What a relief.
At least Ged and Liam weren’t sneaking around Macy’s wedding department like the rest of us. I can’t help wondering what the Dollz are up to. Surely we can’t all be doing quickie Las Vegas weddings while we are here?
* * *
When Matteo and I eventually go down to meet the Dollz at the Cocktail Hour bar (we are wearing identical soppy grins), Ged and Liam are sitting dressed in denim hot pants, cowboy boots and too-tight T-shirts withCowboys do it betteremblazoned across their chests.
‘Someone has made a full and suspicious recovery,’ Ged says, eyeing me up and down. ‘Feeling okay now?’
‘Yes, thanks,’ I say, feigning a cough. ‘I think it’s this mad, freezing air con they have.’
‘And what did everyone else get up to this afternoon?’ he asks the group.
We are all rattled by this question. Except Cherry. Cherry has the haunted look of someone who has gambled for thirty-six hours straight, on a diet of sugar and adrenaline. ‘I don’t know what happened,’ she’s saying. ‘One minute I was losing every penny I had and the next, I’d won a lovely ankle bracelet and a cuddly toy from the vending machine. Such good karma.’
‘You put money in a vending machine. That’s why you got those things,’ explains Big Mand. ‘Who left Cherry alone this afternoon? Christ knows how much she has spent.’
They all glance guiltily at each other. Apparently, they all thought Cherry was with Liberty. I wonder how this is going to go, seeing as they were all in Macy’s.
‘Well, I was in bed ill,’ I say, to start the lies off. ‘I thought Cherry was with all of you.’
Liberty is quick to follow. ‘I was with Hank Junior. We were…’ She eyes Big Sue to call her bluff. ‘We were in The Poker Room all afternoon. Where were you? I didn’t see you in there.’
Big Sue is swift to reply. ‘We left. We were doing the slots over in The Palazzo, weren’t we, Mandeep?’
Big Mand is beaming at her. Probably remembering one of the many huge snogs they now seem to be enjoying in front of the entire city. ‘Yes. The Palazzo, that’s right.’
Tash is keen to establish her whereabouts even though no one has asked. ‘I was in my room giving Kev a blow job.’
Nobody is even slightly interested in pursuing this line of enquiry.
‘Dressed as a maid.’
There’s really no need for her to embellish the lie. I can see they all believe her.
‘He was pretending to be a billionaire,’ Tash says, inspecting her nails.
Fortunately, it is time to go on stage.
‘Okay,’ says Cherry. ‘Let’s get this show over with.’
‘He was stuffing money down my bra while pretending to buy stocks and shares. He bought Microsoft for a trillion dollars and came almost immediately. It was very erotic.’
Tash is over-egging the pudding. I’m willing her to stop talking, otherwise she’ll arouse suspicion.
‘And that’s the visual you’re leaving us with, is it?’ asks Big Mand. ‘Seconds before we go on stage, you want us to picture Sister Kevin coming hard to the sound of himself buying an imaginary company with imaginary money on an imaginary NASDAQ?’
Tash, the picture of innocence, winks at her. ‘It works for me. We can’t all have our lovers on stage with us.’
Big Mand blushes just in time for us to be introduced on stage. Halfway through the intro, it’s hard to know where not to look. Sister Kevin has come dressed as a market trader looking like he did indeed get a blow job. He is making googly eyes at Tash.
Something is off about the entire performance. Cherry is first to miss her cue because, in all honesty, she may as well be asleep behind that exhausted expression. Big Mand seems suddenly self-conscious in front of Big Sue. She misses her cue several times because she has lost focus. Liberty is constantly searching for Hank Junior in the audience, and I’m fixated on Matteo because he’s magnificent.
We finish our set to a lukewarm response. We have not brought the energy tonight. And none of us seem bothered. Our minds are clearly elsewhere. As soon as we get off stage, I’m trying to think up an excuse to get out of clubbing, so that Matteo and I can sneak away. Matteo has not been able to keep his eyes off me all night. He didn’t even check his phone, even though I could see it constantly lighting up with messages on the table in front of him.
He is prioritising me. He is making sure I know that I have his full attention. A smile is hovering over that delicious mouth of his while his eyes are telling me that I am the hottest babe he’s ever met. I run my gaze subtly over him. Everything about him is purposeful and confident.
‘So, we’re all up for clubbing at Tao?’ Liam asks excitedly as we approach the table. ‘It’s actually one of our bucket-list items. We’ve never been so excited, have we, Ged? Any chance we can do the Hot Garbage routine when we get there?’
