Gemma fumbled with the bunch of keys in the darkness. Eventually she found the right one, and let herself in. She shuffled over to the open-plan kitchen, opened the freezer and took out some Ben and Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream. The cure for everything. She grabbed a spoon and shovelled some into her mouth as she pulled out a glass and headed over to the bar in the living room, pouring herself the strongest liquor she could find. As the liquid seared down her throat she brought the bottle with her back to the kitchen, where she sat on the floor and had an impromptu picnic at three in the morning. Once the alcohol had set in she found the tears rolling down her face as she came to terms with the end of her six month relationship.
Ryan shut off the shower and heard his front door slam shut. He looked at the time and decided to ignore it, putting it down to exhaustion. He pulled on his pyjamas and a plain black T-shirt and sunk into his double bed. He reached for the remote for his big screen TV, one of his many presents to himself after closing a multi-million pound deal for the website he had started straight out of university. He was mindlessly flicking through channels when he heard more noises coming from his kitchen. He jumped out of bed and down the stairs, his eyes adjusting to the darkness. He turned the corner and stopped in his tracks.
For a second he stood watching her in silence. She looked like she'd been crying, and her usually immaculate brown hair looked slightly disheveled. She was sitting on his kitchen floor in a tight black dress along with the five inch heels, drinking his vodka and eating his ice cream. He observed this exotic, olive-skinned creature and, just as he was about to say something, she looked up at him with her big green eyes.
"We broke up" she sighed, pouring herself another drink.
"I thought that was what you wanted, Gem..." Ryan responded, sitting on the floor with her.
"He didn't even fight for me, he just said that he understood where I was coming from!" She began on a drunken rant. Ryan sat there and listened for about half an hour while she rattled off reasons she hated James, her now ex-boyfriend. She stood up and felt a little unsteady on her feet, no surprise given the heels she was wearing, and attempted to pace up and down the living room. Soon, she curled up on the hardwood floor and fell asleep.
Ryan threw the empty ice cream tub away, washed the glass and spoon and then made his way over to Gemma. He scooped her up in his arms and carried her to his bed.
Gemma wasn't sure what woke her up- the steady throb of her headache or the dress that was squeezing the life out her. Sunlight flooded the room and she rolled over to face the other way. She tossed and turned for a moment but didn't want to disturb Ryan who was still asleep on the other side of the bed. She slipped out of bed and into the bathroom, almost tripping over the heels she had been wearing the night before. As she looked at her reflection she laughed, and then cursed herself for getting so upset over a guy who just wasn't worth it. Then she found a way to get out of her dress, and stood there examining herself in the mirror. Gemma was slim and petite, one of those women who was so effortlessly comfortable in her skin that nobody could help but be taken in by her grace and confidence. Her hands slid over her flat stomach, and down to the black thong, which she quickly stepped out of. Her hands reached back as she unclasped her bra and let it fall to the floor, unleashing her perfect round breasts. She searched the cabinets under the his and her sinks and found an unopened toothbrush. She brushed her teeth, jumped into the shower and washed all her troubles away. She smiled contentedly at the bathroom she was standing in. Ryan's house had been the first project she'd undertaken as an interior designer, and it had taken her a year to plan every single detail of it. It had been hard work but well worth it, after all, they had been best friends since the tender age of thirteen.
