by Caragh Bell
‘So, what did you do?’
‘I called over last night and we just talked.’
‘Wild,’ said Luca, rolling his eyes. ‘What’s the point in just talking?’
Craig threw the empty pizza box at his cousin. ‘You are so sexist. I don’t know how you get all those women drooling over you.’
‘Just irresistible, I guess.’
Craig shook his head in disbelief. ‘Anyway, moving on, she’s a teacher. I actually found it really easy to talk to her. She said she met you the other day.’
‘Yeah, in that coffee place.’ Luca flicked the channels on the TV. ‘Are you meeting her again?’
‘Yeah, this weekend. She’s invited me to some drinks thing in Colin McCarthy’s place.’
‘Oh yeah, that guy in my class. I was invited too.’
‘Should be good.’
‘Yeah.’
There was a pause.
‘Did you meet her flatmate?’ Luca’s face was expressionless.
Craig nodded furiously, his mouth full of pizza. ‘Yeah. She was cooking last night when I called over.’
‘Did you talk to her?’
‘Of course.’ Craig gave him an old-fashioned look. ‘We were in the same room.’
‘Sure, of course,’ Luca said hastily. ‘Did you have a good night?’
‘I did. Although Lydia had a kitchen crisis. Burnt the chicken and pesto. Sam was delighted as she hates it. The only meal Lydia can cook apparently. We got takeaway from the chippy instead.’
Luca laughed and got to his feet. ‘Want another beer?’
Craig shrugged. ‘If you have one.’
‘I got Bud or Heineken.’
‘Bud then.’
‘You got it.’ He threw a can at his cousin. ‘Are you going out later? I heard there’s a band in that place Doyle’s.’
Craig shook his head. ‘I can’t. I have a lot of work to do for tomorrow. You headin’?’
Luca shrugged. ‘I guess. It beats sitting around here all night.’
‘Text Jessica. She might be going.’ Craig took a swig of beer. ‘She’s so hot, Luca. How did you find her?’
Luca flicked the channels on the TV. ‘Some party somewhere. She talks a lot though, like non-stop.’
‘Ah man, I’d get over that with legs like that.’
Luca grinned. ‘I guess. Maybe I’ll give her a call.’
Lydia handed two euros to the woman behind the counter in the student centre café.
‘Thanks, love,’ she said, smiling, and dropped it into the till.
Lydia walked out into the sunshine. She had planned on going to the library to work on her Prufrock essay but the hot sun felt too good. It was a rare occurrence in October to have any heat at all. Abandoning her original plan, she walked over to the grass and flopped down. Pulling out her phone, she checked her News Feed on Facebook. Suddenly she noticed a notification on the bottom of the screen. A friend request.
Biting her lip, she pressed the icon and Luca’s profile picture appeared. She gasped.
She clicked on his profile and started scrolling down. He and Colin had become ‘friends’ yesterday. That was probably how he came across her profile. Intently, she kept going. Down through pictures others had uploaded and tagged him in.
Gosh, he’s photogenic, she thought, staring at his face. He could be a model with those chiselled cheekbones.
In many of the pictures he was in the middle of a group of girls. They were all pretty with smiley faces and tanned skin. She debated whether to read the comments under the photos, but declined. It was none of her business. What he got up to in his spare time was not her concern.
Exiting out of his profile, she pressed the home button on her phone. She wouldn’t accept his request. Not yet, anyway.
Lydia arrived home to the flat to find Craig sitting on the couch.
‘Hey, Lyd,’ he said, blushing. ‘I’m here again.’
‘No worries,’ she said, smiling warmly. ‘It’s good to see you.’
Opening the fridge, she pulled out a carton of juice and poured herself a glass.
Samantha was chopping tomatoes for an omelette.
‘Hey, Lyd, are you hungry? I can count you in if you want.’
‘No, I’m okay. Thanks anyway.’ She backed away in the direction of her room. ‘Three’s a crowd,’ she quipped.
Samantha reddened. ‘Thanks,’ she mouthed.
Lydia closed the door of her room. It was too early to call Dominic – he had mentioned that he was working late. Colin had a date with Val, so she really was at a loose end. Oh, why was her boyfriend so far away? She missed the company. Now that Sam’s love life was taking off, she couldn’t help but feel a bit lonely.
Like a moth to a flame, she accessed her Facebook app. The friend request was still there. She pressed on his profile once more. With a beating heart she saw a new photo. It had been uploaded twenty minutes ago. It had been posted by Jessica Ryan and showed Luca in a pair of sweatpants and nothing else, his bronze torso gleaming in the light.
Lydia blushed. He looked so amazing. With a beating heart, she stared and stared.
There’s no law against looking, she reassured herself. I mean, being in a relationship doesn’t mean that you’re dead.
A phone call from her mother cut short her ogling.
‘Mum!’ she said breathlessly. ‘How are you?’ Odd that she felt guilty.
‘Great, darling. How’s life?’
Lyd lay back on her pillow and started to talk. How she loved telling her mother about her day, filling her in on the stupid incidental happenings that no one else would be interested in. Her mother was the only person that she could be completely herself with: warts and all. Helen never judged her or found her boring. It was a relief to be so open with someone. Like Prufrock, Lydia felt that sometimes she had to pretend a lot around others. That she modified her personality to suit certain people. It was so relaxing talking to her mum. Her true best friend.
They spoke for half an hour. Reluctantly, Lydia hung up the phone. Steering clear of the two lovebirds would be hard work. It was going to be a long night.
Chapter 10
‘Donations, please.’
Colin held out a paper bag to the occupants of the table in Doyle’s. It was Friday evening.
‘For what?’ asked Samantha, eating crisps.
‘The skiing fund.’
‘What skiing fund?’ asked Val in surprise.
Lydia burst out laughing. ‘Are you joking, Col?’
Colin looked offended. ‘Remember Morzine last year, Lyd?’
Lydia smiled at the memory. Dominic’s class from college embarked on an annual ski trip so Lydia and Colin had tagged along. They had travelled to France for the second week of the Christmas holidays, staying in a budget hotel in the village. Dominic had been skiing since the age of seven and was very proficient. Together they had covered most of the pistes, eaten fondue and raclette, kissed in the chair lifts and laughed at Colin’s brightly coloured ski gear. ‘It’s Versace, you know,’ he had said haughtily.
Lydia loved the exhilaration of careering down a slope, turning into the mountain to avoid tumbling down the incline. She had been skiing since she was a teenager. Oscar and Diana, Colin’s parents, had invited her along to Chamonix one February midterm when she and Colin were fourteen. She had attended ski school and found that she was a natural. It became an annual thing until they finished school. Ollie, green with jealousy that his younger sister had been selected over him for free holidays, was delighted when it came to an end. ‘The gravy train has come to an end, Ted,’ he gloated. ‘Boo hoo!’
Colin, of course, adored the ski season. Like Dominic, he had been skiing since childhood and was top class. He was willing to throw himself down any slope, in any conditions, and laughed uproariously at anyone who fell. The vin chaud, the Euro pop, the designer goggles and the karaoke all appealed to him immensely.
‘We have to go again, Lyd. We had such a ball last ye
ar.’
‘I don’t know, Col. I’m pretty broke.’
‘Your birthday is coming up – ask for money. Christmas? Ask for money. Hell, I’ll give you a loan if the worst comes to the worst.’
‘The Colin McCarthy Charity Fund.’
‘The very thing.’
Craig sipped his beer. ‘Where were you thinking of going?’
‘Austria. St. Johann or somewhere?’
‘Oh, I’d love that,’ said Samantha wistfully. ‘I did German in school, you know.’
Craig kissed her shoulder. ‘I didn’t know.’
‘Well, I did.’ They stared into each other’s eyes.
Craig’s phone started to ring.
‘Hey, Luca! Yeah, we’re in Doyle’s … yeah … okay … see you in a sec.’
Releasing her hair from its band, Lydia let it cascade down her back. Samantha raised an eyebrow, but said nothing.
Luca arrived a minute later. He walked up to the table and grabbed a stool. Positioning it next to Lydia, he smiled at the table. ‘Hi, guys.’
Colin waved. ‘Hi, Luca, you’re just in time. I’m trying to organise a ski trip.’
‘I told you – I’m broke!’ said Lydia.
‘We can fundraise if we have to, Lyd. Come on, think of the fun.’
‘Where are you thinking of going?’ Luca gestured to the barman to bring him a bottle of beer.
‘Austria,’ answered Colin excitedly. ‘It will be fab.’
Lydia threw up her arms in defeat. ‘Look, I’ll say it to Dom, but he might have other arrangements.’
‘Yippee!’ Colin clapped his hands. ‘You won’t regret it, Lyd. Just think of the fun we’ll have.’
‘I might tag along,’ Luca announced unexpectedly. ‘Jess has never skied, but I’m sure she could pick it up.’
‘Can you ski?’ asked Val.
‘Oh, sure. The family have a chalet in Vail.’
Lydia nearly choked on her beer. A chalet in Vail?
‘Let me know what you decide. A group ski trip could be fun.’
‘I’d love a chalet,’ said Colin wistfully.
‘Of all of us, you have the most chance of attaining that dream,’ said Samantha, laughing. ‘I can see it now, on Christmas morning, the deeds to a pad in St. Moritz!’
Colin sniffed dolefully. ‘I wish.’
‘Let’s save up and go with them,’ suggested Craig, squeezing Samantha’s hand.
She blushed furiously. ‘Together?’ she said in an undertone.
‘Yeah.’ He beamed at her and Samantha’s face broke into a huge smile.
Lydia observed Craig and had to admit that Samantha was right. He was a dead ringer for Ryan Gosling.
‘Right then, I’ll look into flights and accommodation. I’ll get back to you all.’ Colin drained his drink. ‘I love planning!’
Lydia smiled at her cousin’s enthusiasm. ‘I’ll talk to Dom when he comes down and see what he thinks.’
‘Are you coming tomorrow?’ Colin looked at her meaningfully. ‘I don’t make my mojitos for just any riffraff, you know.’
‘I don’t know yet. I’ll say it to Dom but I really can’t say.’
‘I expect to see you, Kelly. It is your duty to have fun.’ His tone was final.
‘Whatever you say.’
Luca peeled the label off his bottle of beer. ‘What are you guys up to tonight?’ he asked.
Samantha and Craig held hands. ‘We’re going to the cinema, for definite this time.’
Lydia laughed. ‘I’ll believe it when I see it.’
Colin pointed to Val. ‘I’m going to Val’s rehearsal with him. He wants my opinion before the show begins.’
Lydia shrugged. ‘Dom will be down in the morning so I’ll just hang out at home.’
Luca looked at her but said nothing. Part of him wanted to ask her out but another part stopped him.
She belongs to someone else, he chided himself. It’s a no-brainer.
But still he couldn’t escape the feeling that he wanted to spend the evening with her. He wanted to hang out with this girl. He watched her flick her hair as she told a story to Samantha. Her whole face was radiant as she laughed and made hand gestures. She was gorgeous, no doubt. He imagined what she would look like naked, with all that hair flowing down her back, those eyes cloudy with desire. He was suddenly kneed in the groin with longing. Screw being noble. He wanted her.
‘Lyd?’ He leaned over closely. ‘Do you want to hang out later? Watch a movie or something?’
Her eyes widened in shock. He could see that she didn’t know what to say.
‘A movie?’ she squeaked. ‘Um, I don’t know ...’
‘Come on, we could watch it at yours. I’ll bring popcorn.’
‘I don’t know, Luca, I’m pretty tired.’ Her eyes were wary.
‘It will be fun.’ He smiled. ‘I’ll even watch a chick flick.’
She blushed and shook her head. ‘No, I’ll give it a miss. Sorry.’
He was taken aback. Girls didn’t normally say no to a friendly suggestion like that from him. A movie and popcorn! He wasn’t asking her to go off for the weekend!
‘Fine, your loss. I should meet Jess anyway.’ He drained his beer. ‘Later.’
And he was gone.
Lydia stared at his retreating back in confusion. What did he expect? She was hardly going to have a cosy night in with a guy she barely knew – whether or not she had a boyfriend. She glanced at the others. No one had even noticed their exchange.
Her cheeks were hot as she sipped her drink. If he only knew that she had been looking at his pictures on Facebook! Luca Jacob affected her; there was no denying it. Watching a movie with him would be a bad idea. Especially on her own.
Colin’s chatter brought her back to the present and she put Luca out of her mind.
He wasn’t worth even thinking about.
Chapter 11
‘I’m so sorry, Lyd.’
‘I know.’
‘I really tried to get out of it …’
‘I know, Dom, it’s fine. Really.’
‘If I say no it looks really bad, and it’s only one shift.’
‘I understand. There will be other weekends.’
‘I’ll definitely see you next week.’
‘Of course.’
‘I love you, baby.’
‘I love you too.’
‘Lydia! You came!’ Colin threw open the door of his flat in delight. ‘Love the dress – is it Hermès?’
Lydia threw her eyes to heaven. ‘No, dahling! It’s Debenhams.’
I mean really, she thought. What planet does he live on?
‘Lydia!’ Samantha jumped up to hug her. ‘I thought you were going to stay in when Dom couldn’t make it to Cork?’
‘I was sitting on my bed feeling sorry for myself and mooning about Dom when I thought: get up and go out and have fun.’
‘That’s the spirit!’ Craig sidled up beside her. ‘Dom has his gall-bladder surgery – why shouldn’t you have fun too? Mojito?’ He offered her a yellow drink stuffed with mint.
‘Don’t mind if I do,’ Lydia smiled at him and took a sip of the cocktail. It burned her throat and she coughed. ‘Crikey, what’s in it, rocket fuel?’
Samantha giggled. ‘It gets better after the second one.’
Lydia ambled over to the couch. ‘Hi, Val.’
‘Hi, Lyd. Just picking some decent music there. His iPod is full of crap.’
‘I heard that!’ shouted Colin from the kitchen.
‘In fairness, Michael Bolton?’ Val looked horrified. ‘There’s no excuse.’
Lydia laughed. ‘Good luck finding anything good.’
‘Britney, Beyoncé, Liza Minelli – wait a second, Alvin and the Chipmunks? What the hell?’
‘Try ABBA,’ suggested Samantha. ‘Party music.’
Craig put his head in his hands. ‘Earplugs, please.’
‘Abandon ship, Craig,’ said Lydia. ‘There’s no decent music on that thing.
’
‘I made blinis with smoked salmon and mini quiches,’ announced Colin, arriving back into the sitting room with a large platter. ‘Help yourselves.’
As soon as Lydia finished her drink, another was thrust into her hand.
‘Sip it through this,’ ordered Colin, giving her a straw. ‘It will speed up the process.’
‘Process of what exactly?’ asked Lydia frowning.
‘Getting pissed.’
‘I’m in no hurry.’
Colin pulled out his mini hoover and vacuumed up some crumbs under Craig’s chair.
Samantha’s eyes met Lydia’s and they stifled a giggle.
An hour later, the doorbell rang. Lydia could hear Colin greeting Luca and, presumably, Jessica.
‘Hi, you guys!’ Luca’s tall frame filled the doorway.
Next to him was a beautiful girl. She was almost as tall as Luca, with a mass of glossy brown curls, large brown eyes and a body to die for. Her dress was bordering on indecent and her long legs were clad in knee-high stiletto boots. On anyone else the outfit would have looked cheap, but on her it looked sensational.
It was the girl Luca had been wrapped around when they bumped into them in town.
‘Hello,’ said Val in awe. ‘I’m Val.’
‘Hiya!’ said Jessica, flashing very white teeth. ‘I’m Jessica, but you can call me Jess. Oh my God, your flat is amazing, I love the accent wall! Is that a walnut table? I love the beige carpet! Oh cool, you have a balcony.’ She paused to take a breath.
‘It’s my flat actually,’ said Colin, stepping forward. ‘Hi, I’m Colin. Good to meet you.’
‘Hiya,’ she repeated brightly. ‘Thanks for having us over, I love clubbing – can I have a drink? Oh, great! Mojitos, my favourites – Luca, do you want one? I’ll get them!’
She scuttled off to the sideboard where Colin had a line of mojitos lined up.
Colin looked at Samantha and raised his eyebrows. ‘Is she for real?’ he mouthed.
Luca took a mojito from Jess, then walked over to Lydia and sat down next to her on the couch.
‘Hi, Lyd,’ he said softly.
‘Hi,’ she whispered.