A Question of Us

by Mary Jayne Baker

  ‘Okay.’

  ‘So, what’s the gossip?’ Gemma asked Clarrie when Sonny let her go.

  ‘Dave’s going out with a sex maniac.’

  ‘Really?’ Gemma flashed Dave a double thumbs-up. ‘Well done. Not bad considering you only worked out how to do it four years ago.’

  ‘Hey, it was eight years ago, all right? Laura Tindall, back of my dad’s Fiesta.’

  ‘Bollocks,’ Sonny coughed.

  Dave chucked him a look. ‘How about we leave my virginity alone and move on?’

  ‘Yeah, leaving your virginity alone was top priority for the girls round here for years, wasn’t it?’ Sonny said, nudging him. He turned to Gemma. ‘But in the interests of moving on, why don’t you ask Clarrie where she slept last night, Gem?’

  ‘Well?’ Gemma said, raising her eyebrows at Clarrie.

  ‘She slept in my tent,’ Si said with a grin.

  ‘I just went in to cadge a cigarette, okay?’ Clarrie said.

  ‘And then you tried to get in my pants.’

  ‘Yeah, well. I get easily distracted when I’m drunk.’

  ‘So are we talking about everyone having a better sex life than me or are we getting some beers open?’ Sonny asked, taking a seat on one of the logs by the now crackling fire.

  Si shrugged. ‘We can do both.’

  ‘You’re getting a warm one for that.’ Sonny grabbed beers for himself, Si and Dave from under the bench. ‘You lasses want a can?’

  ‘Brought my own girl booze, thanks,’ Gem said, producing a bottle of white wine. ‘Fancy being a lady for the night, Clar?’

  ‘Go on, since you’re here,’ Clarrie said. ‘Got glasses?’

  ‘No, we’ll have to swig.’

  ‘Right. So when you said “lady”, you did in fact mean “wino”.’

  ‘I did, yeah.’ Gemma opened the bottle and passed it to Clarrie.

  She swallowed a mouthful and shuffled closer to Gemma to pass it back. ‘Did you tell him then?’ she asked in a low voice while the lads were talking among themselves.

  ‘Yes. We talked for over an hour last night. Ended up telling him everything.’

  ‘What did he say?’

  Gemma blinked back a tear. ‘It was really sweet actually, in a drunken, all over the place sort of way. He cried, said he understood, said he hated me, then that he still loved me. Said he missed me, cried some more… and then he asked me to come up so we could all hang out. He was pretty pissed though, not sure how much he remembers now.’

  ‘He wasn’t too out of it, me and him had a chat last night as well.’

  ‘What’s going on with you and Si then?’

  Clarrie sighed. ‘God, I don’t know. Last night, he… I mean, this daft bet thing, I thought it was just Si being Si, you know? Always playing the same old games. But…’

  ‘But?’

  ‘I don’t think it’s a game this time.’

  Gemma was staring at her. Clarrie flushed under her gaze.

  ‘What?’ she said.

  ‘Good God, you’re clueless.’ She passed over the wine. ‘Just go out with him.’

  ‘I wish it was that simple.’ Clarrie glanced at Sonny, draining his beer moodily by the fire while Dave and Si talked. ‘So you reckon you two’ll get back together?’

  ‘That’s up to him. But Clar, it feels so bloody good to be back.’ She threw her arms around Clarrie for a hug.

  ‘Waaay!’ Dave said when he noticed them embracing. ‘This evening’s taking a turn for the better.’

  Clarrie pulled out of the hug to grin at him. ‘Hey, Davy. Forgot to tell you, your lass has seen something you haven’t.’

  ‘What’s that?’

  ‘My tits. She got a full frontal in the shower block this morning.’

  ‘Bloody hell! Why wasn’t this mentioned sooner?’ Dave shook his head. ‘You know, sometimes I think you concubines don’t take my status as resident alpha male seriously.’

  Gemma raised an eyebrow. ‘Alpha male?’

  Clarrie rolled her eyes. ‘Don’t ask, Gem. You’ll only start them off again.’

  Si frowned at Dave. ‘When did you become such a rampant perve? You already spent all last night on the job, now you’re cracking on to our spare women as well.’

  ‘I was always a rampant perve,’ Dave said with a shrug. ‘I just passed the theory before the practical.’

  *

  It was nearly nine by the time the sun’s last bloom vanished and left them to the glowing campfire. The sky was clear and flecked with stars, cut into arch- shaped slices of Milky Way by the viaduct.

  Si finished his beer and stood up. ‘Right, I’m off to bed.’

  ‘Oh no, not again,’ Clarrie said. ‘It’s ten to nine, Si. Leave them bloody books and get another beer open.’

  ‘Nope, sorry. Got a lot of reading to do.’

  ‘Two nights in a row?’ Sonny shook his head. ‘That is poor.’

  ‘You want to win the League, don’t you? Anyway, Dave went to bed early last night too.’

  ‘I had important shagging to do, that’s different.’ Dave shot a significant glance at Sonny. ‘Right. Let’s get him.’

  Sonny nodded. Together, he and Dave stood and hurled themselves at Si.

  ‘Argh! Geroff!’ he said in a muffled voice as Sonny got him in a headlock and Dave grabbed him round the middle. Between them, they tried to wrestle all six-three of him to the ground.

  Clarrie rolled her eyes at Gemma. ‘Not this again. Tragic, isn’t it?’

  Gemma shrugged, handing over the dwindling remains of their wine. ‘Have to say, it’s kind of doing it for me,’ she said, her gaze fixed on the wrestling men.

  ‘Bloody hell. Didn’t realise you were that sex-starved.’ Clarrie looked at Si, his head under Sonny’s arm, grunting and pushing with his broad shoulders. ‘Actually, you’re right. Reckon we can get them to take their tops off?’

  ‘Fine,’ Si panted as Dave and Sonny finally managed to wrestle him onto the bench. ‘One more then. Chuck us a can, Sonny.’ He caught the beer Sonny threw him and cracked it open. ‘Not that I couldn’t kick your arses.’

  ‘So now you’ve got that out of your systems, what’s the book, Si?’ Gemma asked. ‘Must be pretty thrilling to drag you away from our scintillating company.’

  ‘Just my well-thumbed copy of the Kama Sutra in holographic 3D,’ Si said with a shrug. ‘Oh, that reminds me. Can I have a word, Gem?’

  ‘Course, go ahead.’

  ‘Not here, in private. Come over to the shower block.’

  ‘Er, all right.’ Gemma followed him to the wooden hut a little way from their tents. ‘Tell you what, I’m in there,’ she said in an audible whisper to Clarrie as she passed.

  Sonny shot them a suspicious glance. ‘What’s that all about?’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry, he’s not after your bird,’ Dave said. ‘You know he’d never cheat on Clarrie with Gem.’

  Clarrie frowned. ‘He can’t cheat on me, Dave, we’re not going out.’

  ‘And she’s not my bird,’ Sonny said. But no one paid him any attention.

  A few minutes later, Si and Gemma came back and took their places on the benches.

  ‘What’ve you two been doing?’ Sonny asked Si.

  ‘Just having a quickie.’

  ‘You want to get headlocked again?’

  ‘I’d rather not, it tickles.’

  ‘So? What were you doing really?’ Clarrie asked Gemma.

  She grinned. ‘Wait and see.’

  *

  ‘What shall we do now, guys?’ Gemma said when there was a lull in the conversation an hour later. ‘More cards?’

  ‘Nah, we’ve played everything,’ Sonny said.

  ‘At the first League quiz you promised to play Spin the Bottle with us, Gem,’ Dave said, his usual grin slightly droopy under the numbing influence of beer. ‘How about it? Old time’s sake.’

  ‘Really, Davy?’ Clarrie said, curling her lip. ‘We’re twenty-six.’

&nb
sp; ‘Ahhhh, go on,’ Dave said, waving his beer with gregarious abandon. ‘It’ll be a laugh.’

  Clarrie looked at Gemma. ‘Your call, Gem. You’re guest of honour tonight.’

  ‘Yeah, what the hell,’ Gemma said with a shrug. ‘Nice to relive your hormonal youth once in a while.’

  ‘Did I mention I really have to be getting to bed?’ Si said, standing up.

  ‘Oh no you don’t.’ Gemma stood too and pushed him back down next to Clarrie. ‘It’s all of us or none of us, Dewhirst.’

  ‘Fine,’ he said with a resigned sigh. ‘But I’m not snogging Dave.’

  Dave raised his eyes in mock offence. ‘Love you too, Si.’

  ‘Nothing personal, I’m sure you’re a sensitive yet passionate lover. I don’t fancy getting sandpapered by your little ginger beard, that’s all.’

  Dave rubbed his unshaven chin. ‘It’s not a beard, it’s designer stubble. I might keep it actually, Lyns reckons it makes me look sexy.’

  Sonny snorted. ‘Think you misheard. She actually said it makes you look like a sex offender.’

  Dave shot him a look. ‘At least I can grow a beard if I want, Babyface. How long did it take you to work up that goatee you had? Six months?’

  ‘Fuck off, Dave.’

  ‘Okay, I think that’s built up the right amount of sexual tension,’ Gemma muttered to Clarrie. ‘Pass us that empty wine bottle, Midwinter.’

  Clarrie reached behind the bench and passed the bottle to Gemma, who placed it on the ground by the campfire.

  ‘All right, beauty before age,’ Gem said. ‘You first, handsome.’

  ‘Can I assume that’s addressed to me?’ Si asked.

  Clarrie raised an eyebrow at him. ‘Has there ever been a time you haven’t assumed that, cocky?’

  ‘Nope.’ Si reached down and gave the bottle a spin.

  ‘Oh God,’ he said when he saw where it had landed.

  Clarrie giggled. ‘Go on, Si, you know you want to.’

  ‘Ugh. Fine.’ Before Sonny could register what was happening, Si had walked over, grabbed his face in both hands and planted a big smacker on his lips.

  ‘So was it good for you, darling?’ Si asked, waggling his eyebrows.

  ‘Bleurghh!’ Sonny gagged theatrically. ‘You could’ve given me fair warning. I had my mouth open then.’

  ‘Come on, I bet that’s the most action you’ve had all year.’

  ‘Well, that’ll haunt my nightmares. Cheers, Si,’ Dave said as Si took his seat again. ‘Right, who’s next?’

  ‘I’ll go. Might as well get it over with.’ Clarrie gave the bottle another spin.

  Dave smirked at Si, sitting straight in the line of the bottleneck. ‘Well, well, well.’

  ‘You rigged that, didn’t you?’ Clarrie said, frowning at Dave.

  ‘With what, telekinesis? Anyway, if I was going to rig it then it wouldn’t be for Si’s benefit. I wouldn’t mind a snog either.’

  ‘All right, Dave. If it means that much to you, hop on,’ Si said, patting his knee.

  ‘I meant off her. Go on, you two, get on with it.’

  Clarrie turned to Si. He was looking at her with the soft expression that always made her stomach clench. She felt suddenly embarrassed, feeling the eyes of their friends boring into them.

  She leaned over and planted a quick peck on his lips. ‘There.’

  ‘Rubbish,’ Si said, shaking his head. ‘I got a better snog off Sonny. Try again, Clar.’

  He took her shoulders in his hands and brought his lips to hers.

  The first time Si had properly kissed her, they’d been fourteen. A one-off, inexpert fumbling with too much tongue and not enough lips, just to satisfy their curiosity about what it might be like. Back then he hadn’t even bothered to take his chewing gum out. The second time had been the passionate – if now half remembered – snog in his tent last night.

  But this… he’d never kissed her like this before. It was so gentle, so tender; a love letter with lips. She felt the fingers of one hand caressing her face, the other burrowing into her hair, and tried to remember when he’d moved them there.

  ‘That’s better,’ he said quietly when he pulled away.

  ‘You’ve been practising since Year Nine,’ she whispered.

  ‘For you I brought my A-game.’

  She looked around to find Sonny, Gemma and Dave staring at them.

  ‘Woah. That was… beautiful, guys,’ Dave said. ‘You two should be in films.’

  ‘I know the kind of films you like to watch, Davy,’ Si said. ‘I’ve still got that VHS copy of Knockerama you lent me in Year Eleven. I’ll stick to the teaching, ta.’

  ‘You look after that, it’s an antique. My dad gave it me out of his private stash.’

  Si wrinkled his nose. ‘Really? Wish you’d told me that before. I think even at fifteen I had some standards.’

  Clarrie laughed. ‘Getting off to Jeff porn. That’ll teach you, Simon.’

  ‘Shush, you. You’re supposed to be breathless from my magnificent snogging technique.’

  ‘How come you didn’t kiss me like that, Si?’ Sonny asked.

  ‘Jealous?’ Si said, grinning.

  Sonny shrugged. ‘If I say yes, will you judge me?’

  ‘Okay, enough flirting, lads. I’m next,’ Gem said. She gave the bottle a slight turn so the neck was pointing at Sonny. ‘Oh look.’

  He frowned. ‘You didn’t do it properly, Gem.’

  ‘Nope. Going to make me do a forfeit?’

  ‘Think I will actually.’ A keen expression had crept into his eyes. ‘I’ve got the perfect punishment for you.’

  He went over to Gemma, pulled her to her feet and swung her into his arms, then claimed her lips for a kiss.

  The kiss seemed to Clarrie to last at least half an hour. Gemma and Sonny stood, figures embracing in the firelight, oblivious to the stares of their friends as they pressed each other closer.

  It was the appreciative ‘mmmm’ sounds they started making after the first minute that really made Clarrie uncomfortable.

  Eventually Sonny drew back, but he didn’t let go. He hugged Gemma tightly to him, and Clarrie could see from the liquid flames in his eyes that he was crying.

  ‘God, I’ve missed you so much,’ he whispered. ‘So, so much.’

  ‘Me too, Sunil,’ Gemma whispered back, and her voice was breaking too. ‘I’m sorry, I’m so sorry.’

  ‘Come on.’ Sonny released her from the embrace and took her hand. ‘You and me need to talk.’

  ‘Night, everyone,’ Gemma said, giving them a bashful wave as Sonny dragged her to his tent.

  ‘Well that was weird.’ Dave glanced at Clarrie and Si. ‘Did they just get back together over Spin the Bottle?’

  ‘Think they did, yeah,’ Si said. ‘And about time too. Well done for suggesting it.’

  ‘Ta. Even though from my point of view, worst game ever. I thought Clarrie would at least cop off with Gem again. I didn’t even get a snog.’

  ‘Poor Davy.’ Clarrie went over, grabbed his cheeks and planted a smacking, Bugs-Bunny-in-drag kiss on his lips. ‘There. On behalf of Sonny and Gem.’

  Dave leaned back and rested his head on his hands. ‘That’s the stuff. Thanks, Clar.’

  *

  ‘Glad you stayed up and got drunk with us, Si,’ Clarrie said a little later. He was sitting on the log bench beside her, one arm around her shoulders as usual.

  ‘Me too.’

  They heard a muffled grunt from Sonny’s tent, then the sound of whispering, breathless voices.

  ‘Sounds like they worked it out then,’ Si said, grinning. ‘It’ll be good to have her back in the gang.’

  ‘Oh God,’ Clarrie groaned. ‘Not again with the sex noises. Don’t know why I come away with you randy buggers.’

  ‘Wasn’t it just last night you suggested we try to drown them out with some of our own?’

  ‘That was the lager talking.’

  ‘Bet we could’ve though.’
<
br />   ‘Too right we could.’

  Si nodded to Dave, asleep with his beer still clutched in his hand.

  ‘Like father like son, eh?’

  ‘Yeah. Why is he always first asleep?’

  ‘Well, in the old days it was usually because he’d smoked a fuckload of weed and giggled himself to oblivion.’

  ‘Good times.’ She sighed. ‘It’s weird being grown up.’

  ‘I know, right?’

  ‘Hey, I’ve got some lippy in my tent. Fancy giving him a makeover?’

  ‘No, let him rest, he had a busy night last night. Our little trouper.’

  Clarrie fumbled for another couple of beers and handed one to Si. ‘You reckon he really lost it to Laura Tindall when he was eighteen?’

  ‘Nope.’

  She squinted at him. ‘You sound pretty sure.’

  ‘Yeah, I asked Laura about it.’ He reached across her neck so he could open the beer in his other hand. ‘And from the look on her face, I’d say it was definitely the first she’d heard of it.’

  ‘When did you ask her that?’

  He looked at her, one side of his mouth curving. ‘You really want to know?’

  ‘Yeah, why not?’

  ‘All right, I asked her in bed.’

  ‘What? When did you sleep with Laura Tindall?’

  ‘Dunno, last December?’ he said, shrugging. ‘Me and her went out for a bit.’

  ‘How long?’

  ‘Couple of months.’

  Clarrie raised an eyebrow. ‘Are you telling me you had an actual, proper girlfriend? You?’

  He laughed. ‘No need to sound that surprised about it.’

  ‘How come you never told us?’

  ‘Don’t have to tell you lot everything about my love life, do I?’

  ‘You’re quick enough to tell everyone when I’ve been drunkenly trying to get off with you.’

  ‘Yeah, well. That’s funny.’

  Clarrie shook her head. ‘Can’t believe you managed a relationship that lasted longer than three dates.’

  He shrugged, knocking back a mouthful of beer. ‘I wouldn’t get too excited. It was only a casual thing, we were never going out out.’

  ‘So she wasn’t a girlfriend?’

  ‘More a friend with benefits. Laura had a lad she liked as well.’

  ‘More than you? When does that ever happen?’ Clarrie elbowed him. ‘Bet your ego took a bruising, eh?’