Josie nods. ‘I’ve met her before, she’s cool. Right, duty calls.’ She manages to make her intake of fizz as a dainty sip while leaving only half left in the glass. ‘There’s Helen from Apple Music, and if I’m quick, I can get to her before Kenzie.’ Her eyes narrow at the petite blonde with a pixie cut who raises a glass in Josie’s direction, a challenge there. I’m about to wish her good luck, but Josie’s six-inch heels are already carrying her regally across the polished floor. I love watching Josie’s ambition in action, she’s never been afraid of it. I’d had that same pull, the same confidence when I knew one of our pieces was award-winning, when I could confidently land my feet on each rung of the ladder of success, as our status rose higher and higher. I just didn’t know a snake would send me sliding back down to the bottom of the board.
From the corner of his mouth Spence asks, ‘Do you think we’ll get charged if we actually look at somebody face to face rather than through our phone cameras?’ He takes a sip of his gold liquid, almost choking. ‘Christ what, is this?’
I take a sip of my own drink. It’s surprisingly strong, something citrus, something herbal… Rosemary? Basil? I have no idea.
The girls’ drinks appear. Georgia clutches hers in her hand and pulls out her phone. She smiles, taking a delicate sip, then frowns at the screen, looking around the room for better positioning. ‘Be back in a sec.’ She drags Ruby along, finds a corner with a pink velvet chaise-longue, onto which she arranges herself, adjusts the ring light, pouts, flicks her hair over her shoulder and then holds the glass up to the phone. Ruby does the same.
Spence is taking in the way his daughter is lifting her phone higher, adjusting her hair again. ‘Maybe this was a mistake.’
‘Oh, leave them be. Most girls their age would be doing exactly the same. And let’s face it, it beats sitting in a field and drinking out-of-date sherry like we did.’
Spence downs his drink in one and takes something that looks like liquid mercury from another passing waiter.
The girls rejoin us, eyes flitting nervously to Perri.
‘Let’s see if we can get you closer, eh?’ I suggest, giving Spence a gentle nudge in the ribs. We make our way across the room, stopping every few seconds as Georgia spots somebody else famous in her world. Perri is regaling the devoted fans about the best prank and collaboration ever. Georgia whispers into my ear, telling me she saw it and it was hilarious. Step by step we get closer and closer to the group. Perri’s eyes land on Georgia with a perfectly plumped smile. ‘Hiya!’
Georgia seems to lose the ability to speak, and I can see the rush of heat fanning across her chest and cheeks.
‘What’s your name, sweetheart?’ Perri’s voice is surprisingly warm, her interest genuine.
Ruby gives her a little nudge. ‘George.’
‘Good name. Strong.’
Georgia blushes, but I can tell she will take that compliment as gospel: our modern-day Moses wearing a platinum silverdress, delivering the word of God through a well-angled Apple phone.
Spence goes to open his mouth to correct her, but I give him another sharp dig in the ribs. Perri’s eyes gravitate towards him, taking in the Hugo Boss Josie had picked out for him, but he’s oblivious, eyes firmly on his daughter.
Perri swipes a finger over her screen and begins a livestream. ‘Hi, guys. Well, here we are, and you know how much I love meeting my fans in person! Say hi, George!’
She pulls Georgia close, an arm around her, as she asks her what her favourite reel was, and for a magnificent moment, Georgia is starring in one of her idols’ livestreams. I look to Spence and I can see he’s halfway between looking proud and an eye roll. The moment ends, another fan being pulled into Perri’s enthusiastic arms and Georgia’s time in the sun is over, but her whole face is beaming. When she returns to our side, she’s shaking from raw adrenaline.
‘Oh my God, this is the best day ever!’ She looks up at Spence. ‘Thank you.’ All the tension broken between them by a quick hug.
Time passes quickly, and with the aid of another few strange-tasting and shimmering cocktails, Spence, Georgia and Ruby are laughing together, trying to catch bubbles, photographing the strange tiny canapés – Spence diligently checking the ingredients again – and after the fourth cocktail, Spence even agrees to attempt a popular TikTok dance. I’m smiling as I watch them; even though we are in these opulent surroundings, they’re in their own little world, laughing and dancing in the same way as they would in their lounge. My cheeks are aching from smiling at them, but then I feel a tug, something in my periphery that makes my head turn. My mouth dries, my heartbeat knocking loudly inside my ears. The bubbles, the scented air, the laughter, the perfume… it all fades away as his eyes meet mine.
Ryan’s hair is shorter. His face is more angular. Tanned. His tight sky-blue shirt shows the signs of the 5a.m. gym sessions he’d always intended to go to but instead had hit snooze and curled his body around mine. Even after all this time, it seems that we can still sense each other across a room. I try to pull my gaze away from him, but instead my eyes follow the cut of his shoulder, the newly defined tendons around the column of his throat, down his arm, to his hand. His knuckles are skirting the base of a bronzed back scooped out of a red silk dress that drips towards a woman’s pert backside. With his eyes still on me, he says something into her ear. Her head turns, as she follows his line of sight towards me. She nods, kisses him on the cheek and turns away. I’m clearly not a threat. Spence and the girls come back to me laughing, their cheeks flushed, eyes bright. Spence takes in the look on my face, where even the expensive brand of bronzer from Josie can’t conceal that my blood has drained away. He catches on quickly as he tracks Ryan striding towards me. Ryan works the room with the same old ease, stopping and shaking hands with people he knows along the way. And then he’s in front of us.
‘Hey!’ he says brightly, kissing me on the cheek. He smells different, no sign of the scent of incense sticks. Now he smells like expensive aftershave. ‘Good to see you, Alice.’ He smiles and nods. ‘Georgia, Spence.’
‘This is Ruby… Georgia’s friend,’ I add.
All the fun and excitement has fallen away from them, and when Ryan puts out his hand, Spence looks down at it and leaves it hanging. Ryan tucks his hand in his pocket and smiles brightly at me. ‘It’s so good to see you,’ he repeats. ‘How’s things?’
How’s things? I want to say,oh, I don’t know Ryan, things are pretty shit, actually: I’ve lost my job, I’m becoming obsessed with a man from the eighties, questioning my own sanity during the process, and I actually have no idea what todo with my life. Oh, and did I mention that my heart feels like it’s breaking in two right now?But I don’t say any of that.
‘Good. You?’
‘Great! We’re just here for the weekend. Fleur has a few meetings in town, so I thought I’d tag along.’
Fleur. Of course she would be called Fleur.
He pulls his mouth to one side, and glances back over the room towards her, beckoning her over. She glides across the room in the same way as the silk glides across her curves.
‘Fleur this is Alice, Alice, Fleur.’
I’m startled as she pulls me into a hug, her thick American accent coming out in a rush. ‘It’s so good to meet you, Alice. I’ve heard so much about you!’
