Thirty - Adrian
I choke on my heart as air tries to force entry.
Bolting down the short hall, I skid to a halt as the culprit barges inside.
Throwing their arms around Evie, they also throw my heart back into a healthy rhythm.
Evie stumbles slightly under the weight catapulted towards her.
The young lady, a similar height to my bear, bounces with Evie in a death grip. Eventually, Bear manages to hug her back.
"Hey Heidi! What ya doing here?" Bear's greeting is strangled as she gasps for air.
The lady's yellow hair whips around her shoulders as her jaw falls to the floor.
"It's games night!" She yells, violently shaking Bear's shoulders.
Glancing at my watch, I'm reassured that I haven't completely lost track of time, it's only early afternoon.
The emerald in Bear's eyes burns as her shapely brows shoot up.
"Of course it is! Sorry, don't mind my goldfish brain." Bear chuckles, furthering my confusion.
Once Bear has been released, the pair turn to face me. The lively guest loses control over her jaw for a second time, however, this time a squeal accompanies it.
Bear swats her arm as she releases a rich laugh upon witnessing her friend's exaggerated reaction.
"This is Adrian, please don't break him." Bear tilts her head towards her friend, giving her an unmissable pointed look. "Ade, this is my friend, Heidi, and her boyfriend, Adam."
I search the hallway for the second guest, it's only then that I notice a young man has crept in behind Heidi.
He's slender and although his currently hunched form shrinks him, he can't be any taller than five-foot-seven when standing straight.
Heidi pushes past my outstretched hand to pull me into a mandatory hug.
I shake my head as I watch Bear giggling over Heidi's shoulder before hugging Adam.
"It's nice to meet you." I'm relieved when Adam simply shakes my offered hand.
"Eve's told me so much about you!" Heidi elbows Bear as she attempts to continue in a whisper, "You definitely undersold how attractive he is! Wow!"
"Heidi!" A stream of crimson settles across Bear's cheeks as she scolds her friend.
I chuckle watching the two girls.
Heidi heads to the balcony whilst Adam retrieves glasses from a cupboard.
Bear glides a hand down my forearm, causing the muscle to tense under her touch.
"I'm sorry for the unexpected invasion." Bear tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear, "You don't have to stay, I completely understand if you want to head home."
I intertwine our fingers before sweeping away the escaping strand of auburn silk with my free hand, "I'd like to stay, if I'm not intruding?"
It's thrilling to see this alternative side of Bear with her unrestrained friend.
"Of course you're not!" She sings.
"But, I have one question. Why is it a 'games night' at lunchtime?"
"Because Heidi's on an early shift tomorrow and will probably want to drink." She chuckles.
The harmonious sound flows through my body, blanketing my nerves.
The melody is disrupted by clinking glass. As if right on cue, Heidi returns holding spiced rum and pink gin. Her black lipstick is plastered in a grin.
"What you drinking pretty boy?" Heidi points the neck of the rum bottle at me accusingly.
I can't help but wonder whether Bear will be drinking as well since we're home with her friends?
I don't want to isolate her if she's not.
Dropping my gaze to her breathtaking smile, I raise my eyebrows by a degree.
Bear's smile grows as she nods up at me.
"Rum please." I turn back to Heidi, who's now with Adam in the kitchen.
The couple carry four glasses over to us at the table in the corner.
Heidi sets what looks like rum and cokes down in front of my seat and her own. Adam passes Bear a colourless drink whilst retaining a pink gin and lemonade.
Curious to uncover my little bear's poison, I ask what she's drinking. Heidi didn't even need to ask for her order, so it must be her usual.
"It's Heidi's signature cocktail." Her small hand offers me the glass, "Would you like to try some?"
Taking the glass, I tip a small measure into my mouth expecting the taste of vodka or schnapps to tumble over my tongue.
Instead surprise washes down my throat with the very nonalcoholic lemonade.
Refocusing my gaze, I find Bear biting her plump bottom lip trying to restrain a giggle.
Well, I guess that answers my earlier question.
Her gormless grin suggests she's uninfluenced by our drinking, prompting me to take a guilt free sip of my own drink.
Although, I must admit, the fact that I don't have to worry about fishing her out of a club brings me waves of relief.
I own a couple of chains of clubs worldwide and the incidents I've intervened in are more than off-putting.
But they're one of the first businesses I set up outside of my family's influence.
Heidi places her half-empty glass onto the wood before pulling out a pack of Uno cards from her bag.
She swiftly deals four hands.
A smirk lurks amongst her narrowed brown eyes as she slowly slides the hand across the smooth table towards my seat.
"Know how to play Mr Bigshot?" Heidi's snide remark only carried a tinge of bitterness.
"I'm offended you even had to ask!" I jest back, "We used to turn it into a drinking game at university."
After a leisurely once over, her gaze moves to her cards as Bear slaps a card down on the table.
The tension builds with every placed card until even Adam finds his voice to argue his case.
I'm now the only player with one card.
It's a type of wild card, so Bear just needs to place her card and the game will be mine!
My pulse thrums again my throat.
Bear hovers her card over the discard pile before facing me.
The green flames fuel a lopsided grin.
Wetting my lips, I gulp to disperse the boulder lodged in my throat.
"Uno!" Bear cries as she flips the card to reveal a plus four wild card, "Take that!"
A deep laugh protrudes from my lips.
Bear's roaring green fires incinerate my last card.
I flick it forward, dropping it onto the pile. It's also a plus four wild card, so I can stack it.
"I win." I calmly state, leaning back in my chair.
A stale blanket of stillness smothers the prior tension, only disturbed by Adam shaking his heavily hung head.