‘Can a dog look guilty?’ asked Nora, clipping on and handing the belay line to Jay.
‘Absolutely. He also frequently looks like he wants to eat me. You saw how he was with his dinner. He could devour me in seconds if he wanted to, and he and I both know it.’
Nora laughed. ‘I think sometimes you can be a bit of a glass-is-half-empty kind of guy,’ she said, starting her ascent.
‘Because the glass probably contains poison,’ muttered Jay. ‘And I think you’ll find it’s more to do with attending drama school, darling,’ he added in Shakespearean tones.
She liked how Jay made her smile. He had a lovely way of lightening her mood.
Trent re-joined them and began climbing with the auto-belay at speed. He went for a hold at the same time as Nora and she almost lost her grip on the wall.
‘You OK?’ called up Jay.
‘I am fine, thank you,’ called back Trent.
‘Arse,’ said Nora.
After what turned out to be a fun session where Nora was pleased with a couple of the trickier routes she’d taken and Jay had done his usual steady climb, they were putting the equipment away. Trent was doing some lunges, his thighs bulging with the effort.
‘Do you think anyone could make themselves look like that?’ asked Jay.
‘Why would anyone want to?’ asked Nora.
Jay nodded at the three women glued to Trent’s every move, although they appeared to be mainly looking at his backside. ‘There have been a couple of roles recently that I didn’t get and I wondered if maybe I need to bulk up a bit. Do some sculpting. That sort of thing.’
‘You have no idea what sculpting is, do you?’ asked Nora with a smile.
‘Not a clue,’ said Jay. ‘But maybe a few more muscles wouldn’t hurt.’ He flexed his biceps under his sweatshirt and both he and Nora stared at it, waiting for something to happen.
‘Yeah, maybe a bit wouldn’t hurt,’ she agreed.
15
They had all agreed that Crafting and Cocktails night should go ahead despite Dixie’s absence and that they would take the cocktail-making in turns. Tonight Renee was in the hot seat and Nora already feared for her insides.
‘I went for a classic,’ said Renee, pouring from a large flask. ‘Dirty Martini,’ she added with a flourish.
Nora stared at the olive bobbing in her drink. A little swirl and the liquid adhered to the sides of the glass. ‘It smells strong,’ said Nora.
‘Wait till you taste it,’ said Renee with a sparkle in her eyes. ‘Chin chin!’ she added, closing her eyes as she took a sip. Nora and Jay waited. Renee smacked her lips together. ‘Heaven in a glass.’ The other two were still eyeing theirs suspiciously. ‘Bloody hell. Come on. Bottoms up!’
Jay took a swig and started choking. ‘Can’t breathe,’ he spluttered.
‘Give him a pat on the back. He’ll be fine,’ said Renee, savouring another mouthful of her cocktail.
‘You OK?’ asked Nora, once Jay’s hacking had reduced to a wheeze.
‘See, I wasn’t joking about the glass being half full of poison,’ he said, still sounding hoarse.
Renee pointed at Nora. ‘Are you not even going to try it?’
Nora felt it would be rude not to. She took a sip and the alcohol burned as it went down. ‘Good grief. There’s not much mixer in that.’
Renee chortled. ‘It’s gin and vermouth and the tiniest hint of the brine from the olives to make it dirty.’
‘That’s it?’ asked Jay. ‘No mixer?’
‘Indeed,’ said Renee, looking proud. ‘And isn’t it splendid?’
