My head pounded with the alcohol and the pictures in my head from the night. Tears pricked at the back of my eyes. I was half way home and determined not to cry when my phone rang. Owen’s name flashed up, a picture of the two of us on London Bridge from yesterday.
“Hello,” I said, hoping I sounded bright and happy.
“Where did you go?” he said, slightly slurred.
“I didn’t want to cramp your style. It looked like you had company for the night.” There was no point in trying to cover it up as it was fucking obvious why I had hotfooted it out of the bar.
There was a roar of laughter. “You’re jealous!”
“I’m not jealous! I just didn’t want to cockblock you.”
“You are! You’re jealous. That’s hilarious, isn’t it Jessamyn?”
“Jessamyn? Who the fuck’s Jessamyn?” I sounded like a fishwife bellowing across the River.
There was more laughter. “I’ve no idea who Jessamyn is. I’m on my own and heading somewhere to sleep. In fact, I can see your brother so I’m going to find out if he has a spare bath I can use.”
“You’re not going home with that girl?” I said, my brain slowly catching up with his words. “I thought…”
“We were talking and she was drunk and a bit handsy, but that was it. I wasn’t interested. She wouldn’t have been interested in my handcuffs and butt plugs,” he said, sounding slightly soberer. “So you don’t need to be jealous.”
“I’m not jealous!”
“The lady doth protest too much. I’ll speak to you tomorrow, princess. I’m going to catch up with Callum. Sleep well.” He hung up just after I heard a big booming voice shout Cal.
Home felt strange after not sleeping there the previous night. It felt quiet on my own, the buzz of the bar and the sound of my siblings now a memory away. I settled into bed with a book, another Lucy Score that I was rereading again and a mug of tea, hoping that the oddness I’d felt at Owen possibly going home with another woman would fade.
My phone pinged just as I was about to go to sleep. It was a text with a photo. A selfie of Owen, his glasses still on, his hair mussed and stubble almost a beard.See, I’m in bed on my own,he’d put.I liked you being jealous though x
I put my phone down. I’d reply in the morning, when I’d thought of something suitably witty.
Chapter Ten
Owen
Hangovers werethe opposite of whisky: they did not get better with age. I ran down the left flank, dodging Seph who I was pretty sure should not be alive, and ran straight into Killian.
“Fuck!” I said as I was floored. “I’m too old for this.”
“No, we’re just too old for drinking beer, shots and whisky,” Max said, barely having broken a sweat. The man was made of steel or some other banned material. “Let’s call it a day and grab something greasy to eat.”
I’d woken up in Callum’s spare bed, Seph having been left in the recovery position in the bathroom. It had taken the two of us to carry him upstairs and had resembled two grown men trying to move an adult-sized toddler having a tantrum. I was pretty sure that was the reason why my back was aching slightly today and not the drills we’d been doing on the field.
At least my head had stopped pounding and I was started to feel more resemblance to something human; a greasy fry up sounded like heaven, and possibly a gallon of coffee.
“Have you got that acoustic set on tonight?” Callum said, grabbing a bottle of water. He’d looked like something dug up at nine-thirty this morning. “Not sure which one of your shops it’s at.”
I nodded, accepting a bottle he passed to me. “Two on tonight: Covent Garden and Soho. You want to go?”
“If you’ve still got tickets. One of the keepers at work has had a shit week so I promised to cheer her up.”
“Does she happen to be five-ten and blonde?” Seph said, his hair still perfectly styled.
Callum slapped him across the back of the head. “No, she’s five-three, ginger and had a girlfriend until Wednesday. It is possible for people from the opposite sex to be friends without trying to bone each other. Look at Owen and Payton.” His grin became broader.
“Fuck off,” I said, heading to the showers. Once we got Seph upstairs and out of danger from choking on his own vomit, I’d drunkenly word vomited over Callum who found it hilarious I’d been friend zoned by his little sister.
Seph laughed loudly. I liked the Callaghans; they reminded me of the communal houses I’d lived in as a kid where everyone tolerated each other with a side of humour and and a shit ton of kindness.
