Lucasnorted and I heard another pat on Nix’s leathers. “Okay, mate. You might want to change. Someone on site has offered us a—”
“I drove here,” he snapped. “I’ll just drive us back.”
So, in true girlfriend style, Clara sat in the front passenger seat asLucaand I huddled in the back of the sports car not designed for anything bigger than golf clubs.
Recovering from being cramped, pissed and in need of a drink, I went straight to the hotel bar. A few of the guys were already there, including Frank,Salihaand Abbe.
Really, I wanted to avoid Frank. But it wasn’t quite like I could avoid Nix and Clara.
Frank swivelled around in the stool to face me and, waiting for the bar staff to notice me, I stood between his opened legs to get closer.
“Are you coming out with us,Liv?”Salihaasked, already dressed up to the nines. “Wasn’t expecting you to get back so late.”
“What, and not celebrate Nix’s win? Never.”
The last two times he’d won, I’d celebrated in a very different manner than getting shitfaced.
Frank cocked his head, looking me up and down. “We not celebrating together?”
I nodded at the barkeep as he came over to take my order. Waiting for my drink and not looking at him, I said, “I thinkI’ll celebrate with you only when you win.” Shot of tequila necked, I turned to him as my cocktail was made. “So, you best start winning more regularly.”
He grinned. He loved a challenge nearly as much as Nixon. His finger started to stroke up the back of my knee over my jeans. “I can definitely up my game.”
“Good.” I took my cocktail with a smile and looked atSaliha. I’d felt her eyes burning into the exchange between me and the rider. “Liha, I need to borrow some clothes.”
She squealed, wriggling in her seat, excited fists by her face. “Yes!” She took my hand, and twenty minutes later, we were in my hotel room and I had rollers in my hair andLihawas putting on my makeup. She’d carried in twenty different outfits to lie on my bed for us to decide what I should wear.
Damn, if I could afford these kind of luxury brands after not paying rent for a while, I should have asked for the permanent contract weeks ago.
As she dabbed a ruby red lipstick onto my lips with a delicate brush, I murmured through tight lips, “Guess who… is permanent.”
She almost dropped the brush on the red mini-dress I wore. “Shut up! Screw Nix, we’re celebrating you! You’re sticking around!”
“I always planned on sticking around,” I reminded her, taking the last sip of my cocktail.
With the sound of the empty straw, she launched herself over the bed, picked up the phone, pressed a button and said, “Can you send four pinacoladasand two shots of tequila to room 122? Thank you!”
“Four?” My voice wobbled.
I wouldn’t be able to see them make the drinks.
And how did I explain that toLiha?
“One for now, one for on the go.”
I let mine sit for a while as she drank hers and my courage grew. I sipped my drink and — with new liquid courage — downed my shot as she unravelled and styled my hair in synchronised waves.
I was with my friends. I trusted these people. I could drink freely.
“Shit, my phone’s dying,” I mumbled. “I’ll have to grab my—”
“Portable charger — in your work bag?”
I nodded, about to talk, when she cut me off.
“Don’t move while your hair cools!” she cried, already picking up my bag. Her eyes widened as she took in the mess that was my bag, but she didn’t say anything about the chaos. “Can’t find it — in the zip—”
But I was lunging over the bed, curls crushed as I tried to get the bag out of her hands.
