‘One more drink and one more video!’ Anna giggled, pulling out her phone and scrolling rapidly.
Laura groaned. She was sitting opposite the two of us as we lounged in the bar that had been our favourite since we’d first moved into our old flat. ‘Please, God –’
‘He’s not listening to you right now, so you better listen to me.’ Anna grinned as I tried my best to pretend I wasn’t at all intrigued to see what video she was going to show me. ‘Look at this!’
The moment I saw the opening frame, I knew.
Oh, fuck.
My heart fluttered, pulse racing as I watched a tiny, slightly blurry version of myself step forward in a green dress that admittedly made my boobs and butt look incredible, press a kiss upon Patrick Tetlow’s cheek, get pulled against his chest as he appeared to whisper sweet nothings into my ear, then stride away from him.
And that was it. That was it!
‘First kiss!’ Anna crowed, waving her porn star martini at me. ‘How was it?’
‘It was a kiss on the cheek, you idiot,’ I countered, trying to ignore the margarita the waiter had just placed before me. ‘I didn’t order –’
‘From the ladies over there,’ the waiter said with a grin. ‘They said, and I quote, “For the girl who’s bedding Patrick Tetlow.”’
My face could have heated a kettle as Anna collapsed into giggles and Laura craned her neck to look.
‘Which girls? Do you think I should talk to them about Butterflies?’ Laura’s one-track mind was no better with alcohol coursing through her system.
‘No,’ Anna and I said in unison as we pushed my twin back into her seat.
I glanced at the margarita. ‘Do you think this is safe to drink?’
You could never be too careful, right? Even if the girls did look normal enough.
‘Absolutely not,’ Anna said firmly. ‘Excuse me – yes, excuse me.’
I watched, amused, as my bestie argued with the waiter about making a fresh drink.
Laura nudged my shoulder, pulling my attention back to her. ‘So, seriously. Kissing Patrick Tetlow. What was it like?’
What was it like?
Like … like nothing I had ever felt before. Like my whole body was buzzing with electricity just from being so near to him. Like the way he whispered to me, and only me, was my own private These Exiles concert. And after that, he’d just stood there and done nothing – well, he’d pulled me closer for a moment, a heartbeat, but then it had been over. A secret part of me had wanted him to pull me in tighter, longer, turn the innocent kiss into something not so chaste.
But he had done none of that. He hadn’t called out to me – like in one of those cheesy romcoms when the hot guy chases after the heroine on a deserted street in the rain.
It hadn’t even been raining. And nowhere in this city was ever deserted. And he hadn’t followed me.
But I’d wanted him to. And that scared me.
‘It was fine.’ Maybe if I kept saying that, it would become true. ‘It wasn’t even a real kiss.’ I needed the reminder as much as they did.
‘So, you’re not … you know …’
‘In lurrrve –’ the two said in unison. They could be so annoying when they wanted to be.
‘Come on!’ I exclaimed as the waiter brought over the fresh margarita. ‘Thanks.’ I took a sip, to avoid the inquisition taking place.
‘We’re just saying, he’s gorgeous,’ Laura said, raising her voice as the bar’s music increased in volume.
‘And rich,’ Anna said, winking like a pantomime dame.
‘And you’ve always fancied him,’ added Laura, like that was the be all and end all.
