Reading: "Interlude.II" from RITUALS of the ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)

 

Interlude. II


“So you’re going out tonight?” Kohen Alaister asks, as a woman in her late twenties walks quickly from her lounge room to the bathroom, checking her appearance in the mirror above the sink. She doesn’t immediately reply, as Alaister sits quietly on her couch, he then exhales looking out at the overcast sky from the lounge window “...A storm is coming.”
She pauses in front of him, affixing an earring to her left ear.
“Sorry, in a rush...Running a little late...Have a date, well kinda…” She walks into the galley kitchen, looking around for a single wine glass to which she lifts down from the shelf above where she is standing, reaching behind, she opens the fridge. “...I would offer you one, but you don’t drink wine.”
“Too acidic, however, if you had taken two glasses down from your top shelf, I would have accepted. A polite guest, is always an interesting one.”
Once again, the woman seemingly ignores what Alaister had just said, instead she fills the wine glass halfway to its top with red wine. She quickly have a large sip. Walking to where Alaister is sitting.
“He works at a book publishing company downtown…” She has an another sip, checking her nails. “...Pretty cool huh? Hence why I’m a little nervous…”
“Your manuscript?”
“...Yeah...I mean, I think…” She sips from the wine again. “...We’re going to fuck tonight, I mean, I would anyway. He’s cute and well, you know how it goes these days…” She has another sip, walking back to the kitchen. “...It’s a sex fest before marriage…” She places the wine glass under the tap, running the water and rinsing it out. She looks over at Alaister. “...We’ll come back here. So, yeah, I will give him my manuscript. Absolutely. After sex, hopefully he takes it and reads it. Best lead I’ve had, so...kinda lucky hey?”
Smiling, she dries the glass, placing it back onto its shelf. She sits down at a lounge chair in front of Alaister, who looks over the woman sitting in front of him, her light brown silk blouse with no visible bra, with two long silver necklaces, which hang between her cleavage. She folds her right leg over, allowing the split of the floral skirt to be seen, revealing the dark brown knee high boots.
“It is lucky,” Alaister replies.
She looks in the direction of the lounge window at the dark storm clouds, then quickly at her wrist watch.
“I got some time for a cigarette.”

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Reading:  "Interlude.II" from RITUALS of the ANTITHETICAL (A.Glass 2023)