“Cupboard next to the bathroom.” She shot me a smile and headed there.
A minute later and she had my old leather jacket slung over her shoulders, the worn material adding a little bad to her pretty look. “I need a compliment here, big guy,” she said.
“Do friends give compliments?”
She hit me with her sassy glare. “All the time.”
“You look all right,” I said. “I don’t mind people knowing you’re with me.” She looked fucking edible and it was taking every single fucking drop of restraint that I possessed not to put her on my sofa, push that tight dress up, see what she was wearing underneath and put my mouth on her pussy. I did not want to take her out looking like that because I was going to punch out the lights of any guy who looked at her and it was not my place to. Because we were just friends. Because she wasn’t mine.
“You look all right too,” she said. “Your blue shirt means we almost match.”
“Shall I change?”
“You don’t want to match?”
“You said it like it was a bad thing.”
Her blonde hair shook as she giggled. “It’s fine, Owen. Let’s go. She tucked her arm into mine and I caught the scent of her perfume. I tried to inhale as much of it as I could while I sent another prayer to the seemingly absent god of self-restraint because tonight was going to be a long one.
* * *
“What’s she doing?” I asked, watching Payton knock back an oyster, her eyes closed.
“Hmmm. That’s so nice.” She blinked and licked her lips. “She looks quiet and the waiter has just taken away her plate. Trey looks uncomfortable.”
“Good,” I said, taking an oyster for myself and trying not to be grumpy. “Has she seen us?”
“Oh, yes,” Payton said. “She’s looked over a couple of times and did not look impressed. They’re getting the bill.” She paused. “Looks like she’s paying.”
“He won’t like that.”
“She’s waving his hand away and he’s pulling a face.”
“Is she okay?”
Payton stared and then smiled. “She’s fine. She’s just given him a peck on the cheek and he’s leaving.” She took a sip of her water. “And now she’s coming over here.”
I heard the rhythmic sound of my mother’s footsteps, slightly weirded out that she’d worn a pair of high heels. I only remembered her wearing flats when she went out with Dave.
“I really did not need two chaperones,” she hissed as she came close enough.
I saw Payton colour and look embarrassed.
“Don’t worry, honey, I know this wasn’t your idea. It’s was shit–for-brains here. Owen, if I had any concerns I’d have phoned you. As it is, he only wanted to talk about himself and thought the sun shone out of his arsehole, so I paid and got rid of him, but having you sitting here in your judgemental corner was not helpful to my self-esteem. I have another date with someone else lined up for in a couple of weeks and I don’t want an appearance from you. Now, have a good night and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She bent down and kissed the side of my cheek, then stepped round to Payton and did the same. “You look lovely together by the way.”
I expected Payton to remind her that we were just friends, but instead she simply smiled.
“See you tomorrow, Mum,” I said. “Get home safely.” I felt the glare burn through my skull. At least she hadn’t slapped me.
We chatted through the rest of the meal, Payton asking questions about the places I’d lived as a kid and telling me stories about her brothers and sisters. Claire was due home tomorrow with the baby, so Payton was going to see her before meeting everyone apart from Claire and her parents at a bar near the Callaghan Green offices. I was due there too, although I had plans to meet a friend from college just beforehand for a beer.
I paid the bill, ignoring Payton’s frowns, and guided her out of the restaurant, managing to not hit a bloke in a suit who couldn’t take his eyes off her, despite him being with his wife or girlfriend.
“Are you sure you don’t mind me staying at yours?” she said once we got outside, my old jacket back round her shoulders.
“It’s fine. I’m leaving early in the morning, so I’ll try not to wake you. Help yourself to whatever you want, I think there’s a few edible things in the fridge. There’s definitely orange juice.”
She looked up at me and smiled, her arm linking mine again. “I’ll make sure I leave everything tidy. I’m going to head straight from yours to Claire and Killian’s so I might leave some stuff with you. Is that all right? I don’t want it to be in the way if you’re planning on bringing any women back to your place this weekend.”
