‘She likes dancing,’ the guy says, shrugging and tilting my chin with his finger so I’m facing him again. ‘And that’s all they’re doing right now.’
‘It is,’ I agree. And then deciding that maybe Rose is right, and I am just way too uptight, I decide to take a risk and smile. ‘I like to dance, too.’
‘Rob,’ he says, smiling down at me as he places his hands back on my hips and we move together to the music.
‘Niamh.’
‘The Irish spelling?’ he asks.
‘Yeah, still pronouncedNeev.’
‘Nice.’
I smile back at him and move to the music, conscious of how close our bodies are. He’s not pushing it any further, though. Just dancing with me. Close but notI’m-imagining-you-nakedclose.
Am I up for this? I’m not sure, but Rose is now happily grinding herself up and down the bodies of both of his friends simultaneously so why not? I step in closer and wrap my arms around him. We dance, talking occasionally before he leans in slowly. His gaze never leaves mine and I could say no or turn away at any time. But I don’t. I close my eyes when I feel his breath whisper across my lips and… push him away.
‘Unlucky!’ His friend mocks from beside us, where he’s still grinding against Rose, only now he’s the one in front of her and his other friend is behind.
‘That’s Ed,’ he says, jerking his head towards the guy in front of Rose.
‘Sorry,’ I mutter as Ed smirks at him, then pulls Rose in closer to his body and covers her mouth with his, snogging her right there on the dancefloor. The third man moves her hair from her neck and trails his lips from the back of her ear down to her shoulder. She shudders between them. Ed’s hands are… I don’t even want to guess where his hands are. I can only assume that if Cillian were here, that guy would not be smiling for long. Then he spins her around by the shoulders and she kisses his friend just as deeply. I sigh.
‘Want to sit down for a while?’ Rob asks.
‘Sure,’ I say. ‘All of us?’
‘I’ll speak to them,’ he assures me. He pulls Ed briefly away from Rose and I look away swiftly at the sight of his obvious erection tenting the front of his trousers.
I move beside them and jerk my head at Rose. ‘She’s had too much to drink to?—’
But Ed holds his hands up in surrender. ‘Just dancing here. Nothing else.’
I bite back a sharp retort to keep it that way but end up rolling my eyes at Rose’s giggles. I turn to see the third guy’s hand slide slowly down over her hips as he kisses her neck. Or is that her ear?
‘We’re going to sit down for a bit,’ Rob tells him, and he nods, turning back to the other two and leaning in. I follow Rob across the dancefloor. He must have the luck of the Irish because just as we reach the first booth, the group sitting there start to push themselves out one by one.
‘Yous leaving?’ Rob asks.
‘Aye, yous can have it,’ a big guy with shaggy brown hair says, slapping him on the back after eyeing me up and down. He nudges Rob and gives him a thumbs-up, making me roll my eyes.
Rob slides in on the opposite side, but moves round beside me while Ed drags Rose into the same side of the booth as me, fixing his mouth to hers as soon as he’s dragged her far enough up over his body. He slides his hand over her hip to cup her butt, touching my thigh in the process, and I squirm away closer to Rob. If it weren’t for the table, I’m sure she’d be straddling his lap by now. Rob and I look at each other before he puts him arm around me awkwardly.
‘This okay?’ he asks, pulling me against him, but when he doesn’t do anything more, I nod. It’s not really okay. I definitely don’t feel what I should if I truly wanted Rob. But given that the one man– the only man– I’ve ever felt anything differently for is currently sitting in a posh restaurant on the other side of the river, celebrating his engagement to one of the most awful women I’ve ever met, then maybe I should put my childish notions aside and simply have some fun. Rose does. She’s told me before that Matt was theonefor her, and with him gone… well, let’s just say she’s not waiting for theoneanymore.
‘Here we go.’ The third guy returns from the bar with five bottles of Stox and sets them down in the middle of the table.
‘Oh, but we can’t?—’
He holds a bottle opener out for me to take. All the bottles are still sealed, shutting down my argument against drinking them. Rose takes it instead and opens her own bottle, chugging it before grinning at me across the table.
‘Come on, Niamh. Live a little.’ She holds the bottle out and after a pause, I clink mine against hers, then take the bottle opener and open it.
‘Frank,’ the third guy introduces himself, once he’s sat in the booth with us.
‘Niamh.’
‘Cute, yeah?’ Rose grins at me.
