Frisky Business (40 page)

He hated knowing that that was Romy, and he couldn’t understand why she would want to talk about it. Even if that was the sort of thing she was into, she must have been annoyed that she hadn’t been included more. He just never wanted to think about that night again as long as he lived.

Finally, he had no option but to return to the living room with the tea. ‘So I got a text from Hannah,’ he said as he entered the room, determined to cut Romy off before she could go back to the topic of David’s party. ‘They seem to be having a brilliant time,’ he said as he handed Romy her mug. ‘The weather is fantastic. They went on a boat yesterday. Tank got a bit sunburned and—’

‘Kit,’ Romy interrupted, almost shouting. ‘About that night at David’s party—’

‘Please, let’s just never mention it again.’

‘We need to talk about it,’ she said firmly.

‘But why?’ Kit wailed desperately.

‘Because—’

Oh
Christ, she’s not going to suggest we have another go, is she?
‘Look, I’m sorry about what happened – and I’m sure you are too. But can’t we just forget about it?’

‘No, because—’

‘I don’t usually do that sort of thing—’

‘Well, me neither, but—’

‘And I didn’t even go through with it that time, so—’

‘But—’ Romy began, but then she suddenly went very still. ‘Wait – what do you mean you didn’t go through with it?’

‘I mean, I didn’t, you know … have sex with …’ Kit trailed off, blushing.

‘But you did.’

‘No. I don’t know what he told you, but—’

‘No one told me anything.’ Romy was flailing around now, looking very confused. ‘I was
there
, Kit.’

‘No.’ He shook his head. ‘You left, remember?’ Finally, she’d gone quiet and he could say his piece.

‘What are you talking about?’ she asked now in a faint voice.

He sighed heavily. ‘At David’s party. When the three of us—’

‘What three of us?’

‘You, me and David.’

‘David?’
She frowned. ‘David wasn’t there. It was just us …’ Then she gasped suddenly, and her eyes flew to his. ‘Kit, what costume where you wearing?’

‘Vampire.’ He frowned. Didn’t she already know that?

‘Oh my God!’ she gasped, pressing a hand to her forehead. ‘I don’t believe it! You weren’t Darth Vader?’

‘Darth Vader? No,’ he said, frowning. ‘I thought … you mean that wasn’t you – in the Red Riding Hood costume?’

‘No.’ She shook her head weakly. ‘There was … someone else at the party dressed as Red Riding Hood. It must have been her.’
She gave a weak mirthless laugh. She was so stunned, it took her a while to realise that she was also disappointed, and sad that it wasn’t Kit. She had got to really like the idea that he was Luke’s father, and even if there was no hope of a real relationship between the two of them, he was shaping up to be a good dad.

‘So what happened with you and this Darth Vader, then?’

‘It’s just … I sort of have something of his …’ She shook her head. ‘It doesn’t matter,’ she said, blinking rapidly.

‘Are you okay?’

‘Yeah, fine.’

Oh, God, Kit thought, was she going to cry? He swallowed hard. ‘Look, sorry I cut you off there. If you want to talk about that night, we can.’

‘No, it’s okay. What happened at David’s party stays at David’s party. Okay?’

‘Okay,’ Kit said, breathing a sigh of relief. ‘So, will I make popcorn?’

‘What?’

‘For this
Star Wars
marathon. If you still want to do that?’

‘Oh, yeah. I do.’ It was probably the only way she would ever see Darth Vader again.

‘You’re
sure your mother really doesn’t mind babysitting for the weekend?’ Romy asked Kit the following Friday morning as they loaded Luke’s paraphernalia into her van. The trip to the house in Wicklow had almost been cancelled when Romy’s mother had returned from Egypt with a severe case of food poisoning. But then Laura had stepped in and offered to take Luke for the weekend instead.

‘No, she’s thrilled,’ Kit said, stuffing a giant bag of nappies into the van. ‘Anyway, it’s sort of her job. She’s practically his granny now, isn’t she?’

‘What with you being his dad and all?’ Romy said, laughing as she handed him another holdall.

‘Exactly,’
Kit said, tucking the bag in among the others. ‘God, does he really need all this stuff?’

‘I’m afraid so,’ Romy said, shutting the doors. ‘Your son is very high maintenance.’

‘Huh! Well, he doesn’t get that from his mother,’ Kit said, smiling at her.

‘No, no one’s ever accused
me
of being high maintenance. It must come from your side of the family.’ Though they were joking around, Romy felt a little pang as she went back into the house to get Luke. It made her sad that she would probably never know in what ways Luke took after his father, and his story would always remain incomplete. She pushed the thought aside as she locked the door behind her and carried Luke down the steps.

‘Now,’ she told him as she strapped him into his car seat, ‘we’re going to leave you with your Granny Masterson for the weekend, and we’re going to pick up your Uncle Ethan.’ She kissed him on the head, giggling as he grasped at her hair so she had to prise it gently out of his hands when she pulled back.

Kit was already in the passenger seat and she jumped in beside him. ‘Do you think maybe it’s too early to call over?’ she asked, glancing at the clock on the dashboard. It was only eight o’clock. ‘Maybe we should wait until a bit later.’

‘No, it’ll be fine. I told them we’d be dropping Luke off first thing. We still have all the gear to pack up, and we want to get down to the house as early as possible.’

‘True.’

‘It’ll be okay. Mom and Dad are early risers anyway.’

‘What about Ethan?’

‘Well … apparently he was going out on the piss with a bunch of his old college friends last night, so who knows what shape he’ll be in – or whose bed, for that matter.’

‘Oh.
Maybe he won’t even want to come. I mean he is supposed to be having some R&R, isn’t he?’

‘No, he’s really keen to come and help with the house. Don’t worry – whatever state he’s in, we’ll scrape him up and throw him in the van. He can thank us later.’

‘Okay, then,’ Romy said, starting up the engine. ‘Let’s get this show on the road.’

‘Boy, am I glad to see you two,’ Laura said when she opened the door, a beleaguered expression on her face as she waved them in. She smiled down at Luke, who had fallen asleep in the car. ‘Do you want to leave him somewhere quiet?’ she asked.

Romy nodded.

‘You can put him in here,’ Laura said, showing her into the sitting room, while Kit started unloading Luke’s stuff from the van.

‘I know it looks like a lot,’ he said, when he had put everything in the sitting room, ‘but that’s just because it is.’

‘Well, come on through to the kitchen,’ Laura said. ‘We’re all in there.’

‘Is Ethan up?’ Kit asked.

‘He is,’ Laura said softly, ‘but he has … guests. We have a bit of a situation on our hands.’ She pursed her lips. ‘It’s a Mexican standoff.’

Romy wondered what she meant as they followed her down the hall. In the kitchen, they found Ethan serving breakfast to a pouty girl with long dark hair who was sitting at the table. She was wearing a pink-tinged T-shirt that was far too big for her and clearly belonged to Ethan, and nothing else, her legs and feet bare under the table. Ethan stood beside her, shaking cereal into a bowl and placing it in front of her, while a pretty blonde in
a similarly outsized T-shirt and a pair of Ugg boots paced around the kitchen talking into a mobile and darting anxious glances at them both.

Ethan looked up and smiled as they came in. He was dressed in jeans and a thick wheat-coloured jumper, and he looked fresh-faced and totally edible, his hair sticking out in every direction. ‘Hi, this is Sarah,’ he said to Romy, indicating the dark-haired girl, who looked up unsmilingly and acknowledged them with an infinitesimal raising of her eyebrows. Kit evidently already knew her, nodding hello. ‘Sarah, Romy. And that’s Fiona,’ he said, indicating the other girl. She gave them a little wave, mouthing, ‘Hi’.

‘I’ll just go and put Luke’s things away upstairs,’ Laura said. ‘I’ll leave you to it.’ She bustled off, seeming anxious to get out of the kitchen.

‘Say when,’ Ethan said to Sarah as he began pouring milk onto her cereal.

‘I don’t have time for breakfast,’ she said, shoving the bowl away from her. ‘I’ll be late for work as it is.’

‘It’s the most important meal of the day,’ Ethan said, sliding the bowl back in front of her. ‘You should eat something.’

‘I’m going to call a cab,’ she said, pushing away from the table and hitting a button on her mobile, holding it to her ear as she strode into the hallway.

Kit rolled his eyes at Ethan when she was gone.

‘What?’ Ethan said defensively.

‘What’s eating Godzilla?’ Kit said, glancing over at Fiona to make sure she wasn’t listening, but she was too engrossed in her phone call.

Ethan just shrugged, crossed to the fridge, and having taken out a bowl, sat down at the table. Grabbing the spoon he had put out for Sarah, he began to eat. Kit and Romy sat opposite him.

‘Where’s
Luke?’ Ethan asked.

‘He’s asleep,’ Romy said. ‘We put him in the living room so as not to wake him.’

‘Oh,’ Ethan said, looking disappointed. ‘I was hoping to finally meet him. Oh, well, maybe he’ll wake up before we go.’

‘Ethan loves babies,’ Kit told Romy. ‘He’s a bit weird like that.’

‘That’s not weird!’ Romy protested.

‘It’s a bit weird for a bloke, though, isn’t it? I mean, it’s different if it’s your own baby, of course,’ he added hastily. And obviously I love … Whatsisface.’

‘Luke,’ Romy and Ethan said simultaneously.

‘But liking complete randomer babies – you have to admit that’s a bit weird for a guy.’

They were interrupted by Fiona coming over to the table. ‘Okay, crisis averted,’ she said, snapping her phone shut.

Ethan introduced Romy and Kit. ‘What do you want for breakfast?’ he asked her. ‘Cereal? Toast?’

At least he was a good host, Romy thought – even if he was a total slag.

‘What’s that you’re eating?’ Fiona asked with a flirtatious smile, sliding into the seat beside him.

‘It’s chocolate pudding. Mom made it for my homecoming.’

‘You can’t eat chocolate pudding for breakfast!’ she said, laughing.

‘Why not? It’s fantastic.’

She tutted. ‘You’re such a baby.’

‘Do you want some?’

‘Oh, I want some all right,’ she murmured with a cheeky grin. ‘But I’m not going to get any, am I?’

Just then Sarah came back into the room, dressed now in a very short skirt, thigh high, spiky-heeled suede boots and a
sparkly sequinned top. She marched up to the table and everyone froze, the tension palpable as she glowered at Fiona and Ethan. ‘I’ve called a cab,’ she said to Fiona, her eyes flinty. ‘It’ll be here in about ten minutes. Do you want to share it?’

Fiona looked back at her, conflicting emotions crossing her face. For a moment, they faced each other in silence, seeming to size each other up.

‘Are you going home first, or—’

‘Well, obviously I’m going home first,’ Sarah said, rolling her eyes. ‘I can’t go to work dressed like this.’

‘Why not? You look great,’ Ethan said.

‘Ethan, just … shut up,’ Sarah said crossly. ‘So, are you coming or not?’ she asked Fiona.

‘Yeah, all right,’ Fiona said finally, with an air of defeat. ‘I’d better go get dressed,’ she said to Ethan, getting up.

Sarah sat down in her vacated chair, picking up the bowl of cereal Ethan had poured her earlier. No one spoke as she began to eat in a way that somehow managed to convey the impression that she was doing it under protest.

Fiona came back into the kitchen all dressed up for a night out. ‘I’ve decided I’m just going to walk-of-shame it into work,’ she said to Sarah. ‘I can’t be bothered going home to change.’