Читать книгу My Husband’s Lies: An unputdownable read, perfect for book group reading - Caroline England, Caroline England - Страница 14

Dan

Trying to block out thoughts of his bizarre mission earlier, Dan piles from the lift with Seb, Geri and Jen. Though unsteady on her feet, Jen takes the room key off Seb and opens the door. Almost holding his breath, he watches her close the sash window. Then she piles cushions behind Geri’s back, throws off her shoes and curls her plump legs under her bum as though the bedroom is hers.

Not sure where to sit, he takes the regency armchair and Seb sits opposite, his fringe flopping forwards as he pours brandy into glasses purloined from the bar.

‘I know I shouldn’t,’ Geri says, inhaling the honey-coloured liquid before sipping. ‘But this smells so expensive that a small taster won’t hurt.’

Jen’s grin shows the dimples on her affable face. ‘Double for me.’ Tucking her dark bob behind her ears, she looks pensive. ‘I wonder how Will is. Nick and Lisa too. The wedding planner had anticipated rain, I’m sure, but that must have been a surprise.’

Dan swirls his brandy, the prickle of amazement still there. ‘Shock, you mean. Thank God we were outside. I still can’t believe she did it. At a wedding of all—’

‘Change the record, Dan,’ Jen snorts. ‘We’re all pretty stunned. It’s not every day—’

‘Stop, for God’s sake, just stop!’

They all turn to Seb. There’s a crack in his voice and he’s glaring at Jen. ‘You seem to be forgetting about Penny. How she must be feeling.’ He rakes back his hair. ‘Can any of us imagine? To do something so extreme. In public too.’ He puts down the bottle and pinches the top of his nose.

Dan stares, astonished. Seb had seemed so passive up to now, but his features look broken.

A burst of guilt spreading, he drops his gaze quickly. Penny has only been married to Will for a year or so, but of course she’s still Seb’s sister-in-law. Feeling he’s seen that shattered look before, he automatically stands and puts a hand on Seb’s shoulder. A memory from long ago surfaces, replaced moments later by Penny’s pale face, her strangely glazed eyes. Thrown back to the sensation of freezing flesh in his arms, he abruptly pulls back, his heart galloping. ‘You’re right, Seb. I can’t imagine.’

With difficulty, Geri sits forward and stretches her fingers towards Seb. ‘We’re all with you there, Seb. I guess it’s just so surreal. You’re right, absolutely, poor Penny.’

‘Sorry, Sebi.’ Jen climbs off the bed and though so much shorter than him, she manages to fold him in her arms. ‘Me and my big mouth. You know what I’m like. Of course I’m worried about Penny too. We all are.’

The four of them change the subject eventually, even manage a laugh as the brandy is poured and time drifts.

‘You did a great speech, Dan,’ Seb says, sitting forward. ‘Really funny. I thought Nick’s mum might faint, though. “What happened in Amsterdam should stay in Amsterdam. However …” You should have seen her startled face; I doubt she’s previously heard of a ladyboy.’

Dan lifts his glass. ‘Cheers, Seb. I was pretty nervous. You know, without my straight man. Had to improvise.’

Geri stands and yawns. ‘God, I’m shattered,’ she says. ‘I need my bed.’ She pecks Dan on his cheek. ‘You stay and enjoy that delicious brandy while the going’s good. Try not to wake me when you get back.’ She pats her stomach. ‘One lot of kicking is enough!’

Catching her hand, he squeezes and smiles. ‘Quiet as a … goldfish, I promise!’

‘Night, Geri,’ Jen mumbles as the door clicks to. ‘I’m closing my eyes but I’m not asleep.’

Dan lifts his legs, stretching them onto the bed. The dent left by Geri’s body is still warm. He briefly wonders what life will be like when two becomes three, before parrying the thought and turning to Seb. ‘So, where are you living now, Seb?’ he asks, holding out his tumbler for a refill. ‘You were probably ten when I last saw you.’

‘Thirteen. Swimming gala.’

‘Of course.’ Dan pictures the boy clutching his bronze medal, his face broken. He pushes the uncomfortable image away. ‘Did you keep it up, the swimming?’

Seb rocks his head and stares at the ceiling. ‘For a while. All good things come to an end though.’ Then after a moment, ‘I’m living back home in Withington with my mum, just for now. I was living in France with—’

He’s interrupted by a knock at the door. It’s Ian Kenning, his pale ginger hair sticking out on one side. ‘I’ve come for my wife … Ah.’ He laughs, looking at the bed. ‘As I suspected! Ready to go, love?’ He picks up Jen’s shoes, pulls her gently to her feet and guides her from the room, her eyes almost closed.

Clearly too gone, Jen doesn’t speak. ‘See you tomorrow at the walk,’ Ian says, closing the door behind him.

Seb pulls off his shoes and socks, then his waistcoat and cravat and lies in Jen’s place. He puts his arms behind his head. ‘The funny thing is that I can’t work out if I dumped her or if she dumped me. Claudia,’ he adds. ‘Fucking beautiful, hot-tempered, impossible.’

Dan laughs. ‘Not all bad, then.’

‘Fantastic sex. Course that’s what I’m remembering. Not the tantrums, the viciousness, the lack of support. She’s a cunt, Dan. I just need to remember it.’

‘Fair enough.’ Dan stretches his arms, still feeling the muscular pull from yesterday’s brutal game of squash with Will. Or perhaps from his fall backwards earlier, his best friend’s wife like a cold mannequin on top. Surreal. He really needs a piss but his legs seem paralysed by brandy, though his head feels surprisingly fine. ‘Sex?’ he says after a moment. ‘What’s that then?’

Seb looks at him and smiles. ‘Timing,’ he says.

‘What, with women?’

‘No, your jokes. You have good timing.’

‘Like the swimming,’ Dan replies, thinking how different Seb looks when he smiles. From chiselled moody to an easy white grin in an instant.

They chat about sport for a while, Dan remembering Seb was a great sportsman at school. Like the A Team at St Mark’s, each sport came easily, though swimming was his forte. He had a place at the University of Edinburgh to read Biomedicine, but his father died unexpectedly.

‘I’m beat,’ Seb says abruptly. Scraping his hair from his forehead, he stands. ‘I need sleep.’ He heads for the bathroom. ‘Kip here if you want.’

Absently stroking the dark stubble already appearing on his chin, Dan nods. I’ll go in a minute, he thinks, closing his eyes. When he opens them again, Seb’s back in the room, rubbing his angular face with a towel. Broad shoulders, hairless toned chest, he’s just wearing briefs. Swimmer turned model, he now remembers, his mind far too sluggish. Of course Will had mentioned it. But things had gone sour, hadn’t they?

Trying to remember the story, he gazes at Seb, then pulls his legs off the bed. ‘I’ll just have a piss and then go.’

In the bathroom, he puts a hand against the wall to steady himself. The pee doesn’t come for a while. Then he stands at the sink, drinking water, briefly catching his tousled hair in the mirror, which he rakes into place.

The room is dim when he returns. The glow from a bedside lamp accentuates Seb’s sculpted face. He props his head on his hand and gazes at Dan languidly. ‘Do you want to stay?’ he asks. The sheets are pulled away and he’s naked; his long limbs and tight torso are bathed in soft light.

Dan’s impulse to make a joke is overridden by outrage. ‘What the fuck? You’ve got this all wrong.’ Backing away from the bed, he grabs his jacket, then points a finger at Seb. ‘Totally fucking wrong. Do you hear me?’

His fringe falling forward, Seb sits. For a moment he stares, then shrugs and falls back. ‘Whatever,’ he says, pulling up the crisp sheet and turning onto his side.