I was hoping that she had no recollection of what happened last night, but of course, that’s not the luck I have. She’s going to want all the sordid details and then some. She’s a walking, talking, breathing, clash bag.
“Are you still on my couch?”
“I am indeed. I have no intentions of moving any time soon.”
I look down at my watch and notice it’s gone four-thirty p.m. Our favourite takeaway will be open. “I’ll bring us dinner home. See you soon.”
I hang up before Mhairi can say anything else. I need some fresh air to cool off, and I need food and coffee to hopefully help this hangover that has lasted all day. A downside to getting older; the effects of alcohol seem to last longer.
***
“Honey, I’m home,” I call out as I kick the front door closed and pad into my kitchen with bags of Chinese takeaway.
Apart from a roll and square sausage and a can of Irn Bru to cure a hangover, Chinese is the next best thing. I pull out plates from the cupboard and bang them down on the worktop just as Mhairi walks into the kitchen looking like death warmed up. She’s still got on last night’s clothes, makeup is smeared all over her face, and her hair looks like she has been dragged through a hedge backwards. I can’t help but laugh. At least I got up this morning and made it to work.
I look down at my watch and sigh. “How the other half live. I’d love to have slept the day away.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just dish up the food, sister. And stop banging about. I have a herd of elephants stomping about in my head.”
Mhairi sits down on a stool and holds her head in her hands. I don’t know why she does it. Alcohol never agrees with her, and she goes over the top every single time.
“Here, I’m not doing it all for you. I bought it. You can dish up your own.”
I pull out several dishes; chow mein, barbeque spare ribs, salt and pepper chicken, lemon chicken with no sauce, chips, prawn toast, and curry sauce. Oh, my. My mouth is watering. I’ve not been able to eat all day; I’m going to make up for it this afternoon.
“Did you leave anything in the shop?” asks Mhairi.
“Nope. I’m starving. I’ve been avoiding food all day. Coffee and water are the only two things to pass my lips today. What have you been up to apart from sleeping?”
Mhairi looks up as she pops a chip into her mouth. “Sleep is all I had to give today. We put away some alcohol last night. The thought of it is turning my stomach.”
“It’s the shots. They’re the devil’s drink. Never mix your drinks, yet we still do.” I shake my head at my own stupidity.
Every time, I say,I’m not having a shot, I’m not mixing my drinks,then I have one too many gin and lemonades and someone hands me a shot and I can’t say no. I don’t even think that the wordnois even in my vocabulary when I’m out on the town. I need to buy a T-shirt that says,when I say yes, it means no, and when I say no, IT MEANS FUCKING NO!
I moan with delight as all the different tastes of my Chinese goodness hit the spot. It’s better than sex… and that right there is lies, especially if it’s sex with Max.Eurgh.I can’t even eat my favourite Chinese food and not think about Maxwell-Fucking-Loudon. I need to bleach my brain and delete all memories of him.
“What were you thinking about? Your cheeks have gone bright red,” says Mhairi around a forkful of noodles she’s shoving in her mouth.
“You don’t want to know.”
“Eh, yes, I do. Spill.”
I close my eyes and cringe at the thought of what’s running through my head. I’m like a sex-starved teenager. I can’t even say that because I was a geek as a teenager. I liked studying,books, and more books. I didn’t go to parties or hang out drinking in the park on a Friday or Saturday evening. I was a level-headed kid. I studied. I watched crap television. I liked my own company.
“The man you saw me walk off with last night…” Mhairi’s eyes never leave mine. “Well, he turned out to be my new client.”
“And you didn’t know?”
I shake my head. “He told me his name was Max. I knew I was meeting a Maxwell today, but I never made the connection. Even if I wasn’t drunk, I still probably wouldn’t have thought they were the same person. I was expecting to meet a middle-aged silver fox this morning.”
“What am I missing? You met him last night, and…?”
I groan and sink onto the stool opposite my best friend. “That’s not all that happened last night.Fuck.He gave me the best orgasm of my life. Three times.” I fan myself with my hand.
“Well, I never. Way to go, Lexi. I’m so proud of you, girl. And you enjoyed it?”
I smile. “I fucking loved it. The excitement, the thrill of potentially being caught by someone walking in, the way he worked my body… Oh, my God. He was amazing, Mhairi. I’ve never enjoyed sex as much in my life.”
