Here's to writing more and not moaning so much.

I've been thinking. This blog has become a bit of a diary rather than a place to explore and practise my writing. So I'm going to start experimenting a little bit more, try and write a little more challengingly rather than just me moaning about my boyfriend or work - yes I'm sure these things will still happen but I'm hoping to have a little more free time once I have left my job and am freelancing. Either that or I'll have a load more free time as I'll be regretting it and sitting on my arse all day....

My mum stood at the party, then she was known as Hazel. She was petite, brown hair, hazel eyes, although her parents wouldn't have known that when they had her so that's not how she got her name. Nothing that special about her looks wise, but a certain energy, like she could draw people towards her with a smile and a flash of those eyes, if she chose to. Right then she was chatting to her friend, Alice, trying to avoid the smoke Alice kept blowing in ever increasing intensity over Hazels head to the object of her affections, Ken. She'd brought Hazel along for the company, so she didn't look desperate and had something to do with her mouth rather than smoke or chew it nervously.
'Do you think he'll ever look at me, do you think he'll ever notice me? I've been staring at him at parties for as long as I can remember and still, nothing.'
'Are you kidding me,' Hazel replied, 'I reckon if he came over to talk to you, you'd be off in the other direction. You wouldn't know what to say.'
'You're probably right,' she chewed her mouth nervously, 'but I've got to get over that or he's never going to realise I'm THE ONE.'
'You really believe in such things as that?' Hazel laughed, 'never took you for the sentimental type. There's no such thing, only Mr Right now.'
She turned back towards the party and surveyed it herself for likely candidates for the next few dates. She always had a few on the go at the same time. She loved dancing, loved going out to the cinema, why should she be limited to only one man to take her to all those things? The more the merrier as far as she was concerned. Secretly though, a little sentimental corner of herself harbored this thought of the man who could've been the one - David his name was, she'd gone out with him when she was only 18, she'd lived a good fifteen years of wisdom since then. She'd been right to refuse his wish to marry her, but she wished he'd respect hers and his memory would get lost as quickly as he had when she'd said 'no'.
'Oh god,' Alice replied, 'I think he's coming over, quick, be a darling and go and get me some dutch courage, will you.'
Hazel turned towards her friend, 'no problems, now remember, breathe deeply, he's only a man, nothing to be scared of.'
Thinking to herself, yeah a short, Scottish, hairy man at that, as she walked easily over to the table where all the drinks were balancing precariously. The table in the Kensington flat was propped up on one side with some books, they were those sort of volumes given out at University, old and bound. She wondered whether they were missed. She poured her friend a stiff Gin and tonic, and herself one too - she might need it. She chose a safe glass of white wine. Alcohol didn't really agree with her. Despite her best efforts, she was still a lightweight and she tended to get a bit silly when she drank too much (or so various partners had told her). It also made her want to dance, and looking around at this dull crowd, she doubted whether the party would ever get going enough to satisfy that need.
'Well here I go,' she thought heading back to the cloud of smoke that was her friends head. Alice was puffing even more furiously away at some shadowy figure in front of her - bound to be Ken. Alice always got her man eventually, which made it look to Hazel like Ken's head and body were cocooned in that kind of sticky spider's thread they used just before they went in for the kill. To be fair he'd resisted her thus far.
'Hi', she said handing over the drink to Alice.
'Oh there you are,' said Alice in her seductive low voice, I was looking for you everywhere. Might have known you were getting some drinks.'
She took the drink and gulped some down quickly, like a drowning man.
'You must be Hazel then?' Ken said looking at her with these curious grey-blue eyes. They were quite cold really except this little crinkle at each corner that made her feel like really he was smiling at her.
'I suppose Alice had been telling you how I can't get enough of the free drink?' she guessed - it was a ruse she'd used before, it gave her an excuse to get help to get her home. Help in the form of a knight in shining armour. And then it would be l'amour, in her room in their little Earls Court flat. Hazel was a good friend and hiccuped convincingly.
'I always manage to drink a little too much at these parties, you know.'
'Looks a bit like it, drink or dance. I'm sure I've seen you out there dancing before.'
Alice interupted them quickly, 'yeah she loves a dance, don't you Hazel, in fact you love this song?' her eyes said it all.
'Oh yes this is my favourite, if you'll excuse me you two, I'll be out there if you need me.' She hiccuped again,
'For a while, anyway.'

Moving away from the two she thought she saw Ken look at her strangely, just before he turned back towards Alice, and gave her a very charming smile.
'He's a bit full of himself, isn't he. A bit cocksure. Just like every other man.' Hazel thought to herself, just before she lost herself in the music and the dancefloor.

That night Hazel wasn't short of dancing partners, she had rhythm, she had style, she was popular with everyone there. But why oh why did she find the one person she really wanted to dance with was the one she felt was so arrogant, the strange cold eyes with wrinkly warm corners? And when Ken found her at the end of the night, slightly the worse for wear for real this time, and gently told her he was leaving with Alice and could he take her with them home, why did she wish it was just her and him without the added complication of her spiderlike friend?

She woke in the morning to find Ken sleeping on the sofa outside her friend's room.
'Oh morning,' she said, 'I thought you'd at least have had a bed last night. What are you doing out here?'
And why oh why did she inwardly laugh so much when the reply came back,
'Oh didn't Alice tell you, I don't date girls that smoke. Especially not if they smoke in their rooms. Hate the filthy habit.'
And then he looked straight at her with those grey-blue eyes,
'You don't smoke do you? I didn't see you smoking at that party.'

And they both smiled at each other, like this was the start of something. But the start of what they didn't quite know....yet.