‘Come on, it’s Oasis. How can you not want to sing along to Oasis?’ He began to sway back and forth, waving his hands in the air like an inebriated fan at a festival.
Eleanor wanted to be mad. She wanted to reach over and shut the music off completely. But before she knew what was happening, she was opening her mouth and singing along as loudly as she could. Joy erupted from the depths of her as Fin joined in with a poor attempt at a harmony. Together they sounded atrocious and normally Eleanor would have been mortified at her pitchy notes, but for some reason she didn’t care one bit.
Three awfully performed songs later and Eleanor’s hangover seemed a distant memory.
‘Eurgh, I hate this song,’ she moaned as the music changed.
Fin graciously turned the radio down and leant back in his seat. ‘I’d forgotten how fun it is to sing like that.’
‘When do youeversing like that?’ Eleanor scoffed.
‘I have been known to do the odd karaoke session once in a while.’
‘Really?’ Eleanor replied.
‘Yes, and I resent how shocked you look at that.’
‘Not shocked.’
‘No?’ Fin teased.
‘More like disturbed.’
‘Oh, comeon,’ Fin huffed, folding his arms childishly across his chest. ‘That’s just mean.’
‘I’m kidding.’
‘You’d better be.’ He uncrossed his arms and stretched them above his head. Eleanor couldn’t help but notice his T-shirt lift up to reveal a taut strip of stomach.
Stop staring, you creep!
This is Fin.
‘That singing really took it out of me.’ Fin yawned. ‘I’m exhausted.’
‘I think that’s probably more to do with how little sleep you got last night. And that is most definitely my fault.’ Eleanor felt her grip tighten on the steering wheel. She was reluctant to bring the mood down but knew she’d have to bring up last night at some point; better to say something before he did. Get it over and done with. Sooner rather than later.
‘Was I completely awful?’ She turned to look at Fin briefly.
He shook his head and smiled. ‘No, you were fine. Apart from being a bit sick – well, quite a lot sick – you were harmless.’
A familiar flash of self-loathing punched her hard in the chest.
‘Did anyone see me?’
‘No. We were outside. All very discreet,’ he assured her.
‘Phew.’ Eleanor felt her body relax. ‘The thing is … I don’t really remember anything about that bit of the night.’ She spoke the words slowly and deliberately. ‘I mean, the only reason I know I was sick was because …’
‘You saw it all over your dress?’ he quipped playfully.
Eleanor blushed with embarrassment. ‘Yeah, exactly! Everything else is blank,’ she lied. ‘I don’t remember anything. Like nothing at all.’
‘Oh.’ Fin’s face fell for the briefest of moments. ‘Of course you don’t.’ He tore his eyes away from hers and began fiddling with his seatbelt. ‘You were pretty drunk, so that’s not surprising.’
‘Yeah.’ She forced a laugh. ‘Me and tequila really need to break up.’ The joke landed awkwardly between them. ‘So, anything I said or …’ She paused; did she really need to say this? He clearly wasn’t that bothered or concerned. He hadn’t even mentioned the kiss! ‘Or anything Idid,’ she continued. ‘Could we erase it permanently from our minds, please?’
‘No problem.’ Fin turned his head to stare out of the window. ‘Consider it done.’
