“There’s your liquid courage.” Lisa held up her glass in a toast and winced as she glanced at the drink, remembering her night at Pit Stop. “Oh boy, that’s strong,” she said, then lowered her voice as she saw Zoe heading in their direction. “She’s coming over. Be nice, okay?”
“Hey, I’m always nice. It’s her that’s being a b—” Marcy stopped herself when Lisa shot her a warning look. “Hey, Zoe,” she said with very little enthusiasm. “What a surprise to see you here. I didn’t know you liked to party.”
“How could you? You don’t know anything about me.” Zoe gave Lisa a hug. “Are you having a good time?”
“Yes, we just got here. Want to join us for a drink?” Lisa knew it wasn’t one of her best ideas, but it felt wrong not to ask.
“Sure, why not?” Zoe pulled a stool out and sat next to Lisa, then arched a brow at Marcy when she caught her staring. “Are you seriously checking out my breasts?”
Marcy frowned and was silent for long moments as if digging through her memory for something. “It’s… it’s your tattoo,” she said, referring to the dragon tattoo on Zoe’s cleavage. “It looks so familiar.”
“It’s beautiful.” Lisa studied the ornate, fluid dragon that grew larger over her left breast, its tail curling around her ribcage towards her back. Some might think the dragon was crushing her, but to Lisa, it looked more like an embrace. It was unique; she’d never seen anything like it. “Did you have that done while you worked in Hong Kong?”
“No, I’ve had it since I was seventeen.” Zoe looked down at it. “I did it as a nod to my heritage, but nowadays I tend to forget it’s there. I’m just so used to it, I suppose. It’s become a part of me.” She looked at Marcy, whose eyes were still fixed on it. “And you’re right to say it looks familiar. Funny that you remember my tattoo, but you don’t remember me,” she continued in a sarcastic tone, then ordered a beer for herself.
Marcy swallowed hard and met her eyes. “Have we slept together?” She fiddled with her straw, clearly uncomfortable. “If we have, I suppose I owe you a big apology for not recognising you.” She groaned when Zoe didn’t answer. “We have, haven’t we?”
“You still don’t remember…” Zoe took her drink and stood up. “Not only have we slept together, Marcy. You…” She dropped a dramatic pause. “You took my virginity.”
76
“Jesus, what a fuck up,” Stella said, staring at Marcy in disbelief. Even after midnight, the promenade was still filled with crowds, and she felt a good kind of tired after being on her feet all day. Propping her legs onto another chair, she sat back and took a sip of her beer. After Marcy and Lisa had filled her in on what had happened, she totally got why Zoe didn’t like her one bit.
“Yeah. I’m starting to remember her now. She just looked so different when she was younger. She was kind of boyish and I prefer more feminine women so the memory never stuck. Anyway, I was drunk, I think, otherwise I would have surely remembered her sooner.” Marcy was drowning her sorrows in tequila and was on her third shot of the night after knocking back unicorns at the women’s event. “I really fucked up and I feel so bad. I actually think I gave her a fake phone number that night.”
“You were young, and it was a long time ago,” Lisa said in an attempt to make her feel better. “People make mistakes.” She rubbed Marcy’s arm and smiled. “At least now you know why she was so angry. Just apologise. That’s probably all she wants; a simple apology.”
“Maybe.” Marcy looked at her empty shot glass and beckoned the waiter over.
“Why don’t we get you some water instead?” Stella suggested. “You’re starting to look a little cross-eyed. Or do you want me to drive you home?”
“No, I don’t want to go home. But I suppose water would be good. Don’t feel like you have to stay here and keep me company though; I can just call one of my…” Marcy pulled her phone out of her back pocket and frowned as she scrolled through a long list of female names. “Hmm. I could call Celine, or Debs...” She paused and grinned. “Or Abby. She’ll be able to distract me from my guilty conscience for a while.”
“Who’s Abby?” Stella asked.
“My mum’s friend. They share the gallery.”
Stella laughed. “You’re sleeping with your mum’s friend?”
“Only when her husband is away for work. And she just messaged me to tell me he left this afternoon.”
“Does your mum know?” Lisa asked.
“Of course not.” Marcy chuckled. “She’d kill me if she knew.” She ordered a large bottle of sparkling water and rested her elbows on the table, rubbing her temple. “Anyway, as I said, you don’t need to stay for me. You’ve got another long day tomorrow and I’m sure you’re looking forward to curling up in bed together.”
Stella nodded and yawned. “I actually wouldn’t mind getting some sleep.”
“Come on then, babe. Curling up sounds like a great idea.” Lisa took her hand and pulled her up. “Marcy, have fun with your mum’s friend and let’s meet up soon. Don’t worry about Zoe too much; it’s not like you’re going to run into her again. But if it bothers you, I really think an apology would do the job.”
“I’ll do that.” Marcy waved them goodbye, then turned back to her phone, looking defeated.
Stella pulled Lisa in as they crossed the road to the taxi rank. “I’m so glad I’m not living that life anymore.”
“What? Hopping from woman to woman?” Lisa asked with a grin.
“Yes, I don’t think I realised how lonely I was until I met you.” Stella glanced at the long queue before the taxi rank, shook her head and pulled Lisa towards the beach instead. “It’s too busy right now. Want to sit on the beach while we wait for the line to die down? It’s nice here at night.”
“Okay.” Lisa followed her down the concrete steps and they walked towards the shore, where they sat down. She snuggled up next to Stella, resting her head on her shoulder and inhaled the sea breeze. “You’re right. I never thought I’d say this but it’s actually quite pretty here at night. That is, as long as you don’t look behind you,” she added with a chuckle.
