A grin stretched across my face. Tony faltered for a moment, then left without another word.
‘Still hate you,’ I grumbled, finishing off my breakfast.
‘No, you don’t.’ George shoved the last mouthful of the roll into his mouth and mumbled. ‘He might be a twat, but it’s in his best interests to help salvage your career and you can’t deny he’s persistent.’ Throwing a napkin down on the counter, he stood up. ‘Come on. We’ve got work to do.’
5
FALLON
The fourth glass of wine might have been a mistake.Maybe.
Everything took on a delicious fuzzy film when I got more than two glasses of booze deep, as if the world got softer and more inviting. Things were funnier, and people were more attractive. Rosie was suffering the same effects because she was currently eyeing up the bartender and developing a master plan to seduce him. She pulled up her breasts so they were practically falling out of her bra and planned to lean provocatively over the counter, batting her long black lashes.
‘How do they look?’ Rosie sat beside me at a table in the corner of a pub, plumping her tits. This was our usual place to get drunk and talk about various parts of our lives that were the current shit show. My unemployment was the main topic covered this evening. I hadn’t received any helpful advice from my best friend. Although, as the night went on, I was becoming less and less bothered by my lack of employment. I had a feeling my sudden ambivalence on the subject was due to the empty glass of rosè in front of me.
‘Stunning,’ I declared, appraising her cleavage, ‘But you may have missed something in your haze of lust.’
Rosie frowned, glancing down at her chest. ‘Nope, they’re perfect. No man can resist them.’
I rolled my eyes. ‘You might want to check his left hand.’ I jutted my head over my shoulder at the bartender.
Rosie’s eyes darted to the bar where a few people were sitting on stools, and an admittedly gorgeous-looking guy was pouring drinks to two men huddled in the corner, one wearing a cap on his head, pulled low over his eyes. A pretentious move if ever I saw one. It was in the same lane as people who wore sunglasses indoors. AKA: twats.
‘Oh, come on!’ she cried, throwing up her hands. ‘I swear he didn’t have that last time we were here. Must be a new thing.’
I chose not to mention that since we had been coming to this pub nearly two years ago, that particular bartender had always had a black ring on his finger. She had never noticed because Rosie was normally oblivious to things that weren’t on four legs. She grabbed her wine and slunk down in her seat, pouting.
‘Don’t want to still give it a go?’
She levelled a stern gaze in my direction. ‘I may be extremely horny, but I’m not a homewrecker.’
I twirled my empty glass around my fingers. ‘Anyway, what happened to Kevin?’
‘Karl,’ Rosie corrected, letting out a long-suffering sigh. ‘He told me on our second date that he wanted five kids.’
I winced, ‘Oof, not the way to go, Karl.’
Rosie finished off her glass of red and slid it across the table. ‘Nope. So now I’m horny and alone.’
‘We should start a club.’ I snorted at the idea.Wow, that wine was working quicker than I’d anticipated.
‘The Horny and Lonely Club.’ Rosie shouted, turningseveral heads in our direction. I whacked her lightly on the arm, my cheeks flaming in embarrassment.
‘Would you shut up? If you must declare something, kindly help me devise a way to earn money so I won’t end up living out of my car.’
If things carried on the way they were going, that possibility was becoming more and more probable. I wasn’t great at being an adult; I could admit that. I would even go as far as to say I was astoundingly terrible at it. Paying bills, doing laundry, buying new underwear when it got that weird bleach stain in the crotch. For most things, I muddled along, doing my best.
But what do you do when your best isn't good enough? According to my family it’s the bare minimum. My chest tightened, slicing through my intoxication and sobering me momentarily.
Rosie took my arm in a firm grip. ‘Babe, you know you can stay with me if you want.’
The offer was one she made frequently, but it came with its own set of challenges. I forced a weak smile to my lips. ‘I know, but I don’t want to give my family yet another reason to think I’m incompetent.’
‘Fuck ‘em.’
That was Rosie’s standard response whenever my family was mentioned. Whilst it wasn’t that descriptive, I appreciated the blind show of support.
‘Oh.’ Rosie jostled my arm so suddenly that I nearly dropped my glass. ‘You should write a book!’ Her eyes were wide with delight—the smile on her face was almost manic.
