‘Hey!’ Ed complains, pulling her mouth back to his.
I watch Rose kiss Ed then Frank, before they get up and lead her back onto the crowded dancefloor. Rob shuffles closer to me and I turn my head, meeting his lips, which are warm and soft, and eager but— An image of Cillian fills my thoughts and I pull back.
‘I’m sorry, I…’ I get up quickly, stand and face him, my heart racing. ‘Drink?’
He shakes his head. ‘No, thank you. Why are you running away from me?’ He sounds… kind.
‘I’m not. I just… I can’t do that. Not tonight. Sorry.’ I push away from the table and don’t look back as I seek out Rose.
I find her, still hemmed in by Ed and Frank, a vacant, dreamy look on her face as she catches sight of me.
‘Hey,’ she says. ‘Get me a double vodka and orange?’
‘Rose…’ I shake my head.
‘Don’t be judgey, Niamh, just get me the drink.’
‘Yeah, Niamh, just get her the drink,’ Ed says, nuzzling her neck, his hands sliding up her body, until they come to rest, cupping her breasts.
‘Fine,’ I snap, rolling my eyes. She’s a grown-up. She can tell them to fuck off herself if she wants.
I head to the bar, where the barman glances over at me and holds up a finger telling me to wait. I nod back, sighing, and turn to check on my friend, now shimmying between those two creeps, and take a few breaths to calm myself down. Sometimes, I could kill her. Rob is still over at the booth, watching me, although he’s got his phone in his hand.
‘Here you are.’ The barman hands me a vodka-orange and a glass of tap water. ‘Is that all?’
‘Yes, thanks.’
The barman is hesitant as I pay, his gaze sliding over my shoulder, and I turn to see that he’s looking at Rose.
‘This for her?’ he asks, nodding at the vodka-orange, and for some reason, he looks nervous.
‘Yeah, against my better advice,’ I say, ‘but apparently that makes me boring.’
I pull a face, expecting him to laugh. Instead, he swallows and leans forward.
‘Maybe it’s time to call it a night?’ he whispers.
‘Oh, it definitely is,’ I agree. He stares back at me blankly for a moment, then someone calls him over and he goes to serve them, glancing back, before focusing on the next customer. There’s a man in a suit standing at the end of the bar watching me, frowning. Jagged white scars reach from the corners of his mouth towards his ears. I’ve never actually seen anyone with a Glasgow smile, allegedly a rather old-fashioned punishment amongst gangs of an earlier era, but this guy is probably old enough and looks dodgy enough. Sick of men being weird, I lift the two drinks up in a toast and smile at him facetiously. He stares back, then abruptly turns towards the till, pulling a cash envelope out of his inner jacket pocket and starting to push the larger notes into it.
I pick up our drinks and walk around the edge of the dancefloor.
‘Rose!’ My tone is sharper than it needs to be. ‘I think we should finish these then leave. Sit down for a minute.’
She pouts but follows me back to the booth where I put the drinks down.
‘But I’m having fun.’
‘I can see that.’
‘Oh, don’t be like that,’ she slurs. I’m sure Rob wants to have fun with you.’
He lifts an eyebrow.
‘But Niamh never wants to have any fun,’ Rose slurs. ‘She’s too uptight. Hell, she barely even drinks. I bet that’s just water.’
‘So what?’ I put the glass to my lips and drain it.
‘Chug, chug, chug,’ Rose chants and then tips her own glass to her mouth and downs it in one. ‘Woo-hoo!’
