‘Umm, bit excitable but nice girl. Ibiza should be fun.’
‘Oh my God, Ash.’ Gemma slipped out on to the wooden balcony. ‘The music plays in the loo, this place is bloody fantastic.’
‘Here drink this—get pissed,’ Jules handed Gemma a glass of wine, smiling and whispered in her ear, ‘Come out with me some time and I’ll show you some nice places.’
‘So the party’s out here, is it?’ Leon burst through the french doors. ‘Right. Sit, sit—let’s play some drinking games.’
Ash protested, offering to be official adjudicator as she had work the next day. Rachel and Gemma both sat without a minute’s thought while Jules seemed to glide over, then take her place, contemplating on whether or not to participate in Leon’s immature pastimes or side with Ash and play an observer role while in her case getting quietly sloshed.
‘OK, fine Ash, be boring. Jules you in?’ Leon topped up her glass.
‘No honey, I’ll just watch.’
‘Oh Jules, please play,’ Gemma pleaded.
‘It’s OK. Once she’s drunk she’ll be making the games up for us.’
‘I will do no such thing, Leon, but yes I may join in later after I’ve wet my throat.’
Leon winked at Gemma.
‘Right so what are we playing, game man? And remember, I don’t have work, nor does Gem, so unlike some we can pretty much beat you at your own game, so to speak.’
‘Is that so? Rachy darling. Let’s see about that then… Umm how about a game of “I have never”?’
‘How does that work then?’ said Gemma.
Leon took the lead in explaining before Rachel had a chance. ‘Someone will say “I have never”, and say something they have or have never done, then if you have never done it, you simply take a large mouthful of your drink and that means you have never done what they are asking.’
‘Oh God, Gem will get so drunk,’ Ash wailed.
‘No I won’t. I get it, so if I say have you ever—’
Leon raised his hand. ‘Wow wow, save it girlfriend, don’t be giving away vitals as an example. We know how to play and you may just need that “I have never”.’
‘Go easy on Gem,’ Ash chipped in quietly to Leon but both Gemma and Rachel overheard.
‘Gem you know what you’re doing, don’t you?’ Rachel asked plainly.
‘Yep.’
‘You’re an adult, aren’t you?’
‘Yep.’
‘Good, then no problem.’
Ash looked at Gemma, smiling naively at her.’
‘OK, all I’m saying is Gem has been married for the last few years and may not have—’
Leon raised his hand again. ‘What? Done dirty shit? Shagged around like us lot? She’ll be fine—we won’t just ask questions about sex—well, not for the first two questions anyway.’
‘I’ve done dirty shit, and I’ve played a game like this before called ‘Liar Liar’, so don’t you worry, sunshine. I think I know how it works. Come on, let’s play’. Ash pipe down and stop worrying. ‘I’m good, honey.’ Gem smiled at her.
Jules topped up Ash’s glass, laughing at her as she observed her instincts to mother people.
‘OK, let me go first,’ Gemma volunteered. ‘I have never…’
They all looked on, waiting while she thought of a question.
‘I have never… Um had sex on the beach. Ha ha I like this game.’ Gemma took a large sip, waiting for everyone else to do the same, but no one drank apart from her.
‘Told you,’ Ash whispered to Jules—this time so that no one could hear.
‘OK, I’ve got another,’ Gemma beamed. ‘I have never… er… become a member of the Mile High Club.’
They all laughed, everyone apart from Jules taking a large gulp from their glasses.
‘If you were playing, Jules, you would have been the only one not drinking in that round,’ Leon flashed his winning smile in her direction.
‘Jules,’ Rachel breathed in sharply.
‘What? I fly a lot. Get back to your game.’
Ash kept a watchful eye on Gemma as she drank after every question asked, but it was no use trying to intervene and after the third bottle of wine was opened, Jules joined the game, beckoning Ash to follow.
It was late and Ash had been tapping away on her mobile, texting Dave for the last thirty minutes, arranging for him to pick her up. He had been working late on a job and wanted to know if he could see her. She didn’t see why not and felt flattered that he would like to meet her. She agreed that he could stay on condition that he took a shower. He immediately replied in agreement, but only if Ash showered with him. Ash waited a modest five minutes before sending her reply.
ok but only if
u rub my back x
Within seconds Dave responded…
I’ll rub more than your back.
Leaving now x
Ash put her phone away and grinned at Jules.
‘Is he coming to get you?’ Jules asked, stopping the game with her question.
‘Yeah in ten.’
‘Who?’ Gemma looked pale-faced.
‘Who do you think? Rach, where did you find this one? She’s as quick as a tortoise in a marathon.’
‘Leon, you leave Gem alone—she’s a bit drunk.’ Rachel tried to focus. ‘And so am I, so pipe down.’
‘Play on play on, let the party pooper leave if she wants. There’s plenty more wine in the kitchen.’ Leon waved a dismissive hand.
* * *
‘Bye, Sid,’ Ash waved at the concierge desk. She couldn’t see him but knew he was there, hunched over, trying to sleep and hoping no one would notice, not realising that the majority of the residents knew he spent most of the night sleeping. They didn’t mind as long as he woke to the sound of the buzzer.
‘Ugh… what? hello? what? . . . who? Oh right, yes, bye, see you…’ Sid waved as Ash flew out of the large glass doors and on to the pavement. Looking left and right, she spotted Dave’s van a few buildings down from where she stood.
‘Hi,’ Ash smiled, sliding into the van and kissing Dave.
‘Good night?’
‘Yeah it was—my old school friend Gemma was there. She came back with Rachel to live with her. Her husband did the dirty on her so she’s coming with us to Ibiza.’ She paused to take a breath. ‘They were all playing a drinking game and poor Gemma was getting so drunk.’
‘You don’t have to leave if you don’t want to. I don’t mind going back in with you,’ he said, seeing how excited she was.
‘Ah thank you but really it’s so late and I’ve got work tomorrow. Anyway, hadn’t we better get back for this shower?’
‘Only need to tell me once, babe.’ Dave put his foot down and drove off into the orange-lit streets of London.
* * *
Gemma took a large gulp of wine, answering no to a question asked by Leon and tried to focus.
‘Are you lot all telling me that you’ve all had threesomes?’
Silence.
‘You’re all slappers or I’m frigid. One or the other.’
‘We’re slappers,’ Leon sighed.
‘Er, speak for yourself.’
‘OK, sorry, Jules is not a slapper but does have slapper tendencies.’ Leon tilted his head and raised one eyebrow at Jules.
‘God…’ Gemma’s eyes reddened as she threw her head into her hands.
‘Gem, babe, honey what’s wrong?’ Rachel put an arm over her shoulders, shooting Leon a concerned look.
He shrugged. ‘Want some more wine?’
Jules giggled.
‘Darling sweetie, listen to Uncle Leon, all men are pigs, trust me. If this is about that ex boyfriend of yours—’
‘Husband,’ Rachel corrected.
‘Husband, boyfriend, whatever. He isn’t worth the tears, just—’
‘He’s probably in bed making love to her right now,’ Gemma spluttered, looking at Leon through glazed eyes.
Leon wondered how an ‘I have never’ questio
n about threesomes had got sidetracked into an emotional vent from a girl he hardly knew. They had all discussed Gemma’s past earlier over pizza and she had seemed relatively fine about the topic, he thought, even joked about the telltale signs she had missed—the fact that he was at the gym every night but still fat, according to Gemma.
Leon’s eyes widened as Gemma let out a soft whimper like a rabbit caught in barbed wire and felt a twinge of sympathy, watching her lower lip quiver. Rachel rubbed her back while Jules lit a cigarette and passed it to her.
‘I don’t smoke.’
‘You do now.’
Gemma took the cigarette in her index finger and thumb then pushed it between her lips. As her mouth tightened around the butt she sucked in, her eyes fixed on the red glow of the ash at the end of the white stick. She coughed and started to laugh. Jules filled her glass with wine.
‘Look, Gemma, we don’t knew each other well, but if you’ve moved to London and you’re a friend of Rachel and Ash’s then I’m pretty damn sure we will become good friends, so don’t you worry about your ex, you’ve got a new life now, with new friends and I’ll see to it that before the year is out you will have had a threesome.’
‘She’s right, Gem,’ Rachel took the cigarette from Gemma and placed it elegantly into the corner of her mouth.
‘Rach, teach me to smoke like you,’ said Gemma, who by this time, needless to say, was more than a little sloshed and slurring her words.
‘What?’
‘Teach me to smoke like you… and Jules, you can teach me to be cool and trendy.’
‘And the both of you could teach her how a threesome works and I’ll film it,’ said Leon.
Gemma slapped him playfully then took the cigarette back from Rachel and walked to the edge of the balcony, looking down at the Thames, the lights from London Bridge reflected in the water.
‘Sod him,’ she said, raising her voice and watching a tugboat pass. She turned back to the others. ‘Sod him, sod him. The cheating shit, sod him. I’m a new woman.’
‘That’s the spirit, girl…’ Jules walked over to Gemma and leaned back, resting both elbows against the railing, ‘I think Ibiza is just what you need right now.’
Chapter 9
Ash had been on a high at work all day. Even talking to Samantha wasn’t a problem as Ash had Dave now, and after last night’s performance in the shower Samantha was welcome to Lee.
Dave was the perfect boyfriend. All she could have wished for and then some. Not too keen but also not too distant. He never let her down and kept his word. He paid for things and bought her small romantic tokens but didn’t lavish her with expensive meaningless gifts—and he was an amazing lover.
So where’s the catch? she thought, as she hopped on to the bus which proceeded to chug at a pace slower than a walk towards Marble Arch. Is he too good to be true? Is he just putting on a Mr Right act so I’ll trust him and then he can do what he likes behind my back, knowing I won’t check up on him, not if I trust him?
Ash’s thoughts were interrupted by a low buzzing vibrating in her cardigan pocket.
It was Eliza, calling from the surgery.
‘Hiya, what’s up?’ said Ash. ‘Did I forget something?’
‘No you didn’t forget anything…’ Eliza hesitated. ‘Ash, I just thought I should let you know that Sam has booked a weekend away while you’re in Ibiza.’
‘Yeah…’ Ash struggled to see what this had to do with her.
‘With Lee.’
‘Oh.’
‘She cleared it with Mr Matson this morning but I just overheard her talking to someone and said Lee was taking her to Switzerland to his villa. Isn’t that where he used to take you?’
‘Um, but it’s not his—it’s his father’s.’
Twice a year Lee would whiz Ash out to Switzerland into the mountains where they would spend a long weekend. In the beginning Ash was amazed by the sincerity of his actions, finding rose petals on the bed and champagne on ice ready for when they arrived, but after a while she tired of watching Swiss television while Lee took client calls in the office on the top floor all day. She tired of the same TV shows and the pretentious restaurant they had to eat in as Lee knew the owners from his childhood. The villa was set high up grassy mountains overlooking the town below, their closest neighbour had his own helipad, as did most of the surrounding residents, but the town below was too far to walk and so after seeing the same views Ash felt trapped and often bored during the day.
One weekend after returning from the market, Ash had suggested they try something new. Lee frowned at the suggestion but let her speak. She suggested going to see an amateur play in town that she had read about on a small flyer someone had given her in the marketplace. Lee dismissed it with a wave of his hand and a chuckle. She straightened and tried a different suggestion, knowing that she didn’t have anything to lose. This time she asked if they might try another restaurant, and named a small bistro she had noticed on the edge of town. It wasn’t like the exclusive ones Lee took her to, but it looked traditional and family run. Lee’s face twisted, the corners of his mouth turned upwards and he left the room shaking his head.
‘You OK about it?’ said Eliza.
‘Oh God yeah, I wouldn’t care if I never went to Switzerland ever again. So he’s taking Sam eh? Bet he takes all his conquests there to woo them.’ Ash smiled. ‘Doubt he tells them its Daddy’s though. God he’s such a—’ She stopped herself. ‘Oh, who cares? She’s welcome to him. I’ve got Dave now. Anyway Lee and Sam are like two peas in a pod. Sam only wants him for his money—’
‘And Lee only wants her to make you jealous.’
‘D’you think so?’
‘I know so, and Sam is so shallow she can’t even see it. All she wants is what you used to get.’
‘Oh God, she’s welcome to it. In fact I feel sorry for her. All the affection and gifts he’ll give her will come at a price—she’s going to get hurt. Anyway I have Dave now so they can do what they want.’
‘You’re right, I just didn’t want you to find out from Sam. I doubt she would have been tactful.’
Ash said good bye to Eliza and turning her front door key, she was about to walk inside when Mr Schnitzer called up to her from the bottom of her steps. He was holding a bunch of lilies of the valley, Ash’s favourite flowers. He walked up the steps and held them out to her.
‘Mr Schnitzer, er… you shouldn’t have.’
‘Sorry, zay are not from me,’ he said. ‘Delivery.’ He raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Ash didn’t take the flowers but reached into the middle and removed the card to read it:
Have fun in Ibiza. I love you, Ashleigh Lands. Please use this time to think about us. Miss you more than you know, I will see you when you’re home.
My entire love—Lee x
She ripped the card in two and smiled back at Mr Schnitzer. ‘They’re not from who I thought they were from. I’ve no need for flowers but wouldn’t want to waste them. Would you like to have them?’
There was another reason why Ash couldn’t take them and have them on display: Dave was due round in an hour.
‘You seem to be a much desired voman, Ash. Enjoy it vhile you can!’ He chuckled. ‘But I can take de flowers if you vish.’
‘Oh I do, thank you Mr Schnitzer, thank you so much.’
* * *
Within an hour she had washed and dressed and stood in the kitchen preparing dinner for her and Dave. She had chosen a relatively simple dish of chicken in white wine sauce so not to be running in and out of the kitchen all night burning the food. The chicken was almost cooked and Ash had decided it better to buy sauce in a packet than to try and make her own.
The table was set with her best silver and new wine set that she had been given as a moving-in present from Rachel. Candles flickered around the room and the lights had been dimmed to create a subtle ambiance, or so Ash hoped. She was conscious that Dave had no problems with cooking from the dinner he had prepared for he
r and that he could also set a room to go with it, so she had to impress him—if not with her food at least she could achieve something in terms of effort and atmosphere.
She opened the sauce, tipped the contents of the packet into a pan and set the gas to a low heat underneath it. The doorbell rang and Ash smoothed down the front of her silk dress. Rushing to answer the door she paused and looked at the room for a last check that everything was set correctly. She smiled, quickly readjusting her hairclip and the mirror and ruffled her long brown hair around her shoulders.
‘Hi.’
‘Hi,’ said Dave, holding out a bunch of flowers ‘I didn’t know which ones you liked so I got a mixture. If you don’t like them, blame the girl in the florist not me.’
Ash laughed. ‘They are just perfect.’
She took them inside and fixed Dave a drink.
‘This is nice—you shouldn’t have gone to such trouble for me.’ Dave looked around the dimly lit room.
‘No trouble,’ Ash shouted from the kitchen.
‘Do you need a hand?’ He made for the kitchen then stopped.
‘No no, stay there—it’s all under control,’ she lied, trying to sound calm, stirring the now too thick source and wondering how anyone but her could mess up a packet sauce. ‘Take a seat. I’ll bring it out.’
She ran the goopy white sauce over the chicken and carried two plates out into the living room.
‘Sorry I didn’t do a starter it’s just that—’
‘It’s lovely, babe. Don’t worry—just sit down and eat. It looks really good.’
‘Might not be so good when you taste it though.’
‘Don’t be silly.’ He cut and chewed a piece of chicken. ‘Mmm… it’s good… mmm… try it,’ he said, cutting a larger slice.
Ash smiled. Dave had a way of reading her emotions and could say the right thing at the right time to soothing her fears and anxieties.
After dinner he helped her pack the last of her things ready for Ibiza the day after tomorrow. He wished he could have driven her to the airport but he had taken on a last-minute job in Milton Keynes and would be leaving the day before Ash flew out, staying overnight in a B&B.
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