheer her up. She’d been absolutely no fun on the drive to work that morning, wearing dark sunglasses and only groaning out a complaint about her headache before shutting me out altogether.
“Drop the donut,” Madeline barked, looking decidedly not hung-over. The redhead even seemed a little chipper. “We’ve got a kissing scene today, Davies. If you think I’m getting any second hand calories from your pour diet, think again.”
The Queen Bee stopped in front of me, flocked by her hive. I jumped from face to face until I found Adley in the back. I grinned at the sight of her. That was how you were supposed to look after a night of hard drinking: hair a mess, dark circles under the eyes, slight cringe at the meekest of noises.
“You recovered nicely, ankle biter,” I addressed my costar before taking a sizeable bite out of the sprinkled confection just to be defiant.
Her eyes narrowed and hands curled into irritated fists.
“My trainer wasn’t thrilled with the sugar intake from four Shirley Temples, but a couple of extra lunges ‘recovered’ me just fine.” There was snarky pride in her statement. Her wide smile showed off two lines of perfectly straight teeth. She gave a belittling shake of her head, freeing her auburn locks from her shoulders. “I’d never actually get drunk at such a pivotal point in my career. I decided to use the experience as an acting exercise. Seems like I fooled you.”
I felt heat from Adley’s pointed stare, but I kept my eyes on Madeline, even if my attention was elsewhere.
“Ace! I thought for sure you had a gutful of piss,” I congratulated her, having to hide a smirk as her eyes turned the color of the sea before a storm. She hated not being able to understand my slang, and I was all too aware of the pet peeve. Because she didn’t know the meaning behind what I was saying, she could never tell if I was making fun of her or not. It was wrong to use the quirk against her, but she just made it too damn easy.
“Adley,” she snapped drawing the blond forward. “Text Fran, so she can add whatever he just said to my list.”
There wasn’t an ounce of fight in her as Adley did the younger girl’s bidding, pulling out her cell phone as Madeline took her convoy and left us alone.
“Where’s Fran?” I asked at the same time she croaked, “What list?”
I chuckled at our blunder, but she had already dismissed her curiosity and started typing, resolute in her decision to not enjoy my company.
“Madeline keeps a list of all my Australian jargon. She claims to be unable to understand me half the time,” I told her, even though her body language told me she didn’t care anymore. I subtly attempted to coax her gaze up to meet mine without much luck.
“Fran’s daughter is sick,” she plowed on briskly, “Ace?”
My huff was saturated with aggravation. I wanted her to know I didn’t like playing her game. It didn’t mean I wasn’t going to play though.
“Ace is just like saying good job or excellent.”
She turned to walk away, not even bothering to stand still to finish the message, her head bowed and shoulders hunched over the glowing cellular device.
“A gutful of piss,” I reminded loudly before she could get too far away. I didn’t like her acting this way. It was defeated, and it bothered me more than it should.
“Wha-.” She stopped mid-step, rubbing her temple with her fingers trying to massage away the pain that lingered there. Unlike Madeline, Adley’s drinks had contained something a lot more lethal than grenadine. “Oh, right…the list.”
“‘A gutful of piss’ just means you’re drunk,” I filled in, happy to give her what she wanted, but reluctant to let the conversation be over. I wasn’t ready to be done with her yet.
“You people sure have a way with words.” Even her sarcasm wasn’t holding up to its normal standards.
I made an unpleasant face. The pitiful attempt almost made it sound like she was