He circled her breast with the tip of his tongue, his hand in between her legs again. Caren grasped his hair as he bit down hard on one nipple before running his tongue over her chest to find the other one. Once that was standing erect, he moved further down her body, massaging her, teasing her, tantalising her. As the unmistakeable waves of passion engulfed her, she arched her back, moaning slightly.
John looked up at her as he took her over the edge, waited for her to subside enough for him to push himself gently inside her. They kissed a long time before gaining an easy rhythm and moving together as one. Slowly, slowly. Faster, faster. Caren grabbed John’s buttocks as he thrust deeper and deeper into her.
Then they were still.
John lay above her as his breathing returned to normal. Then he kissed her lightly on the nose, pulled her near again and snuggled into her.
Caren entwined her legs with his, sighing with content as a smile played on her lips
God, that was good.
Gina was woken by a loud bang as the back door slammed yet again. She glanced at the clock on her bedside table. It was quarter to nine: most probably it was the twins going out, hopefully on their way to school.
Pete rolled over beside her and she pushed him away. ‘Move, you moron,’ she said. ‘I’ll be on the floor in a minute.’
She lay still as she waited for him to settle again. But then the snoring began.
Gina nudged him sharply. ‘Shut the fuck up, will you? I can’t hear myself think.’
‘We’re in bed, what’s there to think about?’ Pete mumbled. ‘Mind you, what else is there to do in here but sleep?’
‘Don’t be so disgusting,’ Gina snapped. ‘It’s all sex with you.’
‘I can’t remember getting jiggy with you in ages.’ Pete grinned. ‘We could always squeeze in a session now, if you’re up to it?’
She was about to protest when she wondered what the new, improved Gina would do. Even though her hair had turned out to be a disaster, she still wanted to be different; live her life a little more.
‘Okay then.’ She cuddled up to him but moved away as quickly. ‘God, booze breath.’ She flapped her hand in front of her mouth. ‘You’ll have to brush your teeth first.’
‘Aw, come on, Gene,’ Pete protested. ‘You don’t have to have fresh breath to do what I want you to do.’
Gina sighed as Pete rolled over on his back. He placed his hand on the bulge that had appeared in his pants. ‘Come on, girl. Do us proud. You know you want to.’
‘You’d better return the favour, Pete,’ she said as she disappeared beneath the covers. She nearly gagged as she got to his pants. God, the man was filthy. ‘You need a bath too,’ she told him but it came out as a muffle.
‘Can’t hear you,’ said Pete, reaching inside for his cock and flashing it out. It hit her in the face.
‘Oy! You’ll give me a black eye if you’re not careful. Now lay back and be quiet.’
While she took him in her mouth and concentrated on the task in hand, she imagined that John was lying beneath her. She heard Pete gasp – no, it was John that gasped, stupid, she scolded herself.
Pete began to tense his legs and thrust upwards, taking her out of her daydream.
‘Fuck, Gina, that’s good,’ he said.
Gina wished that he’d shut up. How could she imagine it was John she was giving pleasure to if this idiot wouldn’t be quiet! She moved up and down faster, faster, moving her hand to the base of the penis and up and down the shaft. Finally, she heard an almighty groan and his body went rigid with pleasure. Gina sighed: thank God for that – mission accomplished for another month. Now it was her turn.
She emerged from underneath the covers, slipped out of her T-shirt and wriggled her knickers down. Turning towards him, she leaned on one elbow. ‘Right, me now,’ she said expectantly.
But Pete jumped out of bed. He grabbed the pants from off the floor and sniffed them before pulling them on again.
‘I have to be out for nine,’ he replied, reaching for the jeans that he’d left on the floor the night before. ‘I said I’d meet Barry over on the square. We’re doing a job today.’
Gina picked up his pillow and threw it at him as he headed out of the door. ‘You self-centred git!’ she cried. Then she pummelled her feet on the mattress.
John wouldn’t have left her feeling frustrated like that. John would have made sure her horny mood was taken advantage of. Damn Pete, the selfish bastard.
With resignation, she took her vibrator from the drawer. God, that was shit.
After tea that evening, Gina made her way upstairs to have that talk with the twins. The girls shared the large bedroom at the back of the house. Gina had tried to give them their own bedrooms from an early age, changing the parlour room downstairs into a bedroom for Danny. It wasn’t ideal; they really needed somewhere to eat but as they couldn’t afford a proper dining table, they always ended up squeezed into the kitchen anyway.
When they were ten, she’d tried to install in them a sense of individuality, but it had become quite clear that they didn’t want to be separated, not even at night time. When she’d check on them before going to bed herself, she’d go into Rachel’s room and find Claire snuggled up beside her. Or she’d go into Claire’s room and find Rachel sleeping top to toe. So it had made more sense to take back the parlour room, move them in together and let Danny have his old room back.
She knocked on the door. ‘Girls, I need to talk to you,’ she said, marching in and turning down the music blaring from the tinny CD player they shared.
Rachel was lying on her bed, reading a magazine. Claire was sitting next to her.
‘Don’t you ever knock?’ Rachel sighed.
‘I have knocked,’ Gina told them. ‘I’ve also had a visit from Josie Mellor yesterday.’
‘Whatever she says, we haven’t done,’ said Claire. ‘She’s always blaming us for everything.’
‘That’s because you’re usually in the thick of things.’
Both girls spoke in unison. ‘No, we’re not.’
Gina sat down on the edge of Claire’s bed. ‘It’s what I want to talk to you about. I need ammunition for when she next comes round asking all sorts of questions. I need to know that you haven’t been involved in any of the incidents she mentioned.’
‘We don’t know anything about Archie Meredith’s car getting bashed up,’ said Rachel.
‘How did you know I was going to ask about that?’
‘I – I just know that you’ll blame us for it anyway. You never stick up for us.’
‘I do!’ said Gina. ‘I get a roasting for it most of the time, too.’
Claire put down her magazine. ‘What do you really want, Mum?’
‘What I don’t want is you two going the same way as your brother.’
‘Huh, like we’d ever.’
Rachel nodded in agreement with her sister. ‘We’re far better at getting away with things.’
‘That’s not what I mean! Danny chanced his luck and he got caught last year.’
‘Yeah, well, Danny’s a knob,’ said Rachel. She lay back on the bed and sighed. ‘And an idiot. I mean, he got away with that murder charge when Miles’ factory got done over and then he gets caught nicking stuff from Halford’s. What a comedown he had.’
Claire laughed and turned to Mum. ‘We won’t get caught. We’re far too clever.’
‘You mean getting other girls to do your dirty work for you?’
Both girls glared at her then.
‘You think I don’t know what’s been going on?’
‘Nothing’s been going on,’ snapped Rachel.
‘So when Stacey Hunter gets out, she won’t be bothered by the fact that you seem to have taken over as gang leaders.’
Rachel sat upright. Claire nervously looked her way.
‘You have no idea how hard it is to survive on this estate, Mum,’ said Rachel.
‘Survive?’ Gina tried in vain to keep the incredulous tone fr
om her voice. ‘We don’t live in the ghetto.’
‘Dur,’ said Claire. ‘Take a look out of the window. Yes we do.’
‘You’ve been watching too much television.’ Gina shook her head in exasperation. ‘I know living on the Mitchell Estate isn’t exactly a barrel of laughs, but there are worse places.’
‘Where?’
Gina stood up and raised her hands in the air in surrender. ‘I give up with you two,’ she said. ‘Do what you want. But I’m warning you both,’ she pointed at Rachel,’ you, madam, in particular, be very careful what you do. These things have a habit of coming back and biting you. Don’t say you haven’t been warned.’
As soon as Gina left the room, Claire turned to Rachel. ‘Stacey will want to take over, won’t she?’
‘Well, we’re not going to let her.’
Claire looked away. Quite frankly, the thought of Stacey getting out next week was enough to start her worrying about it already.
Rachel shot forward, grabbed Claire’s chin and yanked her neck round so that she was facing her.
‘We’re not going to let her take over, are we?’ she repeated, staring at her intently.
‘No – no,’ Claire managed to say.
Rachel pushed her sister away. ‘Good.’
Claire went to sit on her own bed. She hated it when Rachel got all mouthy with her. And why did she have to cause trouble all of the time?
‘We need to come up with a plan,’ Rachel told her, the leg perched on her knee swinging violently from side to side. ‘Stacey won’t be content with second in command.’
‘I thought I was second in command.’
Rachel ignored her. ‘If she wants to get back on top, she’ll have me to put down first. I’m not letting go of the lead, no way.’
‘I thought I was second in command,’ reiterated Claire.
‘Shut the fuck up. I’m thinking.’
‘I’ve been thinking,’ Caren said to John as they ate their lunch together the following week. ‘I’m going to start working for myself.’
John looked up from his pasta dish with a frown before shoving in another forkful.
Caren held up a hand and waggled her fingers at him. He looked blankly at her.
‘Nails, dur! I’m going to set myself up mobile. It might not bring much in but it’ll be a start. And it’ll get me out of the house.’
‘Great.’ John continued to eat.
‘So that only leaves you to fix yourself up now,’ she added.
Yeah, Pete’s been telling me about –’
‘You’re not doing his type of work!’
‘What do you mean by that?’
Caren put down her fork. ‘I know what he gets up to. He’s never earned a decent day’s pay in his life.’
‘He gets by all right. Him and Gina –’
‘It’s nothing legal! He’s a bad influence and knowing you, you’ll get sucked into his way of life. Before you know it, you’ll be doing time for some petty crime or another.’
‘It’s easy money. Besides, I’ve been too busy to start making contacts.’
‘You already have contacts! Some of them might have work for you.’ Caren stood up. ‘It’s only pride that stops you. You need to stop being so picky.’
‘So picky?’
‘Yes.’ Caren moved to the sink and shoved the plate into the washing up bowl. ‘There’s work to be had out there with people you already know. Jesus, go and beg if you have to but we need to –’
‘You think it’s so easy, don’t you?’ John said quietly.
Caren turned to him. ‘Of course it isn’t easy, but you have to do it. I’m willing to give it a go too.’
John huffed. ‘Anyone can paint nails for the scabby bitches on this estate. You’ll make a frigging fortune. None of them ever get their hands dirty.’
John stood up quickly, his chair scraping across the tiles. Not bothering to put it back under the table, he marched towards the door.
Caren threw down the dish cloth. ‘Where are you running off to now?’
‘Away from you and your nagging. Maybe my best will never be good enough for you,’ John continued. ‘Maybe I’d be better off on my own.’
‘So you can shirk all your responsibilities?’
‘Like I said, I’m doing my best!’
Caren burst into tears. ‘I hate living like this,’ she cried. ‘We don’t have any money in the bank to call our own – we can hardly afford to pay the bills. And if we weren’t living in this hell hole, we wouldn’t be bickering all the time.’
John stared at her for a moment before walking across and taking her into his arms.
‘What are we going to do?’ she sobbed, his hands soothing her as he rubbed her back. ‘I don’t want to fight all the time but I feel so vulnerable living here.’
‘It won’t be for long.’ John tilted her chin up. ‘I’ll make more of an effort, I promise. If you want to move off here straight away, I’ll start looking for somewhere to live too.’
‘One step at a time,’ Caren sniffed. She smiled through her tears. ‘I don’t want us to break up over this. We’ve come so far through the years. We can’t quit now.’
John continued to stare at her. ‘Who said anything about quitting?’ He kissed her lightly on the tip of her nose.
‘I’m bored,’ Claire said to Rachel as the girls congregated outside Shop&Save that evening. ‘Who can we irritate?’
Rachel took a noisy slurp from her can of lager before replying. ‘I can’t be bothered tonight.’
‘Aw, come on.’ Leanne circled round on her bike in front of them. ‘I fancy some fun too.’
‘Shut up, Leanne,’ said Rachel.
‘What’s with you, you moody cow?’ Leanne snapped back. ‘Anyone would think you were worried about something.’
Rachel glared at her. ‘I said shut it.’
Leanne shrugged and continued to circle them on her bike.
‘Ohmigod,’ squealed Charlie. ‘Looks who’s here.’
Rachel glanced in the direction that Charlie was running to see Stacey Hunter walking towards them.
‘Fuck.’ Claire’s hands gripped the railing they were perched on, twisting and turning quickly.
It didn’t go unnoticed by Rachel. ‘Quit looking scared of her,’ she retorted.
‘I am scared of her,’ whispered Claire.
Rachel shook her head. ‘You’d better not be.’
The rest of the girls crowded around Stacey as she drew near to the car park. She was a tall girl, with deep-set eyes and a small nose. Brown hair was cut so close to her head that it was hard to tell her gender. Her face was void of any colour, several earrings dangling from an ear. A small tattoo on the back of her right hand spelt out the word ‘sinner.’
She approached Rachel with assurance. ‘Hi,’ she said.
‘Hi yourself.’
‘How’re tricks?’
‘So, so.’
Stacey thrust her hands deep into her pockets and pulled out a packet of cigarettes. ‘Anyone want one?’
Suddenly she was the star attraction.
‘God, yeah. I could murder a fag,’ said Leanne.
‘Me too,’ Louise pulled one out. ‘Ta.’
Stacey handed them out before addressing the twins.
‘Claire?’ she offered the packet to her.
Claire shrugged, unsure what to do. She looked at Rachel, who with a slight nod of her head, indicated that it was all right for her to take one.
Stacey shoved the packet into Rachel’s chest. ‘Do you want one?’
Rachel purposely took two. She placed one behind her ear and the other one went in her mouth. Charlie lit it for her and she took a drag before looking up again.
Stacey and Rachel stared at each other like a pair of gunslingers ready to duel. The atmosphere turned to one of mixed tensions. Some of the girls couldn’t wait for the showdown: some of them were worried of its outcome. All of them were wondering who to pledge allegiance to once things
started to get rough.
It was Stacey who finally broke the silence as she spotted a navy blue BMW driving towards them.
‘Here’s my ride. Thanks for watching over my patch,’ she told Rachel, ‘and my girls, but now I’m out, I’ve come to claim back my turf.’
Rachel glared at her. ‘Over my dead body,’ she replied.
Stacey nodded her head slowly. ‘I’m sure that can be arranged.’
Rachel only had time to fume as Stacey ran towards the car. From where she sat, she could see the driver was Sam Harvey, a well-known trouble maker from the estate. Stacey slid into the passenger seat and he sped off quickly.
Rachel walked off then, kicking over an advertising board outside Shop&Save as she drew level with it.
‘What’s up with you?’ Louise shouted after her. ‘You’re not losing your bottle, are you?’
Rachel stopped in her tracks and turned back. ‘No, I’m not losing my fucking bottle! For your information, I think we need to move on to bigger things – not just nicking stuff from easy targets. It’s a joke. I want everyone to be afraid of the Mitchell Mob; I want everyone talking about us. And for that we need to go up a gear.’
‘What do you mean?’ Louise was the first to challenge. ‘We cause enough mayhem already.’
‘If I get into any more trouble, my olds will ground me,’ Charlie spoke out.
‘Me too,’ said Ashley. ‘I got a backhander after we did Meredith’s car. My olds knew I’d been involved even though I denied it.’
‘Sounds like some of us are getting cold feet about belonging to the Mitchell Mob.’ Rachel folded her arms in defiance.
‘I don’t want to get locked up like Stacey,’ said Louise.
‘You have to take chances in this game to survive, so if we get sent down, we get sent down,’ reiterated Rachel.
Fighting for Survival (The Estate, Book 3) Page 8