Читать книгу The Little Teashop of Broken Hearts - Jennifer Joyce, Kerry Barrett - Страница 12

‘Too much?’ Penny lifted her face away from the mirror propped up on top of the chest of drawers and turned towards me, pouting her cherry-red lips at me. I was sitting cross-legged on her bed, applying a coat of mascara using the shaving mirror from the bathroom. Penny and I shared a flat so my own bedroom was only next door, but it was more fun to get ready together, our favourite music blasting from the CD player.

I was twenty-two and living away from home for the first time and I’d honestly never had so much fun. Yes, the bills were a pain and the discovery that there wasn’t a washing-up fairy (or a laundry or toilet-cleaning fairy) was a shock to the system and I was constantly plagued with pangs of guilt at leaving Dad on his own, but living with Penny was amazing.

We’d met six months earlier, at the call centre where we attempted to coax people (who neither liked being disturbed or being coaxed) into buying double glazing, and we’d gravitated towards each other. Penny was so fun and vibrant, it was hard not to smile when she was around and she seemed to enjoy my company too. We quickly became best friends and when Penny’s flatmate moved out, I took his place. Not only did I get to live with my best friend, the flat was a short walk to the Deansgate call centre where we worked, which saved on travel costs.

‘You look fierce,’ I told Penny as she pouted at me. She’d spritzed her usually frizzy ginger hair with some kind of magical potion that had given her bouncy, shimmery curls, applied a perfect eyeliner flick and finished off the look with a glossy cherry-red lipstick.

‘That’s exactly the look I was going for,’ Penny said, attempting an air of uber-confidence but spoiling the effect with a self-conscious giggle. ‘Do you think I’ll finally pull Jack?’

Jack was our team leader at the call centre and Penny had a major, major crush on him. We were getting ready for a night out with the team to celebrate his birthday so Penny had made an extra special effort, both with her hair and make-up and the super-clingy, super-low-cut dress she’d bought that afternoon.

‘He’d be mad not to fancy you,’ I told her, which made her go all giggly, which in turn made me go all giggly.

We finished getting ready and then made our way to the pub to meet the others. Penny made a beeline for Jack, flinging her arms around him and giving him a birthday kiss on the cheek that branded him with a bright red lipstick mark. We had a couple of drinks before we moved on to a club, where Penny pulled Jack onto the dance floor. I followed, dancing with some of the other girls from the team while Penny worked her magic on Jack. It was a good night, a proper let-your-hair-down kind of night with lots of dancing and laughing and team bonding. My feet were in agony as my shoes slowly murdered them and I was sure I’d have a killer hangover in the morning, but I didn’t care.

‘Oh my God. He is gorgeous.’ Penny had hauled herself off the dance floor for refreshment purposes and we were at the bar, trying to catch the attention of the harried bar staff. ‘He makes Jack look like Quasimodo.’ I followed Penny’s wide-eyed gaze and understood what she meant as I spotted the object of her lust. Tall and muscular without being too bulky, he was throwing back his head as he laughed, his blue eyes sparkling despite the dim lighting of the club. Wow. Just wow. He was stunning.

‘Hey, Pen.’ Jack – without a hunchback, despite Penny’s assessment – draped an arm around her waist and pulled her away from the bar. ‘Come and dance. I love this song.’

‘Grab me a drink!’ Penny yelled as she was towed away and I nodded before turning back towards the blond God. But he was gone and I couldn’t even catch a glimpse of his retreat through the throng. Not that I’d have followed in pursuit. Why would a man like that look at me?

Eventually, I managed to buy our drinks and I headed to the perimeter of the dance floor in search of Penny and Jack. They weren’t difficult to spot, entwined in the middle of the jiggling bodies, feasting on each other as they gyrated to the music. They were still devouring each other by the time I finished my drink so I made a start on Penny’s. There was no point in wasting it, after all.

I’d perhaps had a little more to drink than I should as I started to feel a bit fuzzy around the edges. My feet weren’t quite so co-ordinated as I made my way up to the loos and I found myself stumbling on the last couple of steps that led back down to the bar. A hand grasped me by the elbow, keeping hold until I was steady on my feet again.

‘Hey, are you okay?’ Oh, God. It was the gorgeous blond and he was looking at me with concern, which wasn’t quite the look I’d wished for. ‘Every time I see you, you’re in trouble.’

‘Sorry?’ I moved – carefully – away from the staircase, my eyes scanning for Penny. And then something clicked. I’d seen him before, months earlier. ‘Oh, it’s you! The Blue Llama. You rescued me from that sleaze.’ It had happened six months ago and he remembered me? How odd. ‘Did I even say thank you?’ I’d been so shaken at the time, I hadn’t properly registered him (otherwise I’d have noted how gorgeous he was, obviously) so I doubted I’d shown an ounce of gratitude.

‘There was no need,’ he said with a shrug.

‘There was.’ I couldn’t believe how rude I’d been. That sleazy bloke could have done anything to me that night if it hadn’t been for my rescuer. ‘Let me at least buy you a drink.’

He grinned and my knees went a bit wobbly, which had nothing to do with the excess alcohol swimming around my bloodstream. ‘I won’t say no to that.’

His name was Joel and he was a property developer who was out with his mates. I would meet them all later, but not tonight. Tonight was about us, about getting to know all the fascinating little details that we could cram into the remainder of the night as we huddled in a corner, blocking out the noisy revellers, thumping beat and the multicoloured lights flashing around us. When the night came to an end, when we found we were the only ones left (Penny, Jack and the others had all trickled away at some point without me noticing), we found we couldn’t say goodbye and I did something I’d never done before. I went back to Joel’s place.

To some people, this is no big deal. It’s an ordinary, sometimes weekly, occurrence but to me, this was momentous. I didn’t have sex with virtual strangers, ever. But it felt right with Joel. It felt as though I’d known him for ever rather than a couple of hours in a sweaty club. And I knew, without a doubt, that this wouldn’t be a one-night thing. My actions were so unprecedented, Penny was in a bit of a state when I performed the walk of shame the following morning.

‘Where. Have. You. Been?’ Penny leapt on me as soon as I pushed open the front door, her hands squeezing my shoulders tighter with each word. ‘I’ve been worried sick! I’ve been pacing the flat. I’ve phoned your dad. Your mum. I was about to phone the bloody police!’ Penny reached into my bag and tugged out my phone, turning it so that I could see the blank screen. ‘Why is your phone switched off?’

I nudged the door closed with my foot and wandered into the living room as I attempted to process the information she’d just dumped on me. She’d phoned Mum and Dad? She’d been thinking about phoning the police?

‘The battery died.’ Kicking off my shoes, I collapsed onto the sofa with a part happy, part weary sigh. ‘I’m sorry you were worried but I’m fine.’

‘I can see that.’ Penny looked almost put out that the drama had come to a sudden halt. ‘But where were you?’

My face itched until I gave in and allowed the huge Cheshire-cat grin to spread. ‘Do you remember that blond guy we saw?’

‘The totally fit one?’

‘The one you said made Jack look like Quasimodo.’

‘Sssssh!’ Penny’s eyes were wide, her head bobbing towards her bedroom next door. ‘Don’t tell him I said that.’

‘Jack’s here?’ I whispered.

‘Sleeping last time I checked. I tried to wake him up when I realised you weren’t here but the lousy sod said you’d probably pulled and started snoring again. I thought it was rubbish. Maddie doesn’t go on the pull. Maddie doesn’t have one-night shags.’ I flinched at the vulgar word. ‘But it turns out I was wrong. You’re a dark horse, aren’t you?’ Penny flopped down on the sofa next to me and nudged me with her elbow. ‘So what was it like? Are you seeing him again?’

The Cheshire-cat grin made a return. ‘It was amazing and I’m seeing him tonight.’

Penny’s mouth gaped open. ‘Tonight? Blimey, he’s keen. It must have been good!’

‘It’s not just sex,’ I told Penny, who patted my knee in a patronising of-course-it’s-not kind of way. But I proved her wrong. I knew, without a doubt, that it hadn’t been a one-night thing and my gut instinct was verified by the five-year relationship that followed.