do you think I should do, Sammy boy?’ he said to his sleeping son, as he squeezed the buggy past the street lights outside Lauren’s house. The lights in Lauren’s house were still on; Troy was still at the party. Sam dozed contentedly in the buggy.
‘You’re right, I should tell her,’ said Joel. ‘Faint heart, never won fair lady.’ Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell.
Lauren came to the door.
‘Oh. It’s you.’
This wasn’t exactly the answer he was hoping for.
‘May I come in?’ said Joel. ‘I won’t be long. I’ve got to get Sam off to bed.’
‘All right,’ said Lauren.
‘I’m sorry about earlier,’ he said. ‘You’re right. What you and Troy get up to is none of my business.’
‘Too right it’s not,’ said Lauren.
‘It’s just – well – you were also right about something else.’
‘Oh?’
‘Yes.’ Joel felt his palms sweating. Lauren’s body language was hostile to say the least. She didn’t exactly seem enthusiastic about him being there, but he ploughed on.
‘I am jealous. I’ve been a bloody idiot and never seen it before. But, Lauren, you’re lovely. You’ve been wonderful to me and Sam. And I think I’m in love with you.’
To his dismay, Lauren burst out laughing.
‘Now I’ve heard it all,’ she said. ‘You mean, you’re in love with the idea of me being a mum to Sam and looking after you. Go home, Joel. You’ve had too much to drink. I’ll see you on Monday and we’ll forget this conversation ever took place.’
‘Relight my fire!’ Kezzie was warbling with Flick. She was having a great time. She’d forgotten how much fun she’d had with her mates, and how much she missed them. She’d discussed the Richard situation with Flick endlessly, and they’d agreed there was probably no way back now; the thought made her feel bleak and lonely.
‘May I steal my lovely girlfriend?’ Gavin appeared by her side and whisked Flick away to dance.
Kezzie sighed. Much as she loved Gavin and Flick it was tough being around such happy couples when your own love life was so disastrous, no matter how much you loved them. She’d even seen Eileen and Tony, who were rather coy about their friendship, disappear off together.
Feeling sorry for herself, and hit by a sudden low, she wandered out to the garden to roll herself a joint. She’d promised Lauren she wouldn’t smoke around the kids, but they’d gone home some time ago. One couldn’t hurt, and it would soothe her fractious nerves. Kezzie sat down on the bench and rolled herself a spliff. She took a deep puff and sat back with her eyes shut, before exhaling slowly. Oh the glory of that first puff. Immediately she felt her worries recede and a calmness coming over her.
‘Mind if I join you?’ Troy appeared silently by her side.
Oh God, that was all she needed. What was he doing here?
‘I didn’t want to smoke inside,’ he said by way of explanation, taking out a light.
He glanced sneakily across at her. ‘Is that what I think it is?’
‘Might be,’ she said, touching her nose.
He gave her a long, sensuous look, which to her surprise made her shiver inside. He really did scrub up quite well. The thought made her giggle.
‘Care to share the joke?’
‘That’s for me to know and you to find out,’ Kezzie winked at him and took another puff. Suddenly the world seemed a happier place. She was at one with everything and feeling more relaxed than she had done all evening. She didn’t even mind that Troy was here. She’d thought him good looking when she first met him, but hadn’t realized quite how attractive he was.
‘It’ll cost you,’ she said with a grin.
‘Cost me what?’ he said softly, moving in slightly closer to her.
‘That depends …’ Kezzie was feeling reckless, she had a sudden impulsive feeling that anything was possible right now.
‘Are you flirting with me?’ Troy asked mock accusingly, leaning towards her in a highly suggestive way.
‘Might be,’ said Kezzie, leaning towards him in response. She felt a small tingle of excitement. He really was very sexy. She pushed the thought away, guiltily, remembering his past history with Lauren. Lauren was her mate, she really shouldn’t go there. ‘This is good stuff. Care to share?’
They shared the rest of the joint and Kezzie felt the world and her troubles disappear to a faraway shore.
She and Troy talked and talked. A rambling disconnected kind of conversation that seemed somehow effortlessly sublime and meaningful, as if they’d plumbed the depths of the universe. She was dimly aware that she felt quite pleasantly sleepy and Troy’s shoulder was very comfy. She came to with someone – Troy? – shaking her hard and saying, ‘You really need to go to bed.’
‘Bed. What a good idea.’ Kezzie suddenly woke up a little and giggled.
Lips on hers. A stubbly chin. A not unpleasant sensation. Hang on, what was going on? Oh. That was going on.
‘Troy, what are you doing?’ she said, but her words sounded far away, and she felt she was stuck in a tunnel, watching from a long distance as Troy took another Kezzie upstairs and laid her gently on the bed. The other Kezzie seemed out for the count. Sleep. An even better idea. Her vision slewed down to a single dot. ‘Night, night,’ she mumbled, and then everything went black.
Chapter Twenty-Two
‘Ouch, my head hurts.’ Kezzie woke to find sun pouring through her bedroom window, and the realization that she was lying on top of her duvet dressed in her t-shirt and knickers. How had she got there?
She blinked. Her throat felt dry and rough, her head ached and she thought that if she moved too fast she might just throw up. She had no memory of getting undressed. No memory of coming to bed. Shit, shit and double shit. What had she done?
She vaguely remembered smoking a joint in the garden, drinking like it was going out of fashion, and staggering up the stairs snogging – oh no—
‘Oh my God, Troy!’ She sat bolt upright on the bed. Had she really been snogging Troy? What on earth must she have been thinking? Well, that was the problem of course. Rational thought hadn’t come into anything. Otherwise she wouldn’t have ended up all over Lauren’s ex, who hitherto hadn’t impressed her in the slightest. Though she did vaguely recall an alcohol-hazed attraction.
And where on earth was Troy now? Please God nothing worse had happened.
Gingerly, she got out of bed, threw some clothes on, and went downstairs to see what carnage awaited her. ‘Urgh,’ she said, surveying the scene. The place looked hideous. There was something
