Read Breathe for Free Online Page B

Long Island and turned around again, leaning at the bar like I did a moment ago.
    ‘ It’s too crowded at the table,’ I answer lightly. ‘Besides, I needed a break.’
    ‘ Do you know who Salt and Pepper are?’ She beckons to the suits while getting her drink. ‘They’re not speaking, and refuses to take their helmets off. So annoying!’
    ‘ I have no idea,’ I lied. No way was I giving her my theory.
    ‘ But you have to know who it is. One of them waved at you.’ 
    I just shrugged to that, and giggled. In-my-dreams-Christopher waved at me. Wow, I AM drunk. Alice looked at me worried. She had seen me drunk maybe three times since I met her, all of them in the first couple of month of me coming here. I didn’t do drunk well.
    ‘ Have you eaten today?’ she asked me, and I shrugged again. I honestly didn’t remember.
    ‘ Geez, Sara! You’re coming with me so I can keep an eye on you.’
    Then she dragged me along back to the table, and placed me in a chair next to Might-be-Christopher. I slumped down, swallowing another giggle. I tried to sober up by focusing on the conversation. Mark and Una were there with a blond girl I didn’t know. They were rating the costumes, both on originality and looks. They had just giving someone a ‘One’, and I saw the guy was dressed in an ordinary suit and a Bowler hat, so I guessed ‘One’ is on the low scale. They gave a girl named Viola a ‘Nine’, because of her Fairy-costume. She had big transparent wings, glittery make-up and a green Tinkerbelle dress. She looked beautiful. But she lost a point because the wings kept knocking into people at the dance floor. The only one they gave top score was a guy wearing only a thong. His whole body was painted black, with bits of the universe on it. The details were amazing, and it must have taken forever to paint it. But his one clothing was a little revealing for my taste. I couldn’t hide my giggled when I noticed; he was really showing. I shook my head at his boldness, only to realise that kind of movement made the room sway. I put my beer down, forbidding myself to finish it.   
    The I-hope-it-was-Christopher guy by my side nudged me with his shoulder and gestured towards the dance floor again. I looked into the visor, trying to see who was behind the glass, but I could only see my own reflection. I wouldn’t mind dancing with Christopher. But I wasn’t sure my balance was in order. So after some hesitation, I shook my head. Alice bends towards me and asked, loud enough for him to hear:
    ‘ What score would you give these guys?’
    ‘ Not much’ I answered, and looked back at my own reflection while continuing: ‘Difficult to drink in, impossible to talk through and too warm to dance in. Definitely not a party outfit! A plus for originality though, even if it’s two of them.’ We both laughed, while Damn-it-had-to-be-Christopher shook his head, clearly not pleased with my assessment. Then he nudged me again, this time pointing towards the exit. It only took me a second to decide. I wanted to confirm who he was. Without a word, I stand up, startling him with my sudden movement. Then he got up and reached for my hand.
    ‘ Where are you going?’ Alice asks as he drags me along.
    ‘ To have some fun,’ I shout back at her, grinning. She looked worried, so I amended my smile to a reassuring one, or at least I tried too. It must have worked, cause she didn’t get up to follow.
     
    It felt strange, walking away holding a stranger, not knowing if it were him or someone else. We walked past the bar, but instead of heading up the stairs to the exit, he quickly pulled me to the side and into a dark hallway. He stopped in front of a metal door labelled Staff Only . It was a number pad beside it, and my stranger pushed the digit without hesitation. The gesture made me waver, as the lock clicked and he opened the door to a large storage room. This was obviously planned in advance. Or maybe my stranger was some