The Rom-Com Collection: The Plus One, Something for the Weekend, A Marriage of Connivance

by Natasha West

  But that was becoming difficult. There was a lanky Maths teacher called Dan who had clearly targeted Chloe for seduction. He’d been pestering her for the last twenty minutes, offering her drinks which she politely refused, making jokes which Chloe felt obligated to laugh at. It was annoying but she was stuck with him. Whatever turmoil had given her the courage to be brusque with the oddly confident black-haired woman had evaporated. She was stuck being Chloe again.

  And then she thought of Laura. She had been charming her for the last year, forcing her love on her until she returned it. And once she had it, she’d obviously gotten bored and needed to do the same to someone else.

  Chloe wondered who the mystery woman was. Her masochistic mind conjured an image of her. She was a gorgeous, tall, thin, successful model who travelled the world attending glamorous photoshoots and parties. Her name was Adrianna. She was everything Chloe felt she wasn’t. When Chloe considered herself next to Adrianna the imaginary goddess, all she saw was a shy bookworm, a mouse who’d let Laura walk all over her.

  But Dan didn’t seem to see that person, Chloe realised. In Dan’s slightly drunk eyes, Chloe was an ‘Adrianna’.

  ‘If it’s still alright, I think I’ll have that drink now’ she said to Dan. He immediately scuttled off to get it.

  Jess was at the other end of the room. She was three drinks deep and talking to a very serious religious education teacher called Emma, who was explaining why, despite her discipline choice, she was an atheist.

  ‘Yeah, so, people are always surprised when I tell them I’m an atheist. But that’s the thing about teaching religious education. It’s like any academic subject when you get down to it. It’s anthropological, historical….’

  Jess was not exactly enamoured with her. She was a bit too fond of her own voice. But she was stopping Jess from sending the much considered text message. And Jess was beginning to notice that Emma was kind of haughtily good looking.

  And as Jess kept drinking, she thought maybe she caught a twinkle in Emma’s eye. Maybe she’d misunderstood the situation here. Maybe Emma wasn’t just looking for an ear for her strong opinions. Was she actually trying to chat her up?

  She couldn’t be sure. But if this did turn out to be Emma’s somewhat off-putting seduction technique, Jess thought it might not be the worst thing in the world to let herself have some casual fun, as long as the woman could keep her trap shut once things got physical. It was certainly one method of preventing herself sending what could be an ill-advised late night ex-text. Maybe Emma wasn’t her first pick, Jess thought as she glanced across the room to see Chloe laughing politely at some guy’s joke, but it was what was on the table right now.

  Chloe and Jess were both moving toward the same decision, around the same time. They were both giving serious consideration to some uncomplicated sex with people who were available and simple, and ready to provide the distraction and self-esteem boosts they respectively needed.

  Thirty minutes later and Jess was sure that Emma wanted more than a conversation. She’d barely left her side. And she kept putting drinks in her hand. Jess had found herself getting quite amenable to the idea of sleeping with Emma as the night wore on.

  Meanwhile, Desperate Dan was working hard to win over Chloe, who he knew full well was out of his league. But Chloe didn’t seem to care. Something had switched in her. She wasn’t ordinarily one for casual sex, far from it. But this wasn’t an ordinary night. And now Chloe was just about ready to make a mistake with a stranger.

  She was wondering when Dan was going to make his move when she noticed the woman from earlier, whose name she still didn’t know, now talking to someone who was clearly giving her quite the lecture. She looked a bit bored. Chloe suddenly wished she was talking to that woman instead of Dan. But Dan was what she had and Dan would have to do.

  And then Dan spilled his beer down the front of Chloe’s dress.

  ‘Oh!’ she cried as the cold amber liquid splashed across her chest, soaking her through.

  Dan was mortified.

  ‘Oh god, I’m so sorry. Let me get you a napkin.’

  But the situation was way beyond the capabilities of a napkin. Chloe was soaked. And she couldn’t go to her room to change. Not with Sue still potentially awake. She’d have to use a tap and hand dryer in the public bathroom if she was going to save her dress.

  ‘I’m just going to clean myself up in the toilets.’

  ‘OK, I’ll get you another drink!’ Dan called anxiously after her as she ran from the bar.

  Jess, meanwhile, was about to let Emma snog her. She could tell Emma was thinking about it because she’d quietened down a bit. Jess was able to get a word in edgewise.

  ‘So…’ said Jess. And then found she didn’t have a word to say to her. ‘…I’d better use the bathroom’ she finally finished, just for something to say.

  She walked away from Emma, glad of a chance to regroup. She thought that when she got back to her, she might just try cutting to the chase. The whole ‘come up to my room for a nightcap’ routine should progress the situation without any further need to try and make conversation. All she wanted now was for Emma to stop bloody talking and take her clothes off.

  As she opened the bathroom door, she heard the hand dryer working noisily. She walked in to see Chloe holding the fabric of her dress up against the dryer.

  Chloe looked up to see that woman from earlier. That’s all I need, she thought. More sympathy from someone who probably thought she was incapable of functioning properly in a social setting without being close to tears or wetting herself.

  She decided to pre-empt any questions.

  ‘Someone threw a beer on me’ she declared nervously.

  Chloe raised an eyebrow.

  ‘Why? Did you insult their mother?’

  Chloe couldn’t help but smile.

  ‘He’s just a bit of a clutz.’

  ‘That sounds fun.’

  Chloe sighed.

  ‘Yeah. I’m guessing he’s about as fun as that woman you were chatting to?’

  Jess was surprised that the Hot Librarian had noted her partner for the evening.

  ‘Yeah, she’s a bit of a talker. Kinda sexy though, in a cold way.’

  Chloe gave a surprised ‘Oh’.

  Jess shrugged.

  ‘Yeah, I’m a big old lesbian. Shocked?’

  Chloe was irritated. This woman had seen her talking to Dan and simply assumed she was heterosexual. It was always happening to her. And Chloe wasn’t sure what label she was going to choose for herself in the long run, if at all, but it certainly wasn’t for a stranger to plonk one on her.

  The actual reason she’d been surprised by Jess’s admission of attraction to that woman was because it hadn’t looked like that kind of conversation. Not much sexual tension from where she was standing.

  And now her toilet buddy was presuming she was some kind of backwards homophobe.

  ‘Not particularly shocked, no. I’m not really what you’d call straight myself.’

  Jess shook her head at herself. If she opened her mouth a bit wider, she thought, maybe she could get the entire foot in there next time.

  ‘Sorry. I saw you talking to that guy and…’

  She stuck her hand out.

  ‘You know what, if I’m going to keep offending you, I should probably give you my name. It’s Jess. Jess Cooper.’

  Chloe hesitated for a second and then accepted the hand.

  ‘Chloe Price.’

  They shook and dropped their hands.

  ‘So, are you planning to sleep with the beer chucker?’

  Chloe was amazed at Jess’s plainness. Did this woman have no boundaries?

  ‘Err, well… Possibly. I don’t know.’

  ‘You don’t sound that excited.’

  ‘Are you excited to sleep with yours?’ Chloe heard herself say.

  Jess laughed.

  ‘Any port in a storm.’

  That made Chloe think about her own particular storm
. She felt fresh anger at Laura.

  ‘I think we could probably both do better’ Jess said with a frown.

  Chloe gave her a hard look. And then, quite without warning, Chloe took a step toward Jess. Suddenly, Chloe’s lips were on hers.

  Jess was surprised, but not unpleasantly so. She leaned into the kiss with enthusiasm. So the cliché was true, it turned out. Bookish types. They had a wild side.

  The kiss suddenly broke and Chloe stepped back. She was horrified at what she’d just done. What had possessed her?

  ‘I’m so sorry!’ she cried.

  ‘Did I seem like I minded?’ Jess said.

  ‘No I suppose not.’

  They stood staring at each other in silence for a second.

  ‘I’d better go’ Chloe stuttered.

  And she flew out of the bathroom, leaving Jess thunder struck.

  Chloe walked up to the doorway of the hotel bar and looked in at the room. Dan was standing near the bar, looking shame faced. Chloe felt no enthusiasm at the thought of resuming their evening.

  Jess walked up just behind Chloe and saw that she had yet to go in. She looked beyond her to Emma. She felt the same level of ambivalence.

  She leaned into Chloe’s ear and whispered ‘Why don’t we ditch them? Come up to my room instead.’

  Chloe turned to look at her and Jess thought she’d just made an error in judgement. Was she about to get a slap in the face?

  But Chloe wasn’t angry. She was thinking maybe it would be wise to trade up. If she was going to shag a stranger, it might as well be a hot one. She felt bad for Dan but he didn’t have whatever it was that Jess had. The kiss in the toilets had been… stirring. It was a last minute decision but maybe for once she didn’t have to over think something. Maybe she could just roll with the punches.

  ‘Alright. Let’s go’ Chloe said.

  Jess was amazed. It had been a serious punt she’d just taken. And despite the odds, her horse had come in. She grabbed Chloe’s hand and pulled her toward the elevator.

  In Jess’s room, things were quickly awkward. Jess and Chloe stared at each other blankly for a moment. Whatever she’d thought downstairs, Chloe was beginning to think she’d been fooling herself. This wasn’t going to work.

  ‘Look, I’m not sure -’

  ‘Wait!’ Jess cried suddenly. ‘Don’t do it.’

  Chloe broke off, surprised.

  ‘Do what?’

  ‘Freak out and run.’

  Chloe was amazed. Jess had pretty much just read her mind.

  ‘There’s no need to panic, Chloe. I’m not expecting… anything. I mean, obviously, I was hoping to sleep with you, I’m not gonna lie. But there’s no pressure. Let’s just have a drink and see what happens. OK?’

  Chloe smiled, relieved. Jess’s words had quelled a panic that was rising. She felt it wash away.

  ‘OK then.’

  Twenty minutes later, Jess and Chloe were onto their second mini-bar vodkas. They’d done the preliminary facts. What subject they taught, the location and type of school, it had all been covered. And then somehow, Jess had gotten onto the topic of Elly. Chloe was listening with great interest.

  ‘It’s not that I didn’t like her enough. Or even that I felt like she didn’t like me enough. I just, I don’t know…’ Jess trailed off, realising that she should probably change the subject. She knew she was in dangerous territory by talking about her ex. Safer bets than this had been derailed by such a thing. And Chloe was a clear flight risk. Jess knew she should have been engaging in some sexy banter. But Chloe seemed absorbed in her romantic problems.

  ‘Do you think you might get back together?’

  Jess shrugged. She really should stop talking about this.

  ‘What about you, anyway. What’s your situation?’ Jess asked.

  Chloe hadn’t been able to talk to anyone properly since she’d had that terrible phone call earlier. It was all too embarrassing. But the thought of talking about it suddenly felt necessary. And Jess’s confessions about her own relationship blow up made her feel like it wasn’t a total humiliation to admit the truth.

  ‘Actually, I’ve just broken up with someone. Well, no, that’s not quite true. She broke up with me. We were supposed to get married but I guess she found someone better.’

  ‘That’s shit. When did it happen?’

  Chloe looked at the time on her watch.

  ‘Err, about three hours ago.’

  Jess’s mouth fell open.

  ‘You split up with your fiancée a few hours ago?’

  ‘Yep. She did it over the phone.’

  Jess shook her head, disgusted. Then something occurred to her.

  ‘Oh, that explains everything.’

  ‘What do you mean?’ Chloe asked.

  ‘That tall twat you’ve been talking to all evening. He was supposed to be revenge sex, yeah?’

  Chloe began to stutter out a protest. But then she realised that Jess was right. It was a revenge move. She certainly hadn’t fancied Dan.

  ‘I suppose so. Is that terrible?’

  ‘I don’t know, but it seems pretty human’ Jess said and then she realised something. Chloe was with her now. Had she gotten the job of revenge sex partner?

  ‘So, will I be filling in for Dan now?’

  Chloe thought about that. This situation wasn’t quite like Dan. There was something about Jess she actually liked. But maybe she didn’t really want to have sex with her. Maybe she’d just needed to talk to someone.

  ‘I don’t know. I think maybe that would be a bad idea.’

  Jess sighed, disappointed.

  ‘Sorry’ Chloe said, embarrassed.

  Jess waved a hand, dismissing the apology.

  ‘It’s OK.’

  They sat in silence for a second. Chloe felt she’d just made things too awkward to come back from. She’d come here on the pretext of sex and now she was backing out. However nice Jess was being about it, she felt bad.

  ‘Maybe I should go’ Chloe said.

  Jess didn’t really want her to go, sex or not, but she wasn’t about to try and talk Chloe into staying if she didn’t want to.

  ‘Alright.’

  Chloe stood and walked to the door. Jess stood and followed.

  ‘Well, I guess I’ll see you around the conference.’

  ‘I’m sure you will’ Chloe said, turning.

  She stuck out a hand. Jess found it amusing, but she suppressed her laughter and accepted the hand.

  As they shook, they both realised they were having an unusually long handshake.

  And then, before Chloe even realised what she was doing, she’d pulled Jess toward her and they were kissing, deep and hard. Hands were suddenly everywhere, clothes being pulled off, glasses falling to the floor.

  The next morning, Chloe awoke blearily. She realised two things with dismay. One, she didn’t know where she was and two, she was naked.

  She turned over to see black hair spilled across a pillow and everything came back. Her name was Jess and she’d had somewhat drunk sex with her. Immediate regret engulfed her. Jess stirred slightly and Chloe knew she needed to get out of the room before she woke.

  She slipped out of the bed and grabbed her clothes, getting into them as quickly and quietly as she could.

  When Jess woke a couple of minutes later, there was no trace of Chloe except for a few auburn hairs on the pillow next to her. She sighed. She hated it when this happened.

  At the first conference session of the day, Jess kept a discreet eye open for Chloe. When she finally spotted her, she was at the farthest possible seating point from where Jess sat. She couldn’t have gotten further away without leaving the room. Jess was disappointed. She knew what was up. Chloe had clearly woken up with a case of buyer’s remorse this morning and now she couldn’t face her.

  It made Jess a little angry. It didn’t have to be like this. But this was how it was.

  ‘Have it your way’ she thought.

  And Jess had it exactl
y right. Chloe was trying like hell not to have any interaction with Jess. She just couldn’t face it. It was her first one-night stand and she had no idea what the protocols where. But she knew, whatever you were supposed to do in this situation, she probably shouldn’t creep out like a criminal. It was rude to Jess. And Jess had been nothing but kind to her.