Playing My Love (15 page)

Authors: Angela Peach

BOOK: Playing My Love

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"Alison, you look amazing!" she gushed before giving me a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Thank you. So do you! Darcy, this is my best friend, Jazz. Jazz, this is Darcy."

For a wild moment, it was almost like they were sizing each other up, but then Jazz smiled warmly and gave Darcy a big hug.

"It's a pleasure to meet you."

"And you! Alison's told me so much about you!"

"Really? Well,
Alison
simply has not stopped talking about you!" Jazz said, with enough emphasis on my name to let me know she'd clocked it.

I should have told her about the car when I had the chance.

Darcy pulled us both over to the bar for a drink and insisted on paying for the first round, which consisted of downing a shot, followed by a long drink. We barely had time to grimace after the shot before she took my hand and led me to the dance-floor, spilling a good portion of my drink along the way. Jazz followed with a little more grace than I, and we spent the next couple of hours dancing to a fairly wide range of music, that spanned through from the eighties to recent chart hits. We all took it in turns to buy rounds, although I noticed Jazz bought doubles when it was her turn. But the dancing made us thirsty and we guzzled them down just as quickly as the singles.

I found myself watching Darcy out of the corner of my eye. She had a really relaxed way of dancing that showed just how much she was enjoying the music, and the energy she exuded was infectious. Every now and then, she'd look at me and her smile would broaden, making mine do the same. She studiously ignored the small groups of men that seemed to gravitate toward us over the course of the evening, keeping her attention firmly on the small circle we'd created with Nicki and another girl (I'd been told her name three times, but still couldn't grasp what it was as it sounded different each time!)

At about midnight, Nicki left the club with Tom Cruise, evidently not fussed that he'd tried it on with her friend first, and the other girl disappeared to the toilets to be sick. I offered to go and see if she was okay, but Darcy told me she got like it all the time, and that she'd be fine in half an hour. That left just us three.

A short while later, I
turned to ask Jazz if she wanted another drink, and found to my surprise that she'd gone too.

Maybe I'd been watching Darcy a little
bit more than just out of the corner of my eye?

"Where's Jazz?" I shouted, resting my hand on Darcy's hip. She put her mouth against my ear and rested her hand on my own hip as she moved close to me.

"She's over by the bar, talking to some guys" she said, her lips brushing against my ear lobe.

"I was going to go and get us another dri
nk. Do you want one?" I asked, although as I did so, I naughtily moved our bodies closer until we were touching from breast to thigh. She put her mouth against my ear again, but this time there was a pause before she spoke as her hand slid round to rest on my lower back.

"Yes, I'd love one."

Instead of moving away, I stayed where I was and unnecessarily asked her what she wanted to drink. But I was too distracted by her thumb stroking the sensitive skin on my lower back to hear what she said, giving me the perfect excuse to ask her to repeat herself. There was a heat spreading between my legs that I hadn't felt for a long time, and I was emboldened by the alcohol in my system. For a crazy moment, I considered pulling Darcy to the toilets.

To do what
exactly?

The answer was
pulsing down below, pushing against her as casually as it could without grinding on her. But then Darcy tilted her head back and looked up at the ceiling, an odd expression on her face.

"Come on, let's go" she shouted, and took my hand. My breathing quickened as she led me off the dance floor, but she headed for the bar, not the toilets. I pulled myself together, feeling the flush on my cheeks at what I'd been thinking.

How old am I? Did I think she was taking me to the loos for a sneaky snog?

As we approached Jazz, I saw the lad she was chatting to pass her a napkin (with what I could only assume
had his phone number on) and I caught her attention, pointing to the bar. She nodded and met us there.

"He was actually half my age! Can you believe that? Wants me to call him so we can go out! Bless him!
" she said, scrunching up the napkin and dropping it on the bar smiling.

"What did you tell him?" Darcy asked. She'd moved to stand the other side of Jazz, putting some distance between us. It was probably a good idea.

"I told him that it was my twenty third birthday next week and I was having a party in town. Just to see if I could pull it off! He said I looked about twenty five and that he liked the older ladies!" she laughed. "Right, what are we drinking?"

"Tequila slammers!" Darcy shouted.

"Uh-uh. Anything but tequila!" I said firmly.

"Really? Why?"

"Because…" Jazz started, but I interrupted, putting my hand over her mouth.

"Jazz, no! Because I don't like them, that's why."

Darcy looked between us, smiling curiously.

"Nobody
likes
tequila slammers, Alison, that's sort of half the fun!"

"Ali gets…"

I increased the pressure over her mouth, shooting her a deadly warning glance. I felt her smile broaden under my palm.

"
They don't agree with me. We're
not
doing any slammers."

"Why? Tell me why and I'll drop it!" Darcy asked, addressing Jazz. I released her mouth,
resigned to knowing I was going to lose anyway.

"Tequila makes
Alison
very, very friendly!" Jazz blurted happily.

"Oh really?"

"I'm being polite! It makes her a loose 'ho!"

Darcy gasped in delight, grinning. I groaned.

"In fact, the last time…"

"Jazz, please don't?"

"…
Alison
drank tequila…"

"Oh dear god!"

"…I had to prise her out of some random pensioner's arms…"

"He was
not
a pensioner!"

"…and when I got her back to our flat…"

"Jazz, pleeeaaase?"

"…she tried to seduce
me
!" she finished loudly. Darcy clapped a hand over her mouth, her brown eyes jumping on mine. Even though I could tell she was surprised (pleasantly so, it seemed) there was another emotion there too.

Wicked glee!

"Three tequila slammers!" she shouted happily to the waiting barman.

"Darcy, honestly, this is a really bad idea!" I protested, but she shook her head.

"Nonsense! We'll look after you, won't we, Jazz?!"

"
Abso-fucking-lutely"

I looked down at the shot glass
that had appeared as if by magic in front of me with resignation.

"Okay, I suppose one won't hurt."

We knocked them back, grimacing at the taste. Then, smiling innocently at me, Jazz turned to the bar,

"Three more tequila slammers!"

Barn-be-Que

I moved my arm very, very slowly. Then, when I was ready, I very…very cautiously opened one eye just enough to identify where my phone was, before I slammed it shut again. Relying on the brief information gathered in that split second, I stretched my arm toward the bedside table. I had to turn it off before any more goddamed texts or calls came through, turning it into a miniature earthquake maker. In my present state, I needed extreme peace and stillness, and as soon as I found out who was destroying my china doll head calm, I was going to tell them exactly where to go. If I was able to. Mainly, I just wanted to turn the stupid thing off.

"He
-ey! Morning, sleepy head! It's nearly lunchtime and the boys are talking about firing up a barbeque. Honestly, in this weather!" Jazz came breezing in and threw herself on the bed next to me, setting off the thousand or so atomic bombs nestled inside my head.

"Who are you and why are you punishing me?" I mumbled, clutching the pillow tightly.

"Oh dear sweet god, you look like shit, sweetie! I told you not to finish off that rum when we got back here!"

"
Wha…rum? No, I.."

"Yup! Must have been a good quarter of a bottle you downed with the smallest amounts of blackcurrant! You called me a city lightweight and told me you were going to show me how
real
women drank in the country! You sure showed me!" she said, chuckling. I groaned, able to taste the sickly sweet taste of sour rum and black that had coated my tongue and wishing I couldn't.

"How did we get home?"

"Oh, I am so glad you asked! Have you checked your phone yet?"

"No, why? Oh no, why?" I asked, with a bit more urgency. "What did I do?"

Jazz took her phone from her pocket, pulled something up on the screen, then passed it to me. She saw my feeble look and rolled her eyes before holding it in front of my face to watch.

"I've made copies, by the way, so don't think you can make this disappear by snatching it and deleting it!" she said, smiling as she pressed play. On the small screen was a shaky, but clear image. My eyes opened wide as I realised what this was.

"Oh no!"

"
Sh, watch and listen!"

Darcy was lying across the back seat of what must have been a taxi, and I was lying across her, with my head firmly nestled in her breasts
. Our arms were wrapped around each other and we looked very cosy. I concentrated on the audio.

A:-"…could've but
di'n't."

D:-"Oh, you so should've!"

A:-"Yeah, I know, I know. And d'ya know wha'? I knew you'd agree! Cos we've got SHO mush in common!"

D:-"I know! You're so easy to talk to,
iss like I could jus' talk to you all day an' not get bored!"

A:-"We should do that! Jus' talk all day one day!"

D:-"Yes! Defin'ly!"

A:-"Yes!
D'ya know Darcy, you are so sweet, an' cute?"

D:-"Sweet and cute? I can be many other things too!" (laughs dirtily)

A:-"Lissen, I'm be'en serious! I met you an' my life changed. You're like…you're like…like the sunshine after the rain or sumthin!"

D:-"Issen that a song?"

A:-"I don' know. Issit?"

D:-"I think so? But
iss sweet anyway!"

A:-"Well, I mean it! I
wunt say if it wa'nt. When you smile, iss like a rainbow!"

D:-"Aaw,
thass lovely!"

A:-"You're lovely!"

I watched in horror through squinted eyelashes as Darcy and I snuggled closer in the back while Jazz's barely stifled laughs could be heard both on and off screen, like some bizarre surround sound feature.

A:-"You're
juss so nice! Issen she nice, Jazz?"

J:-"She's absolutely adorable honey!"

A:-"See? And shesa hard ass bish lawyer!"

J:-"Yes I am! Hey
Alison
, what's
my
smile like?"

A:-"You have a very pretty smile, but
iss dange'us."

J:-"What's that? Dangerous?
"

A:-"I'm
jus' be'en hones' darling!"

J:-"Hey, it's taken me years to get my smile looking dangerous! I'll take it as a compliment!"

D:-"I think iss a nice smile!"

A:- (whispers loudly to D) "
Shesa evil bish in the court room! Makes people cry!"

D:-"I'm
shur they deserve it! Jazz's nice!"

A:-"Never made me cry!"