Do The Bad Thing
Phil Hunter slipped the gold band off the fourth finger of his left hand. He placed it in front of him on the mahogany surface of the bar and stared at it as if it was to blame for the state he was in now. He picked up the ring and held it between his index finger and thumb. The barman moved along to where Phil was sitting and asked if he could get him a refill. Phil nodded in response, not taking his eyes off the wedding ring. How could one small gold band mean so much? It was meant to symbolise a lifetime of love and trust but now it mocked everything that his marriage to Cindy had become.
His drink arrived in front of him and Phil gulped at it gratefully, wincing as the whiskey stung his throat. He could already feel the alcohol taking it's effect, making him relax a little but now his anger was intensifying. He had come home from work early, they had finally cracked a case that had been open for months and Phil had been given the afternoon off in reward. He had sensed something was wrong as soon as he had inserted his key in the front door but he dismissed it quickly. Since he and his wife Cindy had decided to give their marriage another go he had been living with her in her three bedroom semi detached house just outside of Canley. He pushed the front door open and stepped into the cream hallway. He was about to call out to Cindy; he knew she was home because he had seen that her car was parked three doors down but something stopped him dead in his tracks. Littering the hallway and the stairs were his wife's clothes and those of another man.
Blood had rushed through his veins, his heart pounding loud and fast in his chest as he stormed up the stairs; seeing red. Phil knew that he shouldn't have been so angry. He wasn't perfect either; it had been his philandering nature that had caused their marriage to fail the first time. They had worked through all their issues now, or so he had thought. He thought they had rebuilt their trust but now he saw it crashing down around them. However, when he stormed into their bedroom he was thinking anything but rational thoughts.
Cindy's eyes met his as he banged the bedroom door open, self consciously she wrapped the sheets around her body. Phil hated the feeling of pleasure at her obvious discomfort and shame. Without even saying a word Phil left the house and slammed the front door shut after him. Sitting in his car afterwards he knew he needed a drink and he had been at the pub ever since.
"Phil…Phil…?" He came back to reality after feeling a sharp fingernail poking his forearm and a familiar voice interrupting his thoughts.
"Come to glad have ya?" Phil slurred, the alcohol broadening his cockney accent.
Sam looked confused. "Gloat? About what? You did great work on that case."
Phil just stared at her, did he just receive a compliment from the famous DI Samantha Nixon.
Phil grunted in response and downed the rest of his drink.
"I think you've had enough of those don't you?" Sam said gently, sliding onto the barstool next to his.
Phil grunted again and signalled to the barman for another drink, Sam sighed and asked for the same. Phil's expression was a mixture of surprise and appreciation.
"Didn't know you liked the 'ard stuff." Phil commented.
"There's a lot you don't know about me." She said simply, but Phil was convinced she was flirting with him. It must be the alcohol, right? He didn't say anything further and this left Sam to continue the conversation.
"What's gone so wrong that you're drinking yourself into the ground tonight?" She asked, handing over the money for their drinks despite Phil's protest.
"Don't wanna talk about it." He stated almost rudely, taking another gulp of his drink.
"Fine then." Sam said, making a move to stand up. Phil grabbed her by the arm, the sudden contact surprising them both.
"Cindy cheated on me." He stated and then waited for Sam's cutting remark.
"Oh." She replied, sitting back down. "I'm sorry. I know you wanted things to work out this time."
"Yeah." Phil took a sip of the whiskey. "Is that it? No clever comment?"
Sam looked a little shocked. "Of course not, that's not what you need right now." After she had said it she wished she'd rephrased her sentence but Phil hadn't seem to notice the unintentional innuendo.
At that moment a group of men approached the bar all demanding beer, their football shirts and their beaming faces told them both that their team had won. Sam drained her glass.
"Shall we go somewhere else; somewhere a bit quieter?" She asked.
Phil finished his drink and nodded. Following her from the pub, his legs a little shaky beneath him. Sam linked her arm through his to support him and it was then that Phil was aware of her scent that he breathed in deeply. Sam led Phil to a wine bar around the corner and they took a corner table near the bar.
Sam reached across the table and touched the back of Phil's hand with her fingertips.
"Are you okay?" She asked, he had been silent for a while; absorbed in his own thoughts. Sam knew she needed to do something to stop him from thinking about Cindy and torturing himself. She could only think of one solution and she didn't know if it would make things better or worse for either of them. It would also mean that she would have to confront feelings she had been suppressing for so long. They finished their drinks in silence.
"I've got a bottle of wine in the fridge and a bottle of vodka someone gave me for Christmas that I haven't opened if you'd like to come back to my place." She finally bit the bullet.
Phil looked up, he hadn't been angling for an invite home with Sam but he wasn't going to turn it down either. Suddenly his day began to look up.
Back at Sam's flat she poured a measure of vodka into two shot glasses and handed one to Phil. She was wondering if this was such a good idea. What if she just made things worse for him? What about work? How would they face each other at work the next day if they spent the night together? Maybe he would turn her down; maybe he didn't like her at all.
"Sam…" Phil breathed, leaning closer to her than he had intended but the alcohol and the testosterone was in control of him now.
"Yeah?" She replied huskily, leaning into Phil's strong body. That one word seemed to be enough encouragement for Phil as he brushed his lips against Sam's before capturing them in a long and lingering kiss. Before she knew what was happening Sam was unbuttoning Phil's shirt and returning his kisses with equal if not more passion. Her vision became blurry as Phil continued to undress her; blindly she led him to her bedroom leaving the bottle of vodka almost untouched.
The first thing Phil was aware of the next morning was a throbbing headache; the second thing he noticed was Sam's naked body next to his. Pressing a quick kiss to her forehead, Phil climbed out from the tangled mess of pale pink sheets and slipped his boxer shorts on. He headed for what he guessed was Sam's bathroom and rummaged through the medicine cabinet for some paracetamol and found a glass. Sam came to find him a few minutes later, a pink satin dressing gown wrapped around her and tied loosely at the waist.
"I thought you'd run out on me." Sam said, taking the packet of pills out of Phil's hand and taking two for her.
"Of course not." He smiled his usual cheeky grin and began to feel himself again.
"Pink really suits you." He added, running a hand over her cheek and stroking it with his thumb. Then his hands moved southwards and he began to untie the dressing gown. "But I think this looks better off than on." He concluded, leading her back down the hallway to her bed.
"Phil?…" Sam muttered a while later, running her hand over his bare chest.
"Mhmm…" He murmured in response.
"You're not wearing your wedding ring."
Phil looked at his hand. "No, I'm not." He observed, smiling softly. Maybe it hadn't been such a bad thing that Cindy had cheated on him after all.
My first SP one-shot in a while, hope you like it! It started off really short but ended up very long! The song at the start is 'The Bad Thing' by Arctic Monkeys.
Please review! Vikki xXx.