RP: A little alcohol

In Heidi’s experience, there was no problem that a little alcohol didn’t solve. Or, in this case, a lot of alcohol. Clutching another two cocktails that she’d liberated from a waiter, she wove her way back through the crowd to where she’d left Andrei. “Bottoms up!” she said, thrusting one of the glasses into his hand and downing the other herself.

She’d lost count of how many drinks she’d had, but she was definitely starting to feel giddy. (And really, who cared when the cocktails were so tasty and slipped down so easily? The Smiths certainly knew how to put on a party.) “Want to dance?” Heidi asked Andrei, grabbing his hand. She’d make him enjoy himself whether he liked it or not.

“The last time I danced it was a colossal failure,” muttered Andrei. He should probably go apologise to Sally-Anne at some point. Hopefully never. But at some point, yeah. Some point tomorrow. Maybe.

He downed the drink in his free hand before haphazardly putting the glass on the tray of a passing waiter. “Right, dance. Let’s go. But is this all there is to life?”

Heidi rolled her eyes at him. “No, but it’s a start.” She cosied up to him on the dancefloor, hoping the view down her low-cut dress would cheer him up a bit. (That was what friends were for, right?)

“Girls are much more attracted to a guy who looks like he’s having fun,” she informed him authoritatively, “so smile.”

“I am smiling,” said Andrei through gritted teeth. “Or I think I am. Am I? I don’t know.” He looked down, caught sight of Heidi’s cleavage and genuinely grinned. She was a good friend. Unlike some other people he could name. “Let’s go check if I’m smiling. Let’s go find a mirror. See how hot we look.”

He twirled Heidi around, scanning the room. “Think there’s a shiny one in the hallway.”

“I like shiny!” Heidi said happily, clinging to Andrei’s arm as they left the ballroom as she was starting to feel just a little unsteady on her heels. Whoops.

They found the mirror and she beamed at their reflections. “We do look hot. Super hot.” Heidi tossed her hair and winked at herself, then caught sight of a grand staircase in the mirror. “Ooh,” she said, turning to look at it. “Did you read what Zach said about a certain superstition…?”

Andrei smirked. “Yeah. Do you think anyone actually believes it?” He followed Heidi’s gaze. “Do you think anyone’s up there now? Don’t see any security trolls about.”

Heidi giggled and tugged on Andrei’s arm. “Let’s go see!” Her heels sunk into the plush carpeting on the stairs, making her wobble, so she kicked her shoes off and carried on barefoot. (All the better for sneaking around silently!)

“Do you hear anything?” she whispered, pressing her ear up against the first door they came to.

“Nope,” said Andrei, “they can’t be having much fun.” Just like Romilda. Who couldn’t possibly be having any fun with her new boyfriend. He staunchly refused to believe such a thing was possible.

“Or, you know, there’s no-one in there.” Andrei turned the knob and the door swung open easily. “Empty,” he voiced.

“Fancy,” Heidi corrected him. She wandered into the room and ran her hands over the silk coverlet on the king-sized bed. “This is just like a swanky hotel.” She threw a mischievous look over her shoulder at Andrei. “Want to test out the mattress springs?”

“Yes,” said Andrei with glee. He took a running leap and launched himself at the bed, twisting around and landing on his back with a satisfying ‘oomph’. He bounced a little.

“Soft yet springy,” he pronounced. “Your verdict?”

With a laugh, Heidi clambered onto the bed and jumped up and down a few times before kicking out her legs midair and landing flat on her back, rolling into Andrei as she did so. “Pleasantly bouncy,” she declared, brushing a strand of hair out of his eyes and smiling at him. It was nice to see him happy for once, which was maybe why she then said, “So, fancy testing out that superstition…?”

“I don’t know,” said Andrei. “I’m not sure if I’m ready for such a commitment.”

But then again, her face was right there. Not to mention her boobs. And it surely would be more fun than dancing.

He slid an arm around her back to hold her close. Then his lips found hers.

Heidi would’ve pointed out that sex with her was not a commitment — far from it — but then he was kissing her, and she didn’t really want to pull back just to argue the point. So she kissed him back, and slid her hands up his shirt, because it was one thing to know that your friend worked out and another thing entirely to feel those abs under your fingers. And okay, maybe this was really inappropriate and she would regret it later, but right now she just wanted to have some fun and make Andrei feel good. What better way to achieve all that than by having sex in a big fancy bed?

Zach’s night had been going well. Many hours had passed and he hadn’t felt tempted to sock anyone in the jaw. Most people seemed to be enjoying themselves and he was pleased for them, truly.

Then he went upstairs.

Damn fiddly bra. Andrei was usually better at this, he swore he was. So engrossed in the task was he that he didn’t even notice the intruder till there was a second cough.

Fucking hell, it was Heidi and Andrei Capper. Zach was never going to live down his words if Astoria found out.

Andrei’s shirt was untucked and open. Heidi, while thankfully clothed, did not exactly look like she was on the bed for a quick nap.

They looked back at him, more dumbfounded at the interruption than guilty. Zach was astonished.

Keep calm, keep calm. He said the first coherent thought to appear in his head.

“YOU DIDN’T EVEN CLOSE THE DOOR.”

Heidi felt utterly stupefied. “Sorry,” she said without thinking, then — as her wits caught up with her somewhat — she added cheekily, “could you get that for us? We’re a little busy here.”

Truth be told, thanks to Zach’s interruption she’d lost the desire to sleep with Andrei, which was probably a good thing. But hey, it would be almost as much fun to wind Zach up, right?

“Yeah what are you even doing here?” said Andrei in complete earnest. He needed a little longer for reality to set in.

But then it did. “Oh! Oh crap — this is your house, isn’t it?” But he didn’t apologise. He removed his hands from their inappropriate resting place and tried to sit up, but Heidi was still lying on his chest.

Zach pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. Calm calm calm calm calm.

“You two, make yourselves presentable and then get back downstairs,” he barked. He stood just inside the room, holding the door open. He had to make sure they left first or they’d probably get back at it.

Heidi rolled her eyes as she slithered off Andrei and pulled her dress back up. “I told you people would be tempted to try this out for themselves,” she muttered, looking around for her shoes. Oh right, she’d left them at the bottom of the stairs.

“Great party, by the way,” she said, winking at Zach as she breezed past him. She was aware that she still looked dishevelled, barefoot and with her hair messed up, but let Zach think this was how she was going to look when she re-entered the party. He didn’t have to know she would fix her appearance downstairs.

Andrei followed in Heidi’s footsteps. “My regards to your family,” he said breezily as he passed Zach.

Zach was just about to place the strongest locking charm on the room when Andrei came running back up the hall.

“Sorry, could you open that up again? Left my socks and shoes. And my belt. Much obliged, thanks. You’re a champ.”